my harmonic balancer started wabbling madly ,so i removed it and to my great distress the keyway is a twisted mess ,and the crank sprocket is shifted with the tweaked keyway as well ,do i wiggle it out anyway i can ,please help im stressing hard on this one as i live on an island ralley paradise ,can i be sure the crankshaft end is compromised?????

Welcome to the USMB.

 

Have you taken the timing belt off?  Any chance you could take some pictures of the crankshaft keyway and sprocket?

Absolutely I will , just joined the forum to research various situations like mine. Off work and will get on shortly once I figure out how to post pictures to you , thanks a bunch for correspondence

I haven't removed the timing belt yet as I've been online getting detailed information on how to properly do that , also I'm having trouble posting pictures , do I have to compress pictures ?or is it simple like facebook

You are only allowed to attach a certain amount of pictures and yes they must be below a certain size, I think it tells you.

 

I would recommend using an image hosting service like imageshack, photobucket, or imgur.

 

Here is the photo, attempting to share the media not sure if this will do it.

I do believe I've heard of people on here fixing damage like that. I don't know the method they used hopefully someone with experience with this will chime in soon

hello 777 here it is ,a shocker for sure ,ive heard jb weld to fill and repair .when I was fishing I let the local mechanic here replace my belt .after I notice harmonic wabble this is what I found ,in addition I put a breaker bar on it and it almost crushed my knuckles as it was already loose so I hand backed it off ! jeepers any suggestions would be great im very mechanically inclined but new horizons scare me ,I downloaded timing belt process and have good help as well but the ultimate solution is out there thank you

Timber; You need to open the front of the motor up, take off the timing belt and remove the crank sprocket, be careful removing it , as the raised lip at the back (right where you might pry) is where the crank sensor receives its signal ,if you bend or break one of the tabs you will need to replace the sprocket.  IF YOU ARE LUCKY... when you get the crank sprocket off ,  the key channel in the crankshaft snout won't be broken..... I have cleaned up bent edges with a die grinder , filed the slot and the new replacement key , I have even cleaned up the slot in the harmonic balancer and put it all back together ,with locktite red and it held ... on a street car not on a rally STI , but you may get lucky. You most likely will want  another balancer, you will need a new key , you may need a new sprocket, while you are in there did your town mechanic replace the  timing belt rollers ? tensioner ? cam/crank seal ? waterpump ? When this goes back together  the balancer bolt must be TIGHT !!!              If .....your crank snout is badly broken you should replace the crankshaft... (I think maybe use a different shop than the last time) However .... if you're like most rally (off road) people, you or one of your friends will think of this  (just weld it)    DON'T DO IT !!!      Thats a wrx sti motor worth NOTHING if you weld it !  

thanks Montana , great information .between myself the cannery engineer and our city shop mechanic they're confident in the procedure , so curious on how much the folded over woodruff key worked the channel edges , we'll find out this weekend were going. to line up all the timing marks ,and I downloaded proper procedure on timing belt change , no welding just jb weld and 661locktite and 140 lbs on the nut , love all these subarus on here guys !!!!!

thanks mike , I concur ,I'm an Alaskan but my subarus been all over down there eastern Washington and Idaho it's even traveled on the ocean on a crab boat , used to sit in it and crank my music !

thanks 777 for getting me rolling on here this weekend it's all happening pump belt and repair I'll keep you posted , reguards NEWBIE!

Grab what's left of the key with some vice grips and twist/yank it out. If the cranks sprocket is stuck tap the holes and use a harmonic balancer puller to pull the sprocket off.

 

More than likely the crank is fine. Just sand/grind down any rough spots, fit the new key and new crank pulley.

Sounds like a plan , do I have to put the engine at top dead center and pull the belt, lining up all the marks and or secure cam and valve pullys so they don't move

I downloaded the service manual so ill follow that unless you got a masters tip or two ? Thank you fair tax 4 u

Edited March 26, 201511 yr by timberwolfz71

Hey this forums awesome relit my spark take care guys and gals !

timber. Faitax is right on. I had the same problem last fall, here is the thread where I got advice and how I did things.

 

There are some pictures also, and it looked just like yours.

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/149417-harmonic-balancer-quit-spinning/?hl=%2Bquit+%2Bspinning

thanks 777 for getting me rolling on here this weekend it's all happening pump belt and repair I'll keep you posted , reguards NEWBIE!

You're welcome!

 

 

Sounds like a plan , do I have to put the engine at top dead center and pull the belt, lining up all the marks and or secure cam and valve pullys so they don't move

You just need to line up all the timing marks. If you have cam locking tools that would probably help with reinstalling of the timing belt and to minimize the chance of something getting damaged, but I don't know if they're absolutely necessary.