kdkiser

Noticed my crankshaft had a slight wobble, put a new harmonic balancer on it but it still has a slight wobble. How concerned should I be?

It's an '85 with a 305, Edelbrock carb and the rest should be stock






Ken

redneckjoe

are you sure the balancer is on all the way?

Chad85T/A

iTrader: (1)

It sure looks like it's not. May just be the pic angle, but looks like there is too much space between the balancer and the front oil pan seal.

InfernalVortex

iTrader: (4)

If it runs fine it's not worth worrying about.

1gary

That's true if you don't love rod bearings..

You can't draw the H/B on effectively with the crank bolt.A H/B'er tool is needed. Also you need to check the crank key to see if it is cracked or sheared. The only way a H/B'er is going to work is if it is running true to the crankshaft.

InfernalVortex

iTrader: (4)

The way he talks it's as if he's been driving the car for years and just suddenly noticed it. If he didnt do anything to it to bend it then it's been that way a long time. It's always a possibility that it's going to ruin the bearings but it's just an LG4 305... Do you think he should hurry up and park it so that he can "save" the internals for a rebuild? People give those away for free when they run perfectly. I agree with your reasoning but I just think in this case you just run it til it pops. If it runs fine I wouldn't worry about it, since there's nothing he can really do to straighten it at this point without risking further damage and it's not worth replacing the crankshaft and rebuilding it. That said, your concerns about the balancer not being seated are legitimate...

kdkiser

I thought it was, the installer would spin when the balancer was that far on.

When I removed the old balancer I didn't see the woodruff key so I thought I just needed to line up the groove on the balancer to the key on the timing gear but I missed and the hb stopped at the timing key

The vehicle shook horribly when the pulley was installed; I doubt it would of lasted long.

I used a hb installer, but I didn't see the woodruff key when I removed the old balancer. I installed the hb with the proper tool but without the key there to align with I missed the key on the timing gear. I'm a novice at vehicle maintenance so I didn't realize there until I did some extra digging on the internet. Luckily the auto parts store down the road sells sets of keys so I picked one up, tried installing it only to drop it behind the timing cover had to remove the water pump to get to the timing cover, got the cover off and found the key I dropped and the key I didn't see Haven't started it up yet but the hb is seated better.

I wish I'd been driving it for years, only owned it for 2 weeks and been to busy fixing minor problems to be joy riding! I didn't notice the wobble until my friend pointed it out while he was checking out the car, then I swapped hbs and made it worse...

Thanks for the advice! I'll see if I can grab a shot with the hb reseated tomorrow.

-Ken

92crimsonRS

if the woodruff key wasnt there i'd be walking to the parts store and getting one. get the HB put on right then see if it still wobbles

kdkiser

Absolutely, picked up a key set already and installed it; ran out of daylight before I had a chance to finish up and start her up.

-Ken

1gary

It is highly unlikely the crank is bent.If you use the proper B/H'er installer with a good key drawing it on parallel to the crank,that should solve this issue.

Please post what you end up with.

kdkiser

Looks better, but still has a slight wobble



What do y'all think?

-Ken

1gary

Ken acouple of questions for you.Now this is a brand new H/B'er and when you first put this on did you use a proper H/B'er tool?? Did you find anything wrong with the key you replaced??.

Second question is have you checked the ignition timing??.

kdkiser

It's a brand new H/B. Had problems taking off the old H/B, the guy I bought the Camaro from had enlarged one of the bolt holes to the next metric size! On my first try removing the bolt broke free so I had to back it up with a nut behind the original H/B and was able to get it out but I had the proper tools to remove it! Had the proper installer too.

The key had some scratches on the outside, I assume from rubbing on the H/B when it was installed and when I pulled it but it did not appear to be bent or any chunks missing.

I don't know how to check the timing, I've read that the timing can have that effect.

Here is a video in action, have the pulley reinstalled with the belts and all:

...did not have the radiator cap installed properly

Installer: http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...er=391373_0_0_
Puller was a generic advance auto parts http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web...rchTerm=puller

redneckjoe

this might help with understanding timing.

kdkiser

What's the best way to have it checked? Am I better off having a mechanic doing it?

Thanks,
Ken

redneckjoe

why not do it yourself? do you have a service/repair manual? follow the directions, watch the video again, have a mechanic buddy help you,....it's an "oppotunity" to learn so you never have to pay a mechanic again. it's really not hard at all.
its also part of tuning a motor. anybody can bolt parts together, but you need to know how to tune it, to get the most out of it.
if you can install a harmonic balancer, i'm confident you can unloosen one bolt and set the timing.

kdkiser

Finally got to the car again this weekend; found that the distributor cap was loose enough that I could turn it by hand, I assume this isn't normal? I turned it slightly in each direction and found a sweet sounding spot. Definitely going to need to redo the timing!

What do I need to do to have the gauge the timing? The H/B doesn't have timing markings and my block does not have a timing tab.

Chad85T/A

iTrader: (1)

Well first you need a timing tab for the size balancer you have. I've never seen a balancer without a timing mark on it. If for whatever reason it actually doesn't have a mark you can make a piston stop from an old spark plug, by welding a small piece of metal to the end of it that's long enough to reach the top of the piston. DO NOT ROTATE THE ENGINE WITH THE STARTER. rotate the engine by hand one direction until it hits the piston stop and make a vid able mark on your balancer at the 0 on the tab, then rotate the engine all the way in the other direction until it reaches the stop again and make another mark at the 0 again. The center point between the two marks will be TDC.

TTOP350

iTrader: (8)

I'm not to sure its a good idea to rev the crap out of the motor without the balancer bolt holding it on.. Esp without a balancer key.