Im in the middle of installing my ati harmonic balencer.

I went down to the local pep boys and loaned their harmonic balencer installer. It is the long shaft type with and adapter that screws on the end. The adapter is what screws into the crank. Long story short the adapter broke in the snout of the crank flush !! Mind you it was a hardened bit and they didnt want to refund my money! Yes so the fun began pulling the stub out so I can get my money back. After much trials and tribulations I coaxed it out.

Now the issue is I am trying to install it by a grade 8 bolt and a fat washer then just torquing it down. It seems to go in fine to a point then the resistence increases exponentialy but it doesnt seem like its on the crank snout all the way. The pressure I am feeling now is the same pressure that I felt before the loaner tool broke. I am using a grade 8 bolt this time not their cheap tool/adapter though.

Does this look right or does it seem like the balencer needs to be in furthur?
I was told that there should be 1/8'' of an inch between the back of the balencer and the timing cover. Yes that is a cheap timing cover from pep boys that you see in the pics does this make a diffrence? The timing tab is from my old setup which doesnt seem like it'll work this time.

THanks every one Im just at my wits end over this issue.

Rabi C>

 

Looks like it's on all the way to me. The back of the balancer can be anywhere from 1/4" from the timing cover to way the heck out in mid air. What matters is the FRONT of the balancer. When in doubt, I put on the crank pulley and the water pump and pulley and sight down the two to see if they're in line. If they are, you're home.

I have used that same timing tab myself many times and the fact that it's almost overhanging the front of the balancer is what tells me it's probably on there all the way.

Now that you've got a degreed balancer you want a different timing tab. A timing POINTER, actually, since you just need a single point of reference and you'll read the timing off the balancer circumference, not off the tab (it's the reverse of a stock setup).

 

Demon,

Now that I put the water pump on I see that it is fully installed. Thanks for your advice on that!

For some reason it didnt seem fully seated but apparently its ok! Next on the list is a call to summit and have them send me timing tape and that pointer.

Its getting close . . . thanks again.

Rabi C>

 

Yea, i was going to say pop on one of the accy's to see if pulleys lign up. Thats how i always check mine to make sure its all the way on!

You got that motor running yet?

 

Why timing tape. Your balancer is fully marked. Save your money. Get a pointer, thats it.

 

Rob Wade,

Yea I agree the timing tape won't come in handy for my situation. I'm just waiting till Thursday for that pointer to come in.

Tomorrow will be dedicated towards installing my walbro 255 and hopefully dropping in the engine weather permitting.

I'll keep you guys posted on how it turns out. Its definately wrapping up !!

Thanks again. Merry Christmas everyone!

Rabi C>

 

The crank snout seats up against the timing gear face, and should be recessed from the face of the balancer hole anywhere from 1/16" to 1/8", but since you can't see that, pulley alignment is critical.

There's a thread on here about installing an ATI and Pointer you may want to read. I think the title is "Best way to find TDC," This one is without heads, there's another thread with the heads on, but I don't remember the title.

 

rgarcia63,

I was taking a look at those threads. I found that the methods intailed in the tcd with the heads thread are very helpful.

For those who couldn't find them, here they are:

Thread of finding TDC with heads on;
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tech...-find-top.html
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tech...?highlight=tdc
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tech...?highlight=tdc
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tech...?highlight=tdc
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tech...?highlight=tdc

Thread of finding TDC with heads off;
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tech...?highlight=tdc
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tech...?highlight=tdc

The last few threads with heads on I really liked. These helped me out greatly. Lots of good useful information that others can use too. I figured that people will run into this problem again.

Thanks Again for everyones' input. Take care.

Rabi C>