you checked them?

they should not move at all...

if the belt moves a few inches back and fourth then clanks to a stop, you have a bad harmonic balancer

That'* EXACTLY what happened! So what does it take to replace that? I do most of my own car work in the past, is it something i can do on a weekend? or does require a real mechanic?

I actually have to head out to work right now... midnights.....

sorry I can't help right now, but if you do a search in the 1992 - 1999 mechanical section on harmonic balancer you will find alot of info there.

if you are still uncertain, I will be back on in the morning and one of our resident gearheads will probably chime in and explain further.

I do know you will need a puller, special bolts, and a GOOD impact gun helps but is not completly necessary to do the job.

I would say that if you know your way around a wrench, you should have no problem doing this in a day.

Thanks for the help everyone! Any other comments would still be appreciated as well.

Just to help you confirm, if can get a good look at the crank pulley (harmonic balancer), the rubber will be cracked and crumbly near the outer hub. And you'll be able to wiggle the outer hub by hand with the belts off.

But I do agree, from the description/behavior of the clatter and the tensioner bouncing, it seems very much like a bad balancer.

It really sounds like that the balancer is the problem. Again many thanks.
My dad (once a mechanic himself) insists that the problems is the tensioner bearing. Is this in the realm of possibility as well? (He'* been wrong before, just wanted to know if this was another occasion too )

We've all been wrong before That is why you need to actually look at the harmonic balancer to look for cracking as J Wikoff suggests.

You also need to remove the belts and try moving and jiggling the pullies by hand. Any clunking, grinding or not smooth feeling in the way any of them spin or feel usually means it'* time to change them.

If it is the balancer.. check them all and replace whichever ones need it while the belt is off.

i plan to as soon as my wife brings the car back form work just so i know, where in the car will i be looking for the harmonic balancer? which wheel or pulley is it?

hmmmm, I have been trying to find a good pic of it, but can't

it will be the one on the bottom of the engine, not the a/c pump.

*****EDIT******


ok, found some pics...
this is what they look like when they go bad
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/faisal...13.jpg&.src=ph

balancer with puller installed... viewed from passenger side wheel well

I also went out to my car ( 1993 SSEi ) and took some pics

here you can see the water pump pulley ( top ) and the harmonic balancer ( bottom )



kind of a crappy pic, but in the center you see the supercharger pulley, below that, the water pump pulley, and on the bottom, the harmonic balancer



I also went out to my parts car and snapped a few shots

harmonic balancer is the big one on the bottom with TWO belt passages on it


a shot from the front of the car, once again, balancer on the bottom, belts removed


I hope this helps

helps a lot! thank you.