putting a 283 ('67) rebuild together, found i had a bad crankshaft....bought a good used cast iron crank, but it is not drilled for a bolt for the balancer....my old crank was drilled and tapped......i know i can get it drilled at a shop........my question is probably stupid, knowing the undrilled cranks had the balancer pressed on and it was fine.....however for the home rebuilder, how did they install the balancer.....using a hammer would destroy the thrust bearing ????? do'nt know what to do....thanks, charlie
If you've ever had a ballancer come loose on an old Chevy & ruin the crank and sometimes the radiator as well you know what to do. I've had it happen and it normally trashes the keyway in the crank beyond repair. Have it drilled & tapped.. Having that bolt there not only keeps things from coming unglued at high RPMs it also gives you an easy way to turn the engine while setting valves, etc. As for your other question most old timers beat it on with a hammer & a block of wood and hoped for the best as far as the thrust bearing is concerned. Simple answer.. Don't do it.
I've seen a lot of 283 cranks with bad thrust bearings due to that and a stiff clutch working from the other side. It's easy enough to have one drilled and tapped and a lot of guys do it themselves.
I've never had any problem with the big hammer/block of wood technique. There's lots of surface area on the thrust bearing....and that's similar to how Chevy suggests you install it...but they suggest using a steel driver (which is originally intended for installing the front bearing on a transmission)
Clean the end of the CS and the inside of the balancer thouroughly, free of all burrs or film. Test fit the key to make sure it isn't going to bind in either the CS slot or in the pulley. Heat the pulley in an oven, hot to the touch, like 200 is good enough. It'll go with minimal bumping with a wood block and 3 pound hammer, after it cools it'll be a bitch to get it off, a puller will be required.
squirrel and 29nash hit it in the head!! If you are uncomfortable with the hammer/driver without heat, oven bake it and it'll go in fine. Still nervous, add just a small drop of loctite brand bearing/stud retainer, a green colored liquid, it will stay put without question. Disassembly becomes a lot tougher, but it will not work loose. As for damaging the thrust bearing....not likely. The flat to flat surfaces do not destroy themselves with the blows it takes to install the balancer. If you think it does, measure the crank endplay before you drive the balancer on, then measure it afterwards....My money will be on it still being within spec. I have done them on V8's as well as inline 6's, and never had one problem.
Put the balance in the old ladies oven at about 250, lube up the snout of the crank with light oil, and slide it on with one quick push.
Heating up the balancer to a temperature where the engine will be operating anyway won't hurt a thing, 200 degrees is plenty safe. If it aids the installation I can't see anything wrong with heating it.
Yep. I'll always use heat. All of them, not just 283. Sometimes without heat they don't go on so easy. If it gets stuck whilst going on one is tempted to hit it a little harder. I don't like the idea of the thrust bearing taking more of a beating than necessary. It's not a turkey, don't have to roast it all day, just warm it up to about 200, it'll slide right on with minimum bumping. In July/August it'll get that hot laying out in the sun for a couple of hours. Dual purpose; Cook an egg on it for lunch too. Goes without saying, I guess? Don't let the CS sit in the sun too, kills the advantage of heating the pulley.
Actually I've never seen one leak. Up until about 1970 I never used anything to prevent a leak, guess I'm getting paranoid in my old age. I've been told, fact or conjecture-take your pick, that a leak is an indication thet it's loose on there. As others have said, even though I've never done it, then I'd be inclined to drill and tap it just to be sure............which by the way is a built in puller-on-er.
I put silicone on the end of the keyway/damper. I think I started doing it after seeing sealer on virgin engines I took apart...but it's been a while.... I'm always amazed at the new ways engines can find to leak.
Yep Squirrel, GM used black or brown sealer on the keyway. End rails of intake manifold,ends of oil pan,butted ends of rear main seal and keyway are the only places that I use silicone. Smokey
squirrel's dead on. i see a lot of late model stuff (due to my job) but i've never seen a pressed on chevy balancer with sealer (but it can't hurt)
drill and tap it! having been witness to the mayhem a balancer causes when they "get loose" that is the method that is foolproof.
I'll throw this out there; as most have said, drill and tap the crank snout, you can do this yourself with a homemade guide. My drill press is large enough that I can drill the snout with it, but I always have help from someone supporting the crank while it's upright. I'd use the small 327 style balancer however, not the hub and rivited pulley 283's came with. As far as how to drive one one, I use a 4" diameter, 3 inch thick piece of round steel stock I have, I put it against the balancer, and hit that with a small sledge hammer until it sats. You can hear the change in tone when it seats as you drive it on. If the engine is on an engine stand, I also put a swedged in block of wood against the crank flange to take some of the impact off the thrust bearing. If it's in a car, with the trans installed, don't worry about the thrust bearing, just don't go postal doing it. I've never used heat or cold, but always clean and debur everything. Has never been a problem for me. I don't have a balancer installer, or even rented one to install any balancer. Sure, the right tools always make things easier, but improvisation has always worked for me. Judging from all the balancers I've removed from engines, it's obvious someone beat them on, and was'nt as careful as I am. That's my story, and I'm sticking with it. Butch/56sedandelivery.
I have installed my vibration damper using the block of wood and BFH method.Is it normal that it is not flush at the front of the crankshaft? there is still inch and a half recess of keyway showing.I know it is bottomed out.
Hot plates either bought or made are an excellent shop tool. Doing a lot of VWs back in the day, I took a coffee heating element and have used it forever, works great for that little extra sizing! Ovens are proabaly better as they can go warmer but the shop freezer and hot plate do work!
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