283 balancer WTF????

OK I did a search about 283/327 balancer and non-threaded cranks and didn't really find what I was looking for.

I am helping a buddy of mine get his 57 chevy back on the road and we have run into trouble with the balancer. His crank is not threaded and he wasn't planning on drilling and tapping it if he didn't have to.

So..... What's the best way to get this damn thing inslalled? I have read that some people put the balancer in some hot water for a while then just tap it on. We first tried sticking it in the oven at 250 for a half hour and no dice! It goes on great but stops about 1/4" shy of making it all the way. We pulled it and tried again heating it carefully with the torch with the same result. It just won't go on all the way.

What is the correct way to do this? I don't think we should beat the **** out this thing but I don't see another way short of pulling the crank again and drilling and tapping it for a balancer bolt.

Thanks in advance!!

 

I'd drill and tap it, just because I had mine fall off recently....

http://waywardgarage.com/2118/no-bolt-sbc-vibration-dampener-falls-off/

Buying the tap, drill bit, and bolt cost less than $20, and I did it with the engine in the car.

 

BFH and a 2x4 works fine. That's what the original service manual says to do, too.

 

If you are running any kind of accessories off the hormonic you will need a bolt!
Even if you aren't, do it anyway, it's ugly when one lets go................

 

thats done the trick for me.

 

I've run into the same thing and everybody I talk to says to drill and tap it. Seems they worked for years that way but I would hate to take the chance and have one come off...

 

That was my solution 5-6 years ago, when the balancer decided it no longer was my friend, on a 327 in a 48 Ford coupe.

 

Thanks guys!

We hit the thing pretty damn hard and it would be goin fine but just stops about 1/4" shy. On the first 1/4" on the I.D. of the balancer there are some serrations and when it gets there it just stops and won't budge. We could just get after it with the torch and get it really hot first but I don't want to melt the front seal either.

 

Go with the drill and tap option. Those are nasty if they happen to decide to come off.

 

Times four

 

Anyone else got any ideas?

 

Yeh, get rich, retire at 40 and marry a hottie.
It didn't work out.

 

Sounds like we're missing something here . I get the feeling that you could beat on it until the crank is sticking out the back of the transmission and still not have the balancer seated.

Is that balancer the one that came off that crank?
If so, was it seated all the way before he took it apart?
If not, does it look mushroomed/shrunk from being hammered?
Is the key causing a problem?

 

if you have ever witnessed the damage they do you will drill and tap the crank! i will never forget the noise when mine came off and i coasted to the roadside lifted the hood and like a flock of birds watch $$$ fly off into the air!

 

there is a tool to install one . I made one out of 1/2 buy 2 inch flat steel .
drill holes in it to bolt it to the block at the bottom of block .
this will press it on

 

Sounds like we're missing something here . I get the feeling that you could beat on it until the crank is sticking out the back of the transmission and still not have the balancer seated.

Is that balancer the one that came off that crank?
If so, was it seated all the way before he took it apart?
If not, does it look mushroomed/shrunk from being hammered?
Is the key causing a problem?





Well thats what it seems like!!! This balancer came off this crank so it should go back on. I feel like we are hitting it hard enough but it just stops cold???????

The key and key way looks good. We put a peice of box tubing in front of the balancer to protect it so no mushrooming. It was seated all the way when we pulled it to get the crank turned. I'm just a little scared to go for the major league home run swing with a BFH on the end of the crank.

How hard should it be to hammer it on?

 

What Dzus said. The fact it is not seating is a red flag. It would be worth the money to take it to a machine shop and have them drill & tap the snout. If they screw up, its on their dime. Also never, never hit a balancer with a hammer to drive it on. Never heat a balancer with a torch or anything else. You could theoretically put the crank in the freezer overnite and slide the balancer on. Aw, ****, just get the crank tapped and use a bolt.

John

 

I agree with Dzus, measure from the inside of timing cover crank gear where balancer rest up to and from of end of balancer to where it is suspose to end up. I have put quite a few on with the 2x4 and big hammer, with white grease on the snout, very little effort. Sit back and do some research. You could put the water pump and pulleys on both and match up the pullys to see if they align

 

Yes, theoretically. And then when it's time to ***emble the engine what do you recommend? 'Cause getting the timing cover on would be a real ***** as I see it. Or did you mean to suggest that the whole engine go into the freezer?

My wife just about killed me when I made fish in the dishwasher, I can't imagine what she would do if she found an engine in the Frigidaire.

 

Are you trying to get the balancer to sit flush with the end of the crank??? It will never go on that far! Install your waterpump and WP pulley, install your crank pulley. If they line up, your balancer is on all the way.

 

Nope. I thought of that and checked the alignment of the pulley and it is off by about 1/4"

 

You need to start doing some measuring like said earlier. Only a couple of things that will keep it from going all the way on and beating the **** out of it aint going to fix any of the problems. Timing gear on the crank,the key and the keyway. Stop measure and find the problem >>>>.

 

Had 283 with small balancer infact just a hub to bolt pulley to. Busted crank at 7-8 journal before hub/balancer came off. I'd drill and tap the crank and be done wit it.

 

Drilling and tapping takes about 15 Min !! how much time do you both already have in this shortcut ?
Van

 

thank you

 

Heh Heh, Your right Ebbsspeed, I was thinking 'bout the timing chain sprocket.
If i remember correctly (and I may not), that could be done with flat 4 VWs.
Of course, if you had a walk-in freezer ....

John

P.S. Too lazy right now to check, is there a thread on cooking meals in engine compartments ?

 

Actually there is a book about cooking on your engine. It's called "Manifold Destiny", and is available on Amazon, a**** other places.

http://www.amazon.com/Manifold-Destiny-Guide-Cooking-Engine/dp/0375751408