Now I am in trouble! The balancer on my 327 sbc had been welded to the crank by the previous owner (to lazy to drill and tap it for bolt I guess). I attempted to grind the welds down using a carbide bit and stones but did not make much progress. Those welds are HARD. Sooo, out came the Sawsall and I cut the balancer off just before the crank snout. The neck of the balancer is still welded to the crank snout but now I can grind it down with a wheel. After that is done I still have to pull/pry/cut what's left of of the balancer neck out from the timing cover. Anyone got some ideas on how to do that?
Sounds like you have a total engine tear down and rebuild in your future. You may have to remove the crank with the timing cover on it and destroy the timing cover to get it off. (thats if you can't easily get it off because of whats left of the balancer) Then you can have a machine shop remove whats left of the balancer and restore the crank (if that's even possible) you may have to replace the crank as well.
If you already cut the dampener off the timing cover should just slide over it as the seal should have enough give to it slide past any rough spots. That is if your cut was through the machined area and not through the stepped portion. The snout on the crank may be bad anyhow due to the dampener wobbling on it and being the reason it was welded on.
I cut it off just past the stepped section. As you say, looks like I should be able to drop the pan and pull the timing cover over the remaining piece of the balancer. I don't care about the cover, it is not correct for this motor (it's from a later 350).Then I need to pry the piece off the crank snout. Hope the crank is okay. I plan to drill and tap it for a retainer bolt once I get this mess off. This is sooo much fun!
Would love to seea a picture of this since I have never seen a balancer welded on before--Ever!!!!!!!
This is NOT a fun job. You will need to pull out the crank to have it drilled and tapped. 2X - have the machine shop cut off the remains of the balancer and true the end where it was welded. I was lucky with a 283 balancer that was welded. The a-hole that welded it did not get good penetration on the crank and the balancer came loose after hitting it a few times with a BFH. Sent it out to be drilled.
The play in the crank feels okay. My plan is to get this damn thing off and then drill and tap the crank in the car. I got some tips on another thread about doing it (building a centering jig, drill and tap size, etc.) My big concern is keeping crap out of the engine. Of course if the crank snout/keyway is toast I will pull it out and do it the right way. Am I an idiot to believe I can accomplish this?
That's a pretty tough piece of metal to drill and tap on center while still in the car. if you are the least bit off, there goes the purpose of the balancer. take it out and do it right. good luck with it
A new crank is really cheaper than all the machine work you will need to do. Tear it down and discard the crank. Pick up a nice used one or a new SCAT. Have the assembly balanced and you will have a far better engine in the end.
Try as I might I just don't see a happy ending in your future. I'm thinking it may just be easier and quicker to yank the engine and fix it right and be able to get at what you need to get at. Good luck on your adventure !
Chances are that the balancer bolt threads are terminally buggered. Also it doesn't take a tremendous amount of force to tweak the end of the crank where the balancer is located, and it's seen enough already. Time to whip out your crank and get it looked at! Bob
Drill & tap it in place with a centering jig as you have mentioned. Hard job but much better than pulling apart. Drilling in place works fine. Did my son's 250 Chevy six in an old circle track car. No big deal.
If it was here, I'd pull the motor to try what you are thinking of. If you plan on building a centering jig I'm sure you could figure out how to keep the junk out of the engine. . Ahhh but then id remember the time the balancer came off my pontiac with the end of the crank still bolted to it and then I'd just get a new crank now.
Well I finally cut the balancer off. Used a Sawsall to take off the outer ring first by cutting through the three 'arms' of the balancer. That gave me access to the rear of the balancer. I then cut through balancer and welded section right at the neck-down area. Ruined two blades and finally used a hacksaw to get through it. Made a nice straight cut about .010 before the crank snout. So far so good. Next, I will grind the rest of the weld down to find the face of the crank snout. Then its off with the timing cover and try to pull/pry off the remaining balancer neck. Pain in the ass, I am getting to old for this shit.
I'd love to see a picture of that shit fight. Never seen a balancer welded on before. No doubt the bloke that assembled it tried to pull the balancer on with the crank bolt and stripped the crank thread. I learned the hard way, about 25 years ago, this is not how you seat a balancer.
werent some of the older sbc balancers just pressed on? regardless,it is what it is. a sleeve machined with a pilot hole for a drill is all you need.even if it is a little off centre,it may not be an issue as long as the balancer is true on the crank snout. open the hood of a 2000 intrepid and look at the crank pulley.almost every one is off centre.good luck,thats almost as tough as pulling a siezed engine out of a vehicle. them flywheel bolts are a biotch....
The Jalopy Journal
