The mechanic told me to go the dealership because it is the crank pulley balancer that is making the noise. He said it could create a big problem for the motor, it is easy to fix, the dealership should cover a part of the cost even though my 3 yr. warranty has ended. Is this true?
The crank balancer is your harmonic balancer (or vibration damper). Are you confused yet? It’s on the front of the crankshaft and is very important to the life of your engine. It regulates or reduces the torsional vibration in your crankshaft. It’s also the mounting surface for your engine drive belt pulleys. How long has the noise been there? Did you notice a vibration as you drove the vehicle? The dealership may help with the cost of a new balancer but you will have to ask them. It’s not a hard job or expensive one either as long as the balancer did not damage your crank from excessive wobbling.
On our Buick Park Ave, we were slightly over the 50,000 mile limit when the balancer went out. The dealer covered it for us no charge. But we were only a couple thousand over if I recall.
Have you been a loyal customer of the Dealership? I have seen things covered out of warranty before, just depends on the mood of the Service Manager. Will the Dealer be your new srevice partner or are you just a “bad weather friend”.
Not knowing why a Dealership extends this type of service makes it hard to say if they will or won’t. They probably hope you will become a customer (not only for a new car but for service)
You will probably have to play dumb and just put your car in for service to find out what the noise is, I can’t see you bringing the car and saying “My mechanic says change this part and don’t charge me much”. They will look your car over and probably give you a list of items they want to do (like flushes and such) if you decline all work but the reduced rate items, well it looks bad.