Hey fellas, need some advice down here. My son in law and daughter have acquired a 1961 Oldsmobile 98 with a 394 engine. The harmonic balancer has fallen apart. We had a guy down here that could repair them, but unfortunately, he has retired. Any ideas where I can get them another one for. Im a FE guy and im just trying to keep young folk into old cars. Any info would be very much appreciated. Cheers
These folks are a fountain of knowledge when it comes to Olds engines. Ross Racing Engines 1763 North Main St Niles,Ohio 44446 330-544-4466 w 330-720-1282 c www.RossRacingEngines.com
Damper dudes used to rebuild all types of harmonic balancers...theyre in California. I looked at their website and while they list Olds balancers..I don't see one for a '61..and no mention of rebuilding...so who knows if they still do that. Worth a shot..
You could ask these guys at Power Bond, recently bought bought out by Dayco. They used to reman balancers, as well as manufacture new. A bit closer to home. I've used their products a few times. https://dayco.com.au/page.aspx?A=11326
I've always wanted to try this repair. Seems fairly simple but I'm probably not seeing the whole picture. Clean out all the old rubber, devise a fixture to hold and center the two other parts withing concentric tolerance (.001?) and fill the cavity with a urethane casting resin. They come in hard to soft formulas. One source https://www.mcmaster.com/products/two-part-casting-compounds/
I don't think that would work. The compound between the 2 halves of a balancer is under some serious compression. I don't think urethane that was simply poured in would last very long...if that long.
Thank you for the responses. We ended up sending it to Damper Dudes in California. They were very easy to deal with and they turned it around in no time. I would seriously recommend them. Cheers
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