Harmonic balancer
Thread Starter
Cruising
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 10
Likes: 0
From: Easton MA
Harmonic balancer
The balancer has slipped on my 1980....besides not being able to set the timing, is there any problem with driving it? I want to enjoy cruising this summer and will add it to the todo list for the winter.
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 12,706
Likes: 329
From: Scottsdale Arizona
Yes, there is a risk that the outer ring will come off and do significant damage. The outer ring is pretty heavy and only held in place by a bonding band of rubber to the inner ring and if it has slipped, the bonding layer is certainly going.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 971
Likes: 0
From: Rockwood TN
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,698
Likes: 9
From: Johnson City TN
When mine slipped, it started chewing up the front cover. Fortunately I was pulling the engine anyway, so no further damage was done.Get that thing out ASAP!
Good luck.
Intermediate
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 46
Likes: 0
From: Connecticut
The balancer is also "balanced" to the engine as well.Driving with a slipped balancer is catamount to driving an "out of balance" engine and could also do internal damage as well. Get an ATI or Fluidamper!
Race Director
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 10,046
Likes: 675
From: FL
Actually, the 350's are internally balanced. The balance will not change if the ring slips. The only small block that uses the balancer to actually balance the engine is the 400.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 14,380
Likes: 6,391
From: At my Bar drinking and wrenching in Lafayette Colorado
We noticed that the balancer had slipped, so we did a TDC verification to establish a new timing line just to get the timing set. Once we set the timing, the owner drove the car home at 65 mph....
At 65 mph, the ring then separated from the balancer and exploded. This ripped the entire balancer apart, ripped the timing chain cover off the engine, tore the water pump off the front of the block, and cut the upper and lower radiator hoses. The exploding parts destroyed the fan shroud, fan, and pulleys. The parts had enough energy that pieces of the balancer hit the exhaust manifolds and sheared the manifolds off the cylinder heads, ripped the clutch dustcover off the bellhousing, and broke the bellhousing in 3 pieces.
Other than that, there was no problem driving the car with a slipped balancer...
Racer
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 455
Likes: 0
From: Buffalo New York
Once the outer ring slips, it can actually come off and fail completely. The last one I saw that slipped did the following:
We noticed that the balancer had slipped, so we did a TDC verification to establish a new timing line just to get the timing set. Once we set the timing, the owner drove the car home at 65 mph....
At 65 mph, the ring then separated from the balancer and exploded. This ripped the entire balancer apart, ripped the timing chain cover off the engine, tore the water pump off the front of the block, and cut the upper and lower radiator hoses. The exploding parts destroyed the fan shroud, fan, and pulleys. The parts had enough energy that pieces of the balancer hit the exhaust manifolds and sheared the manifolds off the cylinder heads, ripped the clutch dustcover off the bellhousing, and broke the bellhousing in 3 pieces.
Other than that, there was no problem driving the car with a slipped balancer...
We noticed that the balancer had slipped, so we did a TDC verification to establish a new timing line just to get the timing set. Once we set the timing, the owner drove the car home at 65 mph....
At 65 mph, the ring then separated from the balancer and exploded. This ripped the entire balancer apart, ripped the timing chain cover off the engine, tore the water pump off the front of the block, and cut the upper and lower radiator hoses. The exploding parts destroyed the fan shroud, fan, and pulleys. The parts had enough energy that pieces of the balancer hit the exhaust manifolds and sheared the manifolds off the cylinder heads, ripped the clutch dustcover off the bellhousing, and broke the bellhousing in 3 pieces.
Other than that, there was no problem driving the car with a slipped balancer...
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