ive got a noise coming from the front of my engine. Im almost certian its coming from the harmonic balancer region. Question is if this is out can that affect performance? The car seems to be getting sluggish under the 2000 - 2500rpm mark. After that its ok.

I just replaced the timing kit (timing chain, chain guides, tensioner and crank seal) along with the harmonic balancer. If its an EF and the harmonic balancer has slipped it may throw out the timing or if its an EL with a dizzy the base timing will be hard to set as mine was. I found on mine the dizzy sprocket was out by 1 tooth and the harmonic balancer had slipped by about 5 deg along with slack in the timing chain. After it was all fixed and timing set its alot quieter, smoother and better fuel economy.