I have been in the process of upgrading my factory balancer to a Summit SFI unit instead. The car was squealing, tearing up belts and had the balancer "wobble" going on. I pulled the OEM balancer about 6 months ago during a cam install (should have upgraded then, oh well). It was pinned during a previous A&A blower install and there were no issues with it running, removing it, or reinstalling it. Well, issues appeared so it was time to change it.

I got the OEM balancer off with the puller tool easy enough. However, when I went to install the Summit SFI balancer, I ran into some issues. I used the Proform tool from Summit found here https://www.summitracing.com/parts/p...yABEgJJxvD_BwE

Everything was going smoothly until it was time to switch over to the old balancer bolt to finish getting it seated. The install tool was STUCK. I used a 3 foot PVC pipe when turning the socket to get the balancer on, but it was nothing like the 250+ ft/lbs they call for at the end of the install. I could not get that install bolt to give at all in the other direction. I was afraid it was going to break off completely and create an entirely new type of mess to fix.

Well, I ended up putting a 4 foot pipe on the socket and applied the slowest backward turn I could, and suddenly, it budged. As I continued reversing it out, I became a little worried when I noticed the bolt was bending from the force I had to apply to turn it. When I finally got it out, I can clearly see that the bottom 3-5 threads are stripped smooth. It also has about a 30* bend a quarter of the way down (*see pics).

My problem is what do I do now? The balancer does not look like it is all the way on, it probably could go back towards the motor another 1-2 ribs worth of pulley width. Should I take the balancer off and inspect it and reinstall with a different install tool? Should I just use the old bolt to finish getting it fully seated and put everything back together? I plan on using a laser alignment tool to check final alignment but for now I'm just trying to figure out my next best steps. The first 4 pics are just to give you an idea how far back the SFI balancer is seated. The last 2 pictures are the $40 tool I used once

 

Ouch....will the stock bolt even start? If so, and if it can be driven home how many turns do you actually get...some may say that there are only a limited number of threads to begin with so it could be a tough call....I am sure other folks who are more optimistic will chime in....when I did mine I used an arp bolt without the supplied washer and people on here thrashed me....I was very careful though....good luck

 

If you need the correct tool to get your balancer on, I have one I could ship to you. The rod has the correct thread pitch and is grade 9/10 steel so no fears of stripped threads.

 

Did you heat the balancer up before you installed it?

 

I hit the balancer with a handheld propane torch before trying the install. Not too much, but enough that I used a shop rag to hold it when putting it in place. I did not feel like there was any problem with the balancer going on. But when I needed to remove the installer tool bolt, it was stuck, and the trouble was just getting the tool back out.

It felt like I had installed it as far as it would go at the bolts current length, so I wanted to screw it out, adjust the spacer nut a bit higher up on the install bolt, and finish pressing it on. But since the tool was apparently a really low quality item Summit shipped me, it seems to have stripped itself when pressing the balancer on just for the first portion of the install. I think the reason it was so difficult to remove was because the threads from the tool had basically fused themselves inside the hole.

So, my question is: should I pull the balancer off completely and try to re-install it from a fresh start (with a new tool obviously)? Or, should I just try to continue installing it by using the old factory bolt to press the balancer the rest of the way on. I have a new ARP bolt for final torquing of the balancer. Also, I still need to pin the new balancer too if that makes a difference.

 

You weren't turning the threaded rod to install the balancer were you?

 

You know, I can't recall. I don't think so though

 

I think you'd be OK if the threads were chased with a thread chaser long enough to reach the bottom of the threads on the crank. Don't use a tap to chase the threads - a tap is the wrong tool. You might get by by using the old balancer bolt as a chaser as shown in the attached video. The threads need to be cleaned up without weakening them as a tap might do. Put a small amount of oil on the chaser and turn it in and out as you go to clear the threads in the chaser. Once cleaned use a new OEM balancer bolt to seat the balancer. Then pitch the bolt you just used and use another new balancer bolt for the final tightening sequence. I'm assuming here that you used your old balancer bolt for the thread chaser and I wouldn't use it to seat the balancer since it's been compromised. OEM bolts are cheap and they're good quality, so don't cheap out by reusing one and creating more problems for yourself. Also be sure to clean the bolt hole well before screwing a bolt into it - the hole needs to be clean of any debris that would interfere with the new bolts.

I'd also cut the grooves in the chaser as far back and as close to the head of the chaser bolt as possible so that it threads in and out of the hole easily. It's going pretty deep and needs good clearance to work as freely as possible.

The long nut on the tool you used is the problem. The wrench wasn't close enough to the balancer and the wrench became a lever that bent the bolt. Better tools are available if you ever need to do the job again.

 

OK, the reason I ask is because it looks like you bottomed out that threaded rod and then proceeded to torque the **** out of it. And that would explain why it seized up, and also why you couldn't draw the balancer all the way down. The way that tool works is you just thread the rod down into the crank finger-tight until it bottoms out, and then torque that big nut spinning it down the rod to press on the balancer. You should not be applying any torque to the threaded rod itself. Watch this vid from about 1:50 to 2:30. See how he's using that tool?

 

Pull the balancer. Clean the threads. Reinstall properly. When you have a problem, sometimes its better to start all over and double check. As others have said, it looks like to tried to install it by tightening the rod and not the actual press part.

 

I agree, pull the balancer and clean the threads if they aren't totally f-ed and get a new tool to do the reinstall... it should not take much force at all to install a balancer so stop if it gets too difficult... you need to hold the end of the threaded rod stationary with a wrench or socket and use a wrench to turn the shaft that is pushing against the balancer... as the balancer goes on you may need to back the shaft off a bit and turn the threaded rod into the crank to make sure you have enough threads engaged... I hope your crank isn't screwed

 

I used that same tool when I did my HB install a few years ago. It went on very easily. I did make sure I vacuumed out & cleaned the crank threads/hole before reinstall though.
Absolutely no heat needed in reinstall, was very easy.

 

Not trying to "pile on", after the fact, but I agree.

If it were me, I'd be looking at using a thread chaser, to clean out the crank threads, then installing an ARP bolt.

 

Thanks guys, I think I must have bottomed the bolt out like you all said. So, I will pull the balancer, use a thread chaser as suggested and reinstall using a new tool the right way.

Do you think my crank is probably still alright or should I be worried about that too?

 

My hunch would be that the crank's material is "harder" that the install tool's, therefore while the tool's end is bunged up, the crank should be OK.

 

Looks like the crank won the fight.