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Looking for suggestions, Harmonic balancer bolt hit power steering rack under extreme driving conditions on track ,
newish stock motor mounts
any suggestions
Wow, if that was my car I would remove the balancer bolt and machine the head of it down slightly while adding a rounded edge to the out side of it which might not be necessary after machining. By the looks of it you could machine down about .125 off that head and still have plenty of meat to tighten the bolt with.
That looks like an ARP bolt to me no-thing is wrong with a little belly rub just need to tighten the bolt but pinning the dampener will keep the bolt from backing off again prob is getting back in there will take a few hours, good luck to the OP.
It is an ARP bolt and I do not believe that it has backed out , I think I am going to replace it with another ARP bolt that i will cut 1/2 the head off , Would solid Motor and tranny mounts stop the engine form moving forward? Could have been just a rock got in there and got caught but it sure looks like the motor moved forward . I have also ordered a Stock Harmonic Balance bolt and will see if that might have less of a head as long as its the same thread.
Impossible for the motor to move forward the front and rear cradled are doweled in place that bolt is loose likely can turn it with your fingers no need for solid mounts that could proof to be a mistake.
Replacing the Bolt should not be hard with the rack out, How difficult is it to pin the Balancer at that point?
Originally Posted by 928nomore
It is an ARP bolt and I do not believe that it has backed out , I think I am going to replace it with another ARP bolt that i will cut 1/2 the head off , Would solid Motor and tranny mounts stop the engine form moving forward? Could have been just a rock got in there and got caught but it sure looks like the motor moved forward . I have also ordered a Stock Harmonic Balance bolt and will see if that might have less of a head as long as its the same thread.
Don't cut up bolts, fix it properly. It looks like your bolt backed off and allowed the balancer to walk forward, its a fairly common problem on incorrect installs.
You can use the ATI kit made for your balancer to pin the crank, ATI part 918993. Then align you balancer to the installed pin on installation. Torque the bolt properly and you should not have any issues going forward.
It is an ARP bolt and I do not believe that it has backed out , I think I am going to replace it with another ARP bolt that i will cut 1/2 the head off , Would solid Motor and tranny mounts stop the engine form moving forward? Could have been just a rock got in there and got caught but it sure looks like the motor moved forward . I have also ordered a Stock Harmonic Balance bolt and will see if that might have less of a head as long as its the same thread.
Doesn’t look like the rack is damaged, other than cosmetically. That ARP bolt is clearly backed out, which they tend to do if they’re not properly torqued with plenty of Red 271 Locktite. When it’s fully seated and tightened, you wouldn’t even see the head from that angle. I had a friend who threw one of those through his radiator on the track with an LS1. The stock bolt is fine to use, but I would make sure to clean the threads properly and use Red locktite on that too.
The motor can move forward under braking if your motor mounts are shot but no where near enough for crank bolt to contact steering rack.The bolt is recessed in the hb and could not contact rack unless bolt became loose.You can reuse that ARP crank bolt and it wont be an issue
Thanks, I am going to reinstall a Stock Bolt which does not protrude out as much , no way it backed out, was torqued at 270 ft pounds
Will reinstall with red locktite and a stock GM bolt.
And yes, the rack sprung a leak from the bolt going into it. I doubt i will get my core charge back on the replacement when they see it.
This will be my third rack from Car Steering.com they are great to work with
Some people are just harder to help than others.The ARP crank bolt on an ATI hb will not protrude past the face of the balancer.If you used the incorrect bolt that is too long for your application even torquing to 270 lb/ft it won't work as the hb may not be properly seated.The nose of the crankshaft when seated properly should be recessed 2.40-4.48mm into the balancer bore.Did you measure it when you did the install?I have the identical set up on my car and the hb bolt does not protrude past the face of the hb.You need professional assistance
Thanks, I am going to reinstall a Stock Bolt which does not protrude out as much , no way it backed out, was torqued at 270 ft pounds
Will reinstall with red locktite and a stock GM bolt.
And yes, the rack sprung a leak from the bolt going into it. I doubt i will get my core charge back on the replacement when they see it.
This will be my third rack from Car Steering.com they are great to work with
You’ve been through 3 racks already on this car? I hope it wasn’t because if this same problem. I think irok is right that you may be using the longer dry sump motor ARP bolt and the bolt is bottoming out in the hole. If that is the case, hopefully you haven’t fubared the threads on the end of the bolt when you torqued it, or you might end up destroying the threads in the crank snout when you pull it out, which would not be good at all.
Balancer eats steering rack
if that was my car I would remove the balancer bolt and machine the head of it down slightly while adding a rounded edge to the out side of it which might not be necessary after machining. By the looks of it you could machine down about .125 off that head and still have plenty of meat to tighten the bolt with.
