mycatsadiva

Hello,

I have scoured the forums and haven't found a thread addressing my issue. I apologize if I missed the response to my question somewhere in one of these threads.

I have a 2000 Camaro 3800 L36 Series II engine. My crankshaft sensor went out and during replacement the mechanic noticed I needed a new balancer. GM no longer makes the part that goes on my car, #12563281. There are no aftermarket companies who have this part. There are no part stores who have this part. I am now down to looking at salvage yards through car-part.com (Awesome resource by the way!) to find the exact replacement part.

My question: I have been told that I can put the old style balancer on the car in place of the part GM designed for my engine. But I have also read that the old style balancer could create a problem with my engine--timing problems, misfires, etc. Is this true?

I am asking for clarity as it seems silly to me to pay $75 bucks for the original balancer they put on my car from a salvage yard with 110,000 miles on it than it is to just buy a brand new old-styled balancer for the same price. Is it really that big of a deal? Should I go with an exact replacement even though the part mileage will be really high?

What am I looking at in modifications if I put the traditional styled balancer on my car instead of the original one GM designed for the 2000-2002 Camaro?

Thank you for your help.

cars3

I just checked advance autoparts website for your car and they have 6 of them listed. O'reileys found 0.

mycatsadiva

Thanks for your input. The balancers at Advance are not the same part. GM no longer makes the part for my car. I have been looking at salvage yards to get the exact part for the car. I am trying to find out if I put a different styled part on my 12 year old car, what am I looking at in modifications to the crankshaft? The Cam? Or anything else I might have to tweak so I don't damage the engine.

Old style balancer
http://www.tacreationsusa.com/images.../959738bal.jpg

New style (the one made for my car)
http://www.tacreationsusa.com/images.../980238bal.jpg

I have been told by a few people that I can use the old timey balancer, but not one person has said any more. So, that's it...just grab any old GM part and slap it on there? This car is my daily driver, I can't jack this up, which is why I am trying to get more information from people who actually know how these engines work. I am a major novice and I really need some serious help here.

cars3

Well, I maybe able to help you out here. And I mean maybe! I have a friend with a wrecked 98 firbird with the V6 engine. He sold the engine a few years ago, but kept all the accessories. Maybe he still has it and i know I could get it for free. The only cost to you is Shipping.

But here's the deal. I'm leaving tomorrow to go on vaction for labor day weekend and I will not be back until Tuesday, and I would not get the chance to even get the part until the next weekend. So, what I'm saying here is if I can get the part, and if the part will work from a 98-00, you would be looking at about 2 weeks. I know it's not good because this is your daily driver. Fell free to pm me.

mycatsadiva

Found out on V6 forums that I can put the old style balancer on my car as long as I do a CASE learn. Of course, I also found out while reading in that forum several people said regardless of doing the CASE or not, it's still best to replace the part with the same like part.