If the flywheel/flexplate was put on out of alignment, it would cause a vibration, but it would not be visible at the harmonic balancer.... It's held on with 6 bolts. There is an extra hole (#7) that should match up with the small hole in the crank flange. It's common for belts to bounce around a little. Are you sure the harmonic balancer is wobbling? Does it move if you grab it and wiggle it around? The pulley could be bent if someone put a jack on it to raise the engine for some reason. Wish you could post a video...
Yes it is definetly wobbling an when I got the car the lower crank pulley was bent up,an the flywheel cover was off in the trunk. I replaced the old one with a used one that was not all bent up. Since I have seen the wobble I took the belts off an the pulley an ran the motor briefly an the harmonic balancer was wobbling still,It does not move at all when I shake it. I tried to torque wrench it to 225 an I couldn't budge it. I have not tried too pull the harmonic balancer yet looking at all angles,there also doesn't have oil leaking out of profusely but there is some old oil an grime in that area. Oh my vacume lines are a mess also, don't know what goes to where an what absolutely need to be hooked up, thank you.
Any idea how the crank pulley was bent? Are there scores from hitting the ground, or a flat spot from a jack? Maybe the previous owner jacked the engine up to remove the oil pan, change engine mounts, or remove the exhaust manifold or starter.... might explain the trans cover being off too, unless the cover was off for a rear main seal leak. I still think your next step is to remove the balancer to inspect it and the front of the crank. If you need to use a puller, get one that uses three bolts to go into the crank. Don't use a puller with fingers that grab the O.D. of the balancer. There should be a big fat washer under the crank bolt. Someone recently reported their builder leaving it off...and that ain't good.
Thank you,that will dedinetly be my next move. I also was told recently to run a straight weight oil such as 30 or 40 an that will help with the smoking is this true?
Changing the oil is unlikely to change the smoking issue. You mentioned the trans cover was taken off.... is it smoking from there? That could be a leaking rear main seal that is putting oil on the exhaust manifolds. If you have blue smoke coming from the tailpipes, that means oil is being burned. Could be caused by stuck, rusted rings, or a broken ring. Or valve guides that have excessive wear, letting oil into the chambers.
I got the crank bolt off but no fat washer under the bolt! Should I replace the missing washer an torque her down to 225lbs or still pull the balancer off an inspect the crank an the balancer more?
Pull the balancer JUST TO MAKE SURE!!!!! You will NOT find the washer needed at the hardware store. You will need a good used one. Along with the washer I's also get the PROPER bolt.
If the engine is smoking,,, run a good compression test on all cyls.... and get back with us..... also,,,, remove the balancer and check inside the key way for a crack..... that is where they usually bust.... the ring and hub are such heavy metal you cannot bend them.... the rubber can go bad,,, and the pully can bend.... a little movement while running is not a problem... most do not run 100% ''true''..... if there is a viberation that you can feel with the engine running and it follows the engine rpm up and down the scale with all the belts off the engine.... then you have a problem.... also check the nose of the crank for wobble wear.... if it is,,, then the crank will have to be replaced.... or machined and a sleeve used to restore the lost metal....
OK got the balancer pulled off an found out the hard way that there definetly was a fat washer still in the balancer,I did not see it cause all the grime,any how broke one of the balancer puller bolts right off in,so don't do that. I still got it pulled though cause there is six bolt holes just turned the puller to a different configuration. Now that i got it off the keyway looks good the crank snout looks undamaged. The rubber that is between the pieces of balancer have cracked an dry rotted so I was going to send off to get rebuilt but then found out that the crank was probably messed up even if I can't see any visible damage. Centerville auto that deals with these nailheads explained to me that if the motor runs with balancer damaged like mine has it always damages the crank! So my dilema is I don't know if I should still send this damper off to be rebuilt but then end up wasting my money cause I could get it back an it still wobble. Or put it back together an use green lock tight on it an torque the old balancer down to 225lbs????:shock:!
Dry rotted /cracked rubber insulators are normal for one this old. If it's still tight, a rebuild may not be necessary. If you are certain it was wobbling, the next step would be to determine exactly what component is damaged. You could take the balancer to a machine shop, they can put it on a lathe, and they can spin it at a low speed to see if it spins true. The crank could be checked by mounting a dial indicator to the block and measuring the runout of the crank snout. You can turn the crank with the starter, or put the bolt back in and turn it by hand.
If there is no visible damage to the crank snout,,, the crank is OK..... get the balancer checked out and repaired , reinstall it without lock tite and tork it down good.....and you should be ok..... run out in the balancer is probably gonna be the main problem.....
Should a balancer with old, dry, hard rubber insulator be re-used ? Or will they still damp OK ? I have one here that is solid but the rubber is hard and I'm in the same predicament as Houmark in Denmark ---- shipping is a killer. Got to send a core to USA and then pay shipping to get the good one back here. Shipping will cost almost as much as the unit itself.
Doc, he said the original pulley was bent. .... is it possible to also bend the balancer or end of the crank? It would take a lot to bend one of those, but who knows what the car went through in it's life. Jacking the engine (or car) up at the pulley could bend something if a LOT of weight was put on it. Or maybe someone took the engine out and dropped it. If the balancer fits on the crank properly without play, and it still wobbles, something must be bent. What do you think?o No:
some times the vulcanizing process would get the outer ring off center.... but the inner part should run true.... to bend a cast steel piece like that would take a mighty lick.... not very likely.... I am thinking that as the rubber aged the off set occured.....
OK I took the balancer to a machine shop this afternoon an they ran it through a lathe an the guy told me that outer an inner was off not horribly but he said that he has ran them through for others also an mine definetly is not running true! I'm thinking now take the gamble an have it rebuilt an hopefully it will run with no more wobble. The snout of the crank has no visible damage like I said an I can put the the balancer back on with no problem, so should I go for it an have it rebuilt?whats the vote?an thank you for your help!
figure out if it would be cheaper to get it rebuilt, or to get someone here in the states to buy one and ship it to you....that way you would eliminate one leg of the trip....
Try a web search for 'Harmonic balancer rebuilding'. Here's one located in New South Wales: http://www.precisionparts.com.au/rapid_rebuild.html I'm not an expert on harmonic balancer rubber, but it's possible the edge of the rubber which is exposed to air/oil may look damaged, but the rubber in between is still in good shape..... If the outer ring is loose, then the rubber is bad. If it's still tight, maybe it's still okay?
Did you watch him test it? If so, did it wobble more or less that it did when it was on your engine? Without seeing the parts, and not not being able to measure anything, It's very difficult for me to make a judgement on how you should proceed. I would try another used balancer, if you could find one. If you could find a local source to rebuild your balancer, they could give you an expert evaluation of it's condition. Search for a heavy-duty truck or industrial repair shop in your area.
