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I have an OEM replacement Harmonic Balancer I just installed on my 80 L82 that I am doing full restoration on.
I don’t think it’s fully seated given the about 3/4 inch difference between the balancer and crank snout. However the balancer pulleys are perfectly aligned to the water pump pulley (which I cannot move) which indicates it is where it needs to be.
This is a problem isn’t it? Does the front edge of the balancer need to be flush or close to the snout?
Note - I took the car apart 9 years ago and I don’t have any points of reference to the way it used to be. Also, the motor is recently rebuilt and I put a new timing cover on it.
The damper snout will bottom out on the crank timing gear. You are all the way on when it hits and the installer gets tight. You should be able to feel it.
What method did you use to install the balancer and did you use a torque wrench on the crankshaft bolt?
Slowly threaded it on with a new appropriately sized bolt. Removed that, not torquing down with a different new bolt (larger head) until I know it is properly seated.
The damper snout will bottom out on the crank timing gear. You are all the way on when it hits and the installer gets tight. You should be able to feel it.
I am either close or already there, will need to measure.
My concern is, even if it bottomed out against the timing gear, that I might have a wrong balancer given that it is extended beyond the crank by 3/4 in.
Slowly threaded it on with a new appropriately sized bolt. Removed that, not torquing down with a different new bolt (larger head) until I know it is properly seated.
From: At my Bar drinking and wrenching in Lafayette Colorado
Originally Posted by usmarinejohn
Slowly threaded it on with a new appropriately sized bolt.
You got lucky... that's a really good way to strip the threads out of the crankshaft if the balancer fits a little bit on the tight on the crank snout... Crankshaft installation tools are not very expensive, and will save you from ripping the threads out of the crank and doing a HeliCoil repair:
Make sure you use a purpose-made balancer attach bolt with the fat balancer washer. This is the ARP balancer bolt:
Using the tool, you can "feel" when the balancer snout hits the crank sprocket, without any risk of tearing out the crank snout threads. All that said, your installation looks correct - the crank snout is supposed to be recessed back from the front of the balancer surface as your photo shows. That's why you need to use the special super-thick hardened washer with the special balancer bolt to prevent the washer from "caving into" the open hole recess.
You got lucky... that's a really good way to strip the threads out of the crankshaft if the balancer fits a little bit on the tight on the crank snout... Crankshaft installation tools are not very expensive, and will save you from ripping the threads out of the crank and doing a HeliCoil repair:
Make sure you use a purpose-made balancer attach bolt with the fat balancer washer. This is the ARP balancer bolt:
Using the tool, you can "feel" when the balancer snout hits the crank sprocket, without any risk of tearing out the crank snout threads. All that said, your installation looks correct - the crank snout is supposed to be recessed back from the front of the balancer surface as your photo shows. That's why you need to use the special super-thick hardened washer with the special balancer bolt to prevent the washer from "caving into" the open hole recess.
Lars
I threaded it on initially by hand, with a long breaker bar, and a grade 8 12 pt brand new bolt. I didn’t have any issues, it did back up against the crank gear and then I removed the bolt and placed in a for purpose elongated head grade 8 balancer bolt with the big washer.
I don’t think I stressed the crank threads doing it that way, though I only did it that way because I got bad advice from Oreilly when I went up to rent a balancer installer.
From: At my Bar drinking and wrenching in Lafayette Colorado
John -
As noted, you got lucky pulling the balancer on using a bolt like that - I'm very glad it worked out well for you. You have no idea how many times I have had to repair crankshaft snout bolt threads after people have pulled the threads out doing the installation just as you did. Being ex-military, I assume you knew to lubricate the bolt threads before installing the bolt, and that probably saved the operation - most people install hardware dry, and that will rip the threads up pretty good... A lot of high performance balancers have a more aggressive interference fit to the crank snout, and cannot be pulled on using the bolt method without thread damage.
Lars
80 L82 Harmonic Balancer Install / Seating
