Yeah, I searched for the CPS locally - I had the option of BWD from AA, or Duralast from AZ. Both brands I have had bad luck with, especially the BWD brand, the best part from them was an oil pressure gauge sender that lasted 32 days - just long enough for the warranty. So I had to search online for better options.

Found an AC Delco CPS on Amazon, and I splurged on the "1-Day Shipping" option... Now I'm kicking myself in the arse because the estimated delivery date is between *MAY 3 and MAY 17* which means that "1-Day Shipping" is really 20-34 days. AARGH! WHY DID I PAY EXTRA TO WAIT LONGER?! OMG... I really do have the crappiest luck. It'* not like I have the luxury of living without this car for a third month!

On the flip side of the coin, I rotated my crankshaft today, and found the stamped number on the pulley... Thank goodness it matched the cheaper of the two harmonic balancers, so I will be picking it up tomorrow, more money down the toilet. Hopefully this will fix it. Because I can't wait any longer, I'll keep the CPS on hand with the new water pump and stow them on a shelf in the garage. I gotta get the car running... No two ways about it.

Now, with the 3.8L SFI, I've seen two schools of thought - do I need a puller, or will it just slide off when I pull the crank bolt? The internet is a vast source of contradictory information, and the Haynes book is useless (doesn't mention harmonic balancer at all, yet it mentions balance shafts...).

Thanks... *facepalm* Off to work...

I am not sure on that one, but I do know the LN3 needs a puller, and even so, you have to get different bolts for the puller.

You will need a puller.

Ok. Thanks guys. I'm working on getting that puller. LOL

Yup, I'll be driving the LeSabre to work tonight...

Today a friend of mine and his father came by to help me with the Buick, since I lack some of the proper tools (and upper body strength) to do the stupid harmonic balancer (vibration dampener, for those of you with Haynes manuals, the manual that also has no mention of the crank sensor!)... Took a few minutes to pop the bolt out, the pulley slid right off with a little gentle coaxing... I have the model that only slips onto the keyed crankshaft, and it slid on/off like a dream...

While we were in there, I changed the crank sensor. Made sense to do it while she was up in the air. Fired the car up, she started and ran *quiet* for the first time in a long, long time. But then, we crack the throttle a few seconds, and "bleeuuuuugggggghhhhhrrrrrr" and it fell on its face. We tried this with and without the MAF connected, thinking maybe that was iffy. Still no change.

So my buddy got under the car with the Sawzall and hacked the catalytic converter off. I took it up and down the street, and amazingly, I was able to hit 3,000 RPMs and better (and loud as hell!) without any bogging down. So, we put some pieces of straight pipe and clamps in for now, and getting it all welded tomorrow evening. I'll be driving it to work tonight, just to be sure that all is well. I have high hopes.

So our theory of what happened is this: harmonic balancer let go while I was doing a newspaper route for a friend. I drove the car like this for a while, nearly three months. Since the pulley was separated from the rubber, the obnoxious noise was the inner part of the balancer hitting the outer part of the balancer - and it was only a hub spoke-to-bolt head contact point to run the serpentine belt. I might post photos of it so the uninitiated knows what to look for. And presumably this caused inaccurate and "flexible" timing, which presumably caused the cat to self-destruct.

Oh crap, look at the time... Gots to get ready for work! THANKS EVERYONE FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE AND GUIDANCE!

Well, everybody, I know this took forever... I totally forgot I had promised to upload photos of the damaged harmonic balancer for everyone else'* future reference...

Sabreena - Imgur