if you pull on your balancer and notice play in the crank what could that mean? how much play becomes dangerous? what can cause such type of play?

 

in the crank there shouldn't be 1 mm of play, mine was solid as a rock in all 3 engines i've worked on, i think its the bearing but i'm not too sure

 

just curious, i was having this discussion with someone about possible play with the crank and how it could be the thrust bearing. just trying to figure out what causes play? what can be damaged as a result and what is damaged to cause the intial play.

 

You have a bad thrust bearing or worn thrust surface on the crank. This can be caused by many things including a bad torque converter on the auto's .005-.009 is typical end play(thrust) on crank

 

and you would notice this when things are all together by... ?

thanks.

 

Side stepping the clutch at 6K rpm's .

The thrust bearing or the surface on the crank where it rides could be worn due to repeated activity stated above. Easiest way to measure is after installing the crank. Use a dial indicator and tap the crank back and forth. I think this is a much bigger problem with stick cars than autos because releasing the clutch when racing slams the crank hard.

 

silly question time. are you sure the play is in the crank and not the dampner?

 

very well could be. i don't even know if there is play in the balancer. asking for a friend whom doesn't have a computer. he asked me the question the other day and i had no idea of an answer for reason.

thanks alot everyone.