Ok i have to apologize in advance for not knowing anything about cars and terminology.

I have Buick Le Sabre 1995 Custom 6 cylinders.. when i bought it 3 years ago it had 50 000 miles on it, now however it has 120 000.. so yes i put on about 70 000 miles in last 3 years.

When the car is on and in PARK there is no noise (or every now and then there is but its minnimal), but as soon as i switch to DRIVE i hear this extremly loud clapping noise (like something is hitting against something else very fast)
If I drive above 30 mph it goes away, as soon as i slow down you can hear it again. The worst is when I'm not moving but the car is in gear.

I took it to 6 different mechanics.. 5 of them said it was water pump, 1 said it was Harmonic Balance (whatever that is)
So i buy the water pump myself (35 bucks, and they were gonna charge me 120 for it) and i took it to a friend who changed it, and explained few things to me. He also changed and filled all lyquids in the car. The car ran perfectly for about 20 minutes, and then it started again.

I dont know what to do..because i really have no money to change everything they think "might" be causing it. I guess I just need suggestions so i can tell them to check something in particualr when i take it to Sears this friday.

I should also add something else that i beliove is a separate issue. I changed both of my front tires within 2 weeks of each other (yea, don't ask) and i dont belive they balanced the tires, so now when I'm driving above 60 mph the car, in particular, my wheil is shaking vigorusly..

So there it is.. ANY help is highly appreciated

Yes, the harmonic balancer is very possible and actually quite common. The Harmonic balancer is the main crankshaft pulley. It is a 2 piece unit joined by rubber. If the rubber breaks internally, it will make a noise like that. They tend to be louder with the A/C on.




78 Corvette Pace Car For Sale-18k mi orig-Florida