so ive looked at other threads about this noise. and the most likely culprit is the harmonic balancer. but i have a few other concerns before i start replacing anything. the noise is def. coming from the belt area, at idle speed, with the hood up, i can see the belt tentioner "bouncing" up and down, not alot, maybe 1cm. i do not think this is normal, or good. also i can see a slight bit of smoke coming from the bottom left corner of the engine, standing at the right wheel. AND there is a black residue coming off the s-belt, not oily, more like rubbery goo.

Just did an oil change last week, oil level is full, and its clean.
its an 05/02 build MC.

 

Sounds like a new tensioner is needed.

 

I agree, but what would cause the belt to smoke and "melt" like that? The smoke is lower than the tensioner

 

The balancer is lower than the tensioner. If the balancer is shot it will allow the belt to contact things that are very close by and the friction caused the smoke. There is not a lot of clearance around this belt. A bad tensioner could also allow the belt to contact nearby parts.

DO NOT DRIVE THIS CAR. The water pump cannot be fully functional at this point and driving is putting the engine at risk.
I have had two balancer failures, I speak from experience. I now have an aftermarket 'solid' replacement.

 

Recomandations on where to get a replacement balancer?

 

finally got to tear into things tonight, turns out it was infact the balancer....

so what are my options for a replacement?

 

Cheapest route would be a solid pulley which is debatable on whether it decreases engine longevity.

Then there's the 05/06 oem pulley, which can still fail.

I would go with an ATI damper. It's not much more money than OEM and it works a LOT better.

 

went with the oem, everything is all back together. hardest part as finding a bolt to use to get the pulley off/on. only 1 store 20 min away had a 12mm bolt long enough. could not find any threaded rod in 12x1.75 like the how-to said.

 

Glad you have it running good again! May I ask why you went with OEM as opposed to ATI?