The harmonic balancer on my 1995 SSEi came apart. Got a replacement balancer from Rock Auto made by a company called ATP. Only about $105.00. It is identical to the GM unit that is also made in India. By the way, Dorman will also have a balancer available for the 1995 cars at the end of May.

While removing the balancer, I noticed a coolant leak therefore it was time to also replace the water pump too. What a pain to replace!!! Since I had everything apart, decided to replace also the crank sensor with a unit from Standard, made in the USA. I was surprised to find the old unit from the factory was made in Mexico.

After putting everything together, cranked the engine and will not start!! There is fuel and no spark. So... went back and removed the balancer and compared it t the old one and they are identical...also, put back the old crank sensor since it was working earlier in the event I got a defective sensor.

Still, cranks and will not run. What could have gone wrong?? The only thing that happened was some coolant spilled all over the front of the engine when I removed the water pump. Could the coolant have damaged the camshaft sensor?

What do I look for and were do I start?

Any advise is appreciated!!!

Did you do the Cam Sensor as well?

No, did not change the cam sensor. It was there easy to remove and it did not cross my mind to pick one up. Also, the car was running well, could the cam sensor just fail that easy? Could the coolant do a number on it?

Are you sure you didn't miss any grounds? I'm not sure about your engine but my electrical harness has a ground that bolts the the bolt going through the ICM bracket.

All the grounds are mounted in all locations at the coil bracket.

Are you 100% that the pattern was exactly the same for the metal ring that the crank sensor reads on the back of the HB?

If you have fuel, then you should have spark. You need spark to have fuel. Or at least part of a spark. The PCM needs to see the crank sensor'* data. And if you have the crank, you have spark, and then you have fuel.

Does your tach move when cranking?


-justin

I think I found the problem...I looked at the belts and noticed they were not aligend although the bolt is tighten to specs. removed the aftermarket balancer and notice the slot for the keyway is only half of the length of the keyway on the old balancer, therefore it does not go in all the way.

I am picking up a new balancer at the dealership and retruning the aftermarket balancer. They are identical with the exception of the keyway slot. It is also made in India just like the OEM replacement from the dealer.

Good find. That'll keep the interrupter ring from working with the sensor.

Learned a lot regarding harmonic balancers for our cars. Went to the local GM dealer, they asking price for the balancer was around $268.00 and with my discount, the asking price was around $192.00.

I noticed the GM box said it was made in India just like the balancer sold by ATP, which I paid $108.00 at Rock Auto. Prior to purchase, I opened the box and it was packed identical to the balancer from ATP and the casting numbers were the same as the ATP harmonic balancer. Also, the key way slots are identical in both the GM and ATP harmonic balancers; they do not go the full length like the OEM piece. Since the GM replacement part was identical to the ATP unit, I kept the ATP unit and called the Tech line at ATP.

The ATP guy was very knowledgeable and let me know they buy the harmonic balancer from the same company that supplies GM. I explained the situation with the key slot and he said they have not received any complaints to this date. He also said if I had used the new key supplied with the balancer. I looked and found the new key stuck in the bottom of the box. I removed the old key and noticed the new key is a bit shorter than the OEM. I replaced the key with the new key; slipped the balancer and the car started.

Just like willwren said, the balancer was not deep enough for the interrupter ring to reach the crankshaft sensor.

I called the tech person and ATP and thank him for his assistance. He asked me to send him the old OEM balancer so he can talk to the engineering department and asked them of the possibility of making the slot the same as the OEM balancer. he also said they carry the whole line of harmonic balancers for the 3.8 engines and they are the same identical unit that you get from the GM delarship, except you pay much less. ATO does not sell direct, however you can get them from Rock Auto. www.rockauto.com