Need some advice on balancer bolt installation;
Went to have my car dyno'd a few days ago, and ran into a little problem. When I started a second run, a puff of smoke came from the engine compartment. After checking, I also had a puddle of oil under the car. After backing off the dyno,and making sure the oil leak wasn't heavy, I started home. A few miles down the road, I heard a noise and pulled over to find that my AC belt had come off, and my alternator belt was partially shreadded. I limped it home, and on closer inspection found that the balancer bolt had backed out, allowing the balancer to ease forward about 1/4" +.
Questions;
1. It is an auto, so the motor turns when I try to tighten the bolt. Is it possible to "hold" the engine while I tighen it with the 9/16 nuts located in the torque tube openinng (holding the torque tube I assume) or will these break against the torque required to tighen the bolt? I have headers and pulling the starter requires pulling the headers. Is there any other way to prevent the engine from turning?
2. Since it appears that the bolt must not have been properly stretched to yeild during my cam installation, is it possible to torque it down (to pull in the balancer) and leave it? (I can't get it out with the rack in place)
Any help in getting it back in action will be appricaiated

 

I am afraid you are looking at replacing the balancer... It is very possible that it has spun on the crank, and no longer will fit tight.

I don't know about holding the crank, as I have a stick.

I was involved with the installation of a Magnuson supercharger on a C6 recently, and I don't recall any problem with the crank turning, it was an automatic also.

Contact me off list and I will give you the name and number of one of their project managers, I am sure he can help, he writes the manuals for Magnuson. You can review their info on line, it is very good, with detailed steps for replacing the balancer bolt, and also drilling the damper and crank to pin it so the balacer doesn't spin. You might want to buy the pieces to do this from them so you will not have this problem again.

 

Best way to hold it is to pull the flywheel inspection plate and get the tool that locks into the flywheel teeth. This way there is minimal chance of damage.

I also agree, the balancer should be tossed and a new one installed. If it was the original balancer re-installed, I am not confident that once removed they are that re-usable. This is just my opinion, but they are just a mild press fit.

Was this dyno with your new Dart heads?

 

Where is the flywheel inspection plate located? the only access I was aware of was with the starter removed.
I know you have to remove the rack to install a cam, but I wonder if the rack can be moved enough to R&R the balancer.
I have not installed the Darts yet, I was just getting a baseline before installing them. I didn't really get a good run. We were in the middle of a run when the problem started and we aborted
I was going to try and get them on in a couple of weeks, but now I have to get this problem resolved.

 

You'll need to at least replace the bolt since it is torque-to-yield and, thus, not reusable. You can get a replacement from GM or a reusable version from ARP. I would replace the crank pulley regardless since it's possibly toast already - I wouldn't trust it if it looks OK anyway. Also, I would pin the pulley to the crank as suggested above to avoid this issue in the future.

You can move the rack out of the way enough to get at the bolt and pulley without removing it from the engine bay. Take out the passenger wheel and shove the rack to that side and you'll have plenty of room ro r&r the pulley.

You can get a flywheel holding tool from GM - it replaces the starter for access to the fw. The inspection cover, fyi, is on the bottom of the bell housing attached to the back of the motor. I have kept A4 C5 motors from turning by shoving a screwdriver through there and into the flywheel.

 

Thanks for the info guys; It just seems to get worse and worse. At least if I have to pull the balancer, I might as well get an underdrive one for a few extra horses, unless some of you have had issues with them. (I've heard some say that they don't produce any extra power)
Patches; Which bolts (and lines?) will need to be removed to move the rack to the side?
If I tighten the bolt, is it safe to drive any significant distance to get the work done. I'm sure the guy that did the cam will help me on this, but he's a good distance from me.

 

here is a link, complete with pics of what you need to do.
Balancer removal

 

Thanks AK

 

Since you are going in anyhow, you may want to consider pinning the crank pulley, it will help prevent this later. I would also replace the timing cover seal since it is uncertain if it suffered any damage and its only a few buck extra.

Good luck.

 

I plan on trying to pin the crank, but if I can figure how to get the rack out of the way without removing it, I can pull the balancer without removing anything else. I was concerned about whether or not the seal would be damaged and need replacing. It appears to be a LOT of extra work to get the timing cover off

 

Since you are there with the replacement, it might make sense to replace the timing chain with a beefed up item, and a upgraded oil pump as part of the install.

 

 

You won't need to pull the timing cover to replace the seal, just be careful when you do it. The new seal presses in with finger pressure so it is just a matter of removing the old one.

 

Sound's good, but my luck hasn't been the greatest lately.

Had anyone replaced the seal without pulling the cover?

 

Not sure if you are doing a cam, but the springs on the Dart heads are pretty stout so a new timing chain would be beneficial if you are going in that far.

Just figured I would throw this out there

 

I've already done the cam. I didn't replace the chain when I changed it since the car only had about 40,000 miles.
If the chain is OK, I should be able to pull ONLY the balancer if I can get the rack out of the way. If I have to pull the timing cover, I will proably have to pull all of the brackets and pumps. (unless the cover will come off with just the water pump removal.)

 

I removed the starter and used a steel hanger that is used to clamp threaded rods to I beams. You can buy one at Home Depot for about $3.00. It fits perfectly like it was made for it and squeezes right at the right spot on the gear teeth and causes no damage. If you like I can post a picture later.

 

My cover was off when I replaced the seal, but it didn't take much pressure to remove or install. You could probably leave it on. You will however, need to loosen all the bolts so as to properly center and reinstall the crank pulley. You leave it loose as you tighten the pulley so it centers itself....when you are finished tightening the pulley, you can tighten the timing cover.

 

I'd like to see a photo if you have one. That would be better than a screw driver.

Not having been in there lately, and not having the car here at work to check it out, can the cover be removed with just the WP removed, or are there some brackets in the way?

 

When I replaced the balancer on my daughter's '99, I used the engine accessory belt to keep the crankshaft from turning. Put the belt on the crank pulley and wrap it back around on itself (which way depends on whether you're removing or installing the bolt) then find a bracket, bolt, or some other structure to slip the other end over. Now turn the crank until all slack has been taken out of the belt and then torque away! The beauty of this method is you don't have to hold it with one hand while loosening/tightening with the other hand, it's easy to install, the belt holds tighter as you put more torque on the bolt, and the best part is it's free!

Are you sure the whole balancer is coming off the crank or has the balancer failed and it's the outer ring coming off? The outer ring came off in my case. Good luck with the repairs.