Hi every one.This is my first posting.I'm a newbie.
I just bought a 97 4door tracker for parts for my 98 tracker. The harmonic balancer on the 97 is
loose and wobbly.The engine will run, but not well. The engine is suppose to be good,and I was thinking of fixing it before I strip it. Is this a big deal.
 I live on Canada's east coast. New Brunswick.

The harmonic balancer is the bottom pulley correct?I think there is a pin that aligns the pulley so it goes on one way. My brother bought a sami and it wobbled to. He took it off and aligned it the right way. Problem solved.

Thanks for the info . I'll check this out next week

There is another problem that occurs when the crankshaft pulley - I am not sure that it is actually a "harmonic balancer" - is loose:

The key and the keyway that holds the timing belt gear - and the attached crank pulley - in place gets wallowed out because a mechanic/previous owner did not properly tighten the pulley bolt on the end of the crankshaft.  This causes the timing to advance and/or retard which is a very bad thing! 

Many have cleaned up the damage a bit and JB-Welded the key back in place, solving the problem.  Unfortunately, this fix can make it difficult to replace the oil pump, should it fail.

The ultimate repair is a new/remanufactured  crankshaft.

Get a flashlight and a little mirror-on-a-stick tool and inspect the end of the crankshaft to see if the bolt has worked loose.  It may be necessary to remove the radiator fan to make room for the inspection...

I hope that this helps!

There is another problem that occurs when the crankshaft pulley - I am not sure that it is actually a "harmonic balancer" - is loose:

The key and the keyway that holds the timing belt gear - and the attached crank pulley - in place gets wallowed out because a mechanic/previous owner did not properly tighten the pulley bolt on the end of the crankshaft.  This causes the timing to advance and/or retard which is a very bad thing! 

Many have cleaned up the damage a bit and JB-Welded the key back in place, solving the problem.  Unfortunately, this fix can make it difficult to replace the oil pump, should it fail.

The ultimate repair is a new/remanufactured  crankshaft.

Get a flashlight and a little mirror-on-a-stick tool and inspect the end of the crankshaft to see if the bolt has worked loose.  It may be necessary to remove the radiator fan to make room for the inspection...

I hope that this helps!

X2

There is another problem that occurs when the crankshaft pulley - I am not sure that it is actually a "harmonic balancer" - is loose:

The key and the keyway that holds the timing belt gear - and the attached crank pulley - in place gets wallowed out because a mechanic/previous owner did not properly tighten the pulley bolt on the end of the crankshaft.  This causes the timing to advance and/or retard which is a very bad thing! 

Many have cleaned up the damage a bit and JB-Welded the key back in place, solving the problem.  Unfortunately, this fix can make it difficult to replace the oil pump, should it fail.

The ultimate repair is a new/remanufactured  crankshaft.

Get a flashlight and a little mirror-on-a-stick tool and inspect the end of the crankshaft to see if the bolt has worked loose.  It may be necessary to remove the radiator fan to make room for the inspection...

I hope that this helps!

X3 but to add, the torque spec factory corrected in 96+ to 94 ft lbs (& TSB for all earlier to same spec). If the main crank bolt has loosened, you want to check the keyway & cog for sure... & DON"T reuse the old parts, crank cog, bolt & key should be replaced!!
If the keyway is reamed, Locktite makes a material specific to keyway repair: locktite 660 which can be removed later with paint stripper or (I believe) heat, avoiding the JBweld problem.

Jtgh's site has this procedure here:
http://carfix.stufftoread.com/t-belt/damage/index.html
hth

Fuzz