Make sure, you don't want it coming loose. 
Another balancer question
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 140
Likes: 1
From: Whitesboro Texas
Another balancer question
I replaced the front seal on my 99 this weekend. I replaced the balancer not to long ago and didn't change the seal at that time then it developed a leak. I knew better. I changed the seal, reisntalled the balancer with a new bolt. The balancer seated at 4mm clearance. The spec is 2.6 to 4.8 I believe. I torqued it to 37 lbs and then went 140 degrees on the torque angle gage.
Last time I did it I had my son on a cheater while I watched the angle gage. This time I did it by myself. I was able to get the 140 degrees without the assistance of a cheater. Does this sound right to anyone? Maybe I'm paranoid. I wanted to get a couple of opinions before i finish buttoning everything up.
thanks
Rick
Last time I did it I had my son on a cheater while I watched the angle gage. This time I did it by myself. I was able to get the 140 degrees without the assistance of a cheater. Does this sound right to anyone? Maybe I'm paranoid. I wanted to get a couple of opinions before i finish buttoning everything up.
thanks
Rick
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 19,465
Likes: 1,167
From: Dyer, IN
I replaced the front seal on my 99 this weekend. I replaced the balancer not to long ago and didn't change the seal at that time then it developed a leak. I knew better. I changed the seal, reisntalled the balancer with a new bolt. The balancer seated at 4mm clearance. The spec is 2.6 to 4.8 I believe. I torqued it to 37 lbs and then went 140 degrees on the torque angle gage.
Last time I did it I had my son on a cheater while I watched the angle gage. This time I did it by myself. I was able to get the 140 degrees without the assistance of a cheater. Does this sound right to anyone? Maybe I'm paranoid. I wanted to get a couple of opinions before i finish buttoning everything up.
thanks
Rick
Last time I did it I had my son on a cheater while I watched the angle gage. This time I did it by myself. I was able to get the 140 degrees without the assistance of a cheater. Does this sound right to anyone? Maybe I'm paranoid. I wanted to get a couple of opinions before i finish buttoning everything up.
thanks
Rick
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 19,465
Likes: 1,167
From: Dyer, IN
I replaced the front seal on my 99 this weekend. I replaced the balancer not to long ago and didn't change the seal at that time then it developed a leak. I knew better. I changed the seal, reisntalled the balancer with a new bolt. The balancer seated at 4mm clearance. The spec is 2.6 to 4.8 I believe. I torqued it to 37 lbs and then went 140 degrees on the torque angle gage.
Last time I did it I had my son on a cheater while I watched the angle gage. This time I did it by myself. I was able to get the 140 degrees without the assistance of a cheater. Does this sound right to anyone? Maybe I'm paranoid. I wanted to get a couple of opinions before i finish buttoning everything up.
thanks
Rick
Last time I did it I had my son on a cheater while I watched the angle gage. This time I did it by myself. I was able to get the 140 degrees without the assistance of a cheater. Does this sound right to anyone? Maybe I'm paranoid. I wanted to get a couple of opinions before i finish buttoning everything up.
thanks
Rick
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
Bud,,, you well know what can happen if that bolt backs out,, If it were me,,, I would use the bolt thats in there now to do the 240 ft/lb seat and throw in a NEW bolt properly torqued to factory spec. Then you will sleep a LOT better!
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Instructor
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 245
Likes: 0
From: Catawissa Pa
I don`t mean to hijack this thread, but how are you holding the crank shaft from turning when you torque the bolt? The kent Moore holder is almost $100.00. I may replace my harmonic damper in the future.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 140
Likes: 1
From: Whitesboro Texas
I took the cap off of an old oxygen bottle from a cutting torch rig, cut the top out of it then cut slots to match the factory balancer spokes. I then took a piece of 1/2" rebar and welded it around the old cap. I used a friends welder. I left about a 2ft handle so the bar will hold the balancer against the frame rail. It works great and I have 0 dollars in it.
An update on my previous adventure. I found my notes from the last time I did this and my balancer previously seated at 3mm clearance. I turned my home made balancer install tool around so I had new treads on the drive bolt, put new nuts on it, oiled it up good and got the balancer back to 3mm when it seated. I knew something wasn't right. I feel much better now. And I'm not taking any chance. I'm installing another new bolt. I've already had the balancer back off once. I'm not going to let it happen again.
Thanks for all your input. You guys helped confirm my gut feeling.
Thanks again.
Rick
An update on my previous adventure. I found my notes from the last time I did this and my balancer previously seated at 3mm clearance. I turned my home made balancer install tool around so I had new treads on the drive bolt, put new nuts on it, oiled it up good and got the balancer back to 3mm when it seated. I knew something wasn't right. I feel much better now. And I'm not taking any chance. I'm installing another new bolt. I've already had the balancer back off once. I'm not going to let it happen again.
Thanks for all your input. You guys helped confirm my gut feeling.
Thanks again.
Rick
