Does this engine have one? I am getting the idea that my mechanic is trying to rip me off. He told me my engine needed a harmonic balancer, and that he saw my car overheat (I have never seen it overheat). I took it in to see if it need an o2 sensor. Help me out here guys.

VaNXman,

Our motors (SR20DE(T)), like most I know of, come with harmonic balancers from the factory.
The harmonic balancer is the pulley on the front of the crankshaft that provides the power to run the belt. It's made up of three pieces. There's the steel inner part, which bolts to the crankshaft; there's a rubber sleeve around that which dampens crankshaft vibrations; and then there's the outer steel part, which has grooves for the belt.
It's possible that yours has become defective or is out of alignment with your other pulleys. If this is the case, now is the perfect time to upgrade to underdrive pulleys. If you do, you will notice that the crank pulley that comes with the underdrive pulley kit does not have a harmonic balancer. Our motors are also internally balanced, are short in length and very stiff, so a harmonic balancer is not neccesarily a requirement.
I have upgraded to underdrive pullies and have not experienced any problems whatsoever.
Regarding your overheating issues, you may want to have a close look at your water pump and all other parts of your cooling system. Our waterpumps are know to cavitate at high rpms. Underdrive pullies actually stop this from happening since they allow the water pump to rotate at a slower speed.

Hope this helps,

Yes it has one, but its primary purpose is to reduce drivetrain noise. SRs are internally balanced, it shouldn't need replacing. I'd try a different monkey.

tell him that he's full of it and that your are going to call the better business beuro. (spelling?)

hes probably just an idiot, go try someone else and get another oppinion.

Our stock crank pullies have a rubber dampener in them? That BAD news if they do :(

Our stock crank pullies have a rubber dampener in them? That BAD news if they do
If you're talking about the SP/STS rule on UD pullies, not necessarily... what matters is how it's referred to in the FSM, which IIRC, is "crank pulley". I am almost positive we are clear to use them... nevermind that I can't afford them :mad:. If we aren't allowed to, I see some protest bait in my region ;).

Josh

Yeah that's what I was talking about. I guess it's not that bad because I can't afford them either...