1956 322 engine ticking

[Beemon]

This is kind of branching off from my other thread but after getting the motor to run there has been a ticking at the front. I initially thought it was the water pump but when I used a large wooden dowel to listen for the sound, the water pump sounded fine (it sounded like churning water with no scraping). Now I think it's the harmonic balancer. My original one was cracked through the key way and had been replaced witha new one by the same mechanic that rebuilt my engine. After observing the belt to the generator, it wobbles excessively and although it's not very noticeable, the pulley on the harmonic balancer wobbles but the balancer seems smooth and I would figure the crank would be making interesting noises. I used my high tech stethoscope and it sounds like the pulley is the culprit. Could the pulley on the front have the bolts loosen and cause a ticking noise? Also I repainted it, what was the black ring around the inside of the pulley and could that be the culprit? I just got the car running,I would hate to have to tear it down again...

[Guest Flyer1]

This might sound very dumb but i have heard V belts cause horrible engine noises,spray a bit of water on the V belt while the engine is 

running,if the noise goes away that was the problem,i prefer a couple of drops of engine oil (yes oil) for noisy belts... a spray bottle with water soluble oil mix works well,have done the old dip stick trick on the belt with engine running,,,just need to very careful.

[buick5563]

Check the three pulley bolts. They don't need to be super right, but there should be lock washers on em. Make sure the pulley is fley seated, of course. Painting the ring won't affect anything.

[Beemon]

That was the issue. I guess when the engine first cranked one of the bolts must have loosened because I swore they were on tight. I just replaced all three with new grade 8 bolts and lock washers from the local McClendon's Hardware and now it runs smooth as silk.

 

My only concern now is that I think the pulley bearing in the power steering pump may be going out as there's a tiny hum to it that doesn't sound right. Regardless, I'm pretty happy the car is up and running. Been sitting since 1978, I should get around to making a Me and my Buick post. Also forgive me, this has been a frame on restoration in my grandfather's exposed car port...