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ATI Balancer Install

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Old May 6, 2022 | 07:26 PM
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Default ATI Balancer Install

I have recently pinned the crank and assembled the ATI harmonic balancer. I went to install the balancer first using this recommended install tool and once it was tight, I swapped to the old GM crank bolt to continue tightening.



I got the old bolt as tight as I could trying to seat the balancer. It looks like the pulleys line up ok, but the snout of the crank is not flush.











Do you all think this looks seated? If so, I will go ahead and install the ARP bolt and torque it to 235 ft/lbs.
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Old May 6, 2022 | 07:31 PM
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More than likely it is down. Did you heat the balancer at all?

I like to oven heat to a solid 200 degrees. This won't melt the seal contrary to some peoples fears.

This will enable you to seat the balancer easily and feel a solid stop at the end when it is seated.

I use the cheap threaded all thread install tools all the time and have never felt the need to switch over to a factory bolt to finish the job.

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Old May 6, 2022 | 07:40 PM
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Originally Posted by Mr. Black
More than likely it is down. Did you heat the balancer at all?

I like to oven heat to a solid 200 degrees. This won't melt the seal contrary to some peoples fears.

This will enable you to seat the balancer easily and feel a solid stop at the end when it is seated.

I use the cheap threaded all thread install tools all the time and have never felt the need to switch over to a factory bolt to finish the job.
I probably should have heated it first but didn't. Do you think I should put the install tool back on and just crank on it a bit to get it flush? I can tell you with the stock bolt, there was no more room to snug it up - it got tight tight. I also have an impact but don't really want to use it on the install side of things.
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Old May 6, 2022 | 07:46 PM
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You are on the right track and they normally aren't flush. There is usually a gap. I've never installed an ATI so I can't vouch for how much gap with theirs.

If I were you I would go ahead and go full torque to 235 with the ARP bolt.

Also In my experience since I don't have a torque wrench that will go that high I always end up torqueing the ARP bolt with a 36" breaker bar by just pulling with all my might and calling it good lol.

If you've never torqued an ARP bolt before, that is a crazy amount of force.
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Old May 6, 2022 | 07:54 PM
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Originally Posted by Mr. Black
You are on the right track and they normally aren't flush. There is usually a gap. I've never installed an ATI so I can't vouch for how much gap with theirs.

If I were you I would go ahead and go full torque to 235 with the ARP bolt.

Also In my experience since I don't have a torque wrench that will go that high I always end up torqueing the ARP bolt with a 36" breaker bar by just pulling with all my might and calling it good lol.

If you've never torqued an ARP bolt before, that is a crazy amount of force.
Lol yeah I'm not looking forward to it. I'll search around a bit and may end up just torquing it down tonight. Thanks!
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Old May 6, 2022 | 09:53 PM
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Go ahead and torque it. the 235 ft/lbs will be more than enough to fully seat the damper if you haven't already seated it with the installer. Mine didn't sit flush with the crank either when I seated it with the installer.
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Old May 7, 2022 | 07:11 AM
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Did you pin the ATI balancer to the crank?
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Old May 7, 2022 | 07:16 AM
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Originally Posted by pianoman90
I have recently pinned the crank and assembled the ATI harmonic balancer.

Originally Posted by frodo84
Did you pin the ATI balancer to the crank?
It's literally his first sentence.
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Old May 7, 2022 | 08:35 AM
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I didn't heat my ATI balancer, when I installed it. I did, however, only press it into place using the threaded installer. After that, I installed an ARP bolt, torqued it into place, and called it a day. IIRC, the factory shop manual states that there will be a "gap", after drawing it into place, before the final torque with the new bolt.
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Old May 7, 2022 | 09:15 AM
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Sounds good! I’ll try to get it torqued today after work. Fingers crossed
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Old May 7, 2022 | 09:21 AM
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Originally Posted by Mr. Black
It's literally his first sentence.
Ah, thanks. I was thinking he would pin it from the front rather than through the outside of the hub.
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Old May 7, 2022 | 10:39 AM
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Originally Posted by Mr. Black
More than likely it is down. Did you heat the balancer at all?

I like to oven heat to a solid 200 degrees. This won't melt the seal contrary to some peoples fears.

This will enable you to seat the balancer easily and feel a solid stop at the end when it is seated.

I use the cheap threaded all thread install tools all the time and have never felt the need to switch over to a factory bolt to finish the job.
I agree, 200° won't hurt a thing. Hell, the air coming thru the radiator and condenser is close to that, or even above that, on a 90°+ day. If OP is close to being seated, just put the ARP bolt in, and start torquing it down. You'll know when its seated, because you wont reach 235lbs until it is seated........
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Old May 8, 2022 | 07:30 AM
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So it was a struggle but I gave it hell and was able to get it torqued to 235 ft/lbs last night. Everything looks like it is aligned at this point. I'm hoping to get a laser alignment tool to verify once I get the blower in the car.

Thanks guys!
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Old May 8, 2022 | 12:18 PM
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Originally Posted by pianoman90
So it was a struggle but I gave it hell and was able to get it torqued to 235 ft/lbs last night. Everything looks like it is aligned at this point. I'm hoping to get a laser alignment tool to verify once I get the blower in the car.

Thanks guys!
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Old May 9, 2022 | 12:27 PM
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I replaced my HB last year. I could see that my factory HB wasnt flush once i had gotten the bolt removed. To take note of its position on the crank i put a stack of washers near it to use as a measuring reference. I added washers until the top washer was flush with the front edge of the balancer. I set them aside to use kind of like a caliper or tape measure later. When i installed the new balancer i pressed it on until it was flush with the stack of washers. Once it was pressed on in the right spot i put an ARP bolt in and torqued it. I didnt leave the washers in there, i just used them as a measuring guide to get the new HB pressed into the correct position.

Basically what im saying is, the HB isnt necessarily going to be flush depending on the car.


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