Question : Damper separated?

[Jesster]

I originally asked about my damper in April and then it became the least important vehicle problem. I'm now back at it as I need to have the vehicle ready for our daughter to take to school. As I mentioned before, the belt on my 1998 Lumina 3100 was tracking about 1/4" off of the tensioner, in the direction away from the engine. It looks to me like the damper has separated; but I could only find one other instance on the 60DegreeV6 website where that has happened; as they don't usually separate. I've checked the other components in the belt's path and I couldn't find anything with play in it. I've attached 2 pictures that show what i'm looking at.

[Jesster]

I've got a damper!

A friend of mine came over with a damper from the same engine same year along with a tensioner. How difficult is it to pull off a damper? It looks like the bolt in the center of the puller might be too long. I'll remove the coolant overflow tank. Do I need to remove the Computer? It doesn't look to be directly in the way of a torque wrench or puller. Anyone with past experience have any tips? It's a 3100 in a 1998 Lumina with 108,000 miles.

[pocket-rocket]

I'm thinking it should be just below the passenger side frame rail, so pull the tire and splash guards to be sure. You shouldn't have to pull the pcm then. Be sure to use a puller and installer kit. If you don't know anyone with one, rent it from the parts store - DO NOT beat the new one on the crank or use the center bolt to pull it on. Beating it on can damage main bearings and using the bolt has the potential to strip the bolt threads in the crank. Hope this helps

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[SappySE107]

IF you plan to keep the car for a while, I would buy a brand new crank pulley. They are 50-60 bucks. Old ones are all going to end up doing the same thing.