Procedure needed. Buick V8 harmonic balancer R & R

[Dave@Moon]

I need a good reference for removal and replacement of the harmonic balancer on the crank pulley of a 1960 LeSabre's 364 cu. in. nailhead V8. There is none in my factory manual, nor in Chilton or Motors from that era. All I can find is a torque spec for the main bolt into the crank (220 ft-lb!).<P>Has anybody done one of these? Do I need to replace the woodruf key behind the pulley? Any help I can get would be nice.<p>[ 07-20-2001: Message edited by: Dave@Moon ]

[The Old Guy]

I believe the reason there is no refernce is that it is supposedly a slip on unit. If you have the bolt removed ,I would tap LIGHTLY on the balancer and see if it doesn't pop off

[Dave@Moon]

Thanks!

[Guest]

Dave ~ I had the harmonic balancer come off on a '65 Olds while driving a few years ago. The bolt broke and flew off followed shortly thereafter by the balancer. Messy . Therefore I agree with The Old Guy that it should be easily removed after removing the bolt. If the bolt shears, that is when the fun begins. Been there. ~ hvs<P>PS It may be a left hand thread, so go after it gently until you know.

[novaman]

Hey Howard, that post was your 888th. You should remember this day. forward,backwards,right side up, upside down it's still your 888th. <P>Hopefully be seeing you this weekend on the tour.

[DugsSin]

Hey u'all. <BR> Don't they make a puller for this application? <BR>Doug

[Guest]

Dave@Moon, you need to remove all the sh.., junk out of the way first; that's pulleys, belts, pumps, etc. Then remove the bolt and washer. Next get a good puller, attach it( usually they're 2 or 3 holes in it to mount the puller) and thread the centerbolt in on the puller. They usually mount in the holes that hold on the pulley. Make sure you have the proper adapter on the centerbolt so as not to screw up the end of the crank. I've only seen one key bad, so it should be fine. If it's bad, something else is screwed up. Keys usually don't go bad unless something isn't fitting properly, even on 600+ hp engines.

[Dave@Moon]

Thanks, guys! This was more help than I've found anywhere else. <P>Novaman, that was "hvs"'s 888th posting! Howard is a man of many mysterious guises. Us old guys can remember when he had a full name, and even part of full name. <P>p.s. Would you believe I've had this question posted on the BCA forum for 4 days w/o a single reply! And they get about twice the postings per day that this end gets. <p>[ 07-22-2001: Message edited by: Dave@Moon ]

[Dave@Moon]

Ooops, never mind. John Lyman just put in a really good post on my question on the BCA side.

[Guest]

I thought I helped someone recently regarding this,you put a good socket on the bolt,put a good handle on the socket.rest the handle on the left frame rail,then with the center coil wire out,hit the starter.easy,right?Usually two screwdrivers will pry it off.