Has anyone had a flywheel balanced?

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Dec 19, 2001 | 08:02 PM

vettfixr

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From: Sewell NJ

Has anyone had a flywheel balanced?

and is this something that a machine shop could do or does it require special equipment. After the holidays I'm going on a crusade to eliminate the vibration that I get after 60 mph. It rattles the shifter and sets up a shake in the car. If I throw the clutch in and let the engine go back to idle it eliminates just about all of it. I'm sure what's left is just the result of 15 year old tires that I should replace. I'd like to start by getting the flywheel and pressure plate balanced and by making sure I have the correct angles on the driveshaft. While I'm at it I might just pull the ratty shifter and put in a Hurst. If anyone has had experience with the flywheel I'd appreciate you views and if anyone knows of a good shop in southern NJ to do the balancing that would be even better.

Dec 19, 2001 | 08:09 PM

Gordonm

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From: Forked River NJ

Re: Has anyone had a flywheel balanced? (vettfixr)

Usually when the motor is balanced this gets balanced with the crank. When my motor was done they had the flywheel and plate to be balanced with the crank. I don't know if just balancing the flywheel will help. Have you had the driveshaft balanced, This took away most of my vibration.

Dec 19, 2001 | 08:20 PM

vettfixr

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From: Sewell NJ

Re: Has anyone had a flywheel balanced? (Gordonm)

I haven't had the driveshaft balanced but when I rebuilt the engine I had the flywheel surfaced. I'm wondering if this could have caused an imbalance. In any event making sure that everything's balanced including the flywheel and driveshaft shouldn't hurt. I don't think there's a problem with the engine balance because I marked everything and reinstalled all the rods and pistons back in the same positions (checked this three times). I'm really shooting in the dark here because I'm not sure if it's any of these parts. They just seem to be the logical place to start. If I rev the engine up past 3000 rpm it's pretty smooth so it may not be the flywheel but a combination of things.

Dec 19, 2001 | 10:10 PM

ksbunting

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From: Sudbury MA

Re: Has anyone had a flywheel balanced? (vettfixr)

I took my flywheel and clutch assembly to a machine shop and had them balanced as an assembly. They mark it after it is balanced so that when you assembly it to the engine you get the clutch and flywheel lined up to the reference marks so it will be in the same position it was when it was balanced. Prevents you from assembling "out of balance"
Cost was approximately $75.00 if i remember correctly.

Dec 19, 2001 | 10:46 PM

Gordonm

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From: Forked River NJ

Re: Has anyone had a flywheel balanced? (ksbunting)

Just remeber if it is an imbalance at a certain rpm it is in the motor. If it is at a certain mph it is driveline imbalance

Dec 20, 2001 | 08:55 AM

vettfixr

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From: Sewell NJ

Re: Has anyone had a flywheel balanced? (ksbunting)

Thanks Kurt, that's what I needed to know. I'll probably call the machine shop that did the resurfacing and check to see if they can do the balance. I'll make sure I bring the clutch assembly too.
Thanks for the tip Gordon. Before I go through this aggravation I'll take it out for a shakedown cruise and make sure what the exact problem is.

Dec 20, 2001 | 09:07 AM

norvalwilhelm

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From: Waterloo ontario Canada

Re: Has anyone had a flywheel balanced? (vettfixr)

It is possible to balance your own flywheel at home . I have a mandrel that fit inside the flywheel to hold it, this mandrel has a very small percision bearing in the center. I also have a square piece of iron that clamps to the table or vise with a small protrusion that fits inside the bearing. This is all homemade. Slide a flywheel on it and it will go to the heavy spot. Careful lightening of this spot and eventually the wheel will not show any spot heavier then another. You can do a very good job. I even do offset balance flywheels by knowing the position of the offset and the amount and then adding this weight to a neutral balanced wheel and then rebalancing. I then bolt the clutch on and check the total assembly for balance. I know this sounds like alot of work but it takes a lunch hour to balance any flywheel. I know they are right then.

Dec 20, 2001 | 09:19 AM

vettfixr

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From: Sewell NJ

Re: Has anyone had a flywheel balanced? (norvalwilhelm)

Thanks Norval, I always wondered if you could do this at home. I always thought you could use a bench top wheel balancer to get it pretty much in the ball park. Someday I might set up a rig but time pressures will probably make me take it to a shop.