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Stuck Harmonic Balancer


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My harmonic balance will not come off. I have a puller and it requires so much torque that the engine is turning. Any ideas?? I am going to leave it under load and see if that works.<P>Regarding the crankshaft bolt, I tried the rest the breaker bar on the frame rail- hit the starter - and it worked just fine. Thanks

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Can't recall what motor you have, but try this. Get some good rust penetrant and spray the balancer where it contacts the chrank. Leave the puller under load and rap the end of puller where it tightens. Now I don't mean smash it with a sledge hammer! All you want to do is cause a vibration where the chrank and balancer meet to separate them. What has likely happened is that the two have rusted together. You need to break any rust bond that is holding them. Keep tightening the puller and what you should find is that it will slowly pull the balancer.<BR>Good Luck,<BR>Mark

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The harmonic balancer still won't budge - two questions: first, how much torque can I give it - about 40 lbs right now. I know I can hold the puller and give it alot more torque (probably over 100 lbs) , but I'm don't damage anything such as threads etc. second, I can get the rubber gasket out, so is it OK to put a torch on it??? I sprayed PB Blaster, but it has not done the trick. The car is a 68 Wildcat (430-4) and at 97K I want to change the chain. Thanks

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Sure sounds odd that is in on so tight. Usually they are not. Can I ask a dumb question? You do know that there is a large washer under the bolt? It must be removed before you use a puller to get the balancer off. Otherwise, it won't budge. Most of the time, the 400 430 and 455 balancers just slide off. The only rubber is between the 2 halves of the balancer. If you remove it that way, the balancer will be useless and you will have to get another one. For the record, 400/430 are different than 455 balancers. So, if yours is no good, you will need one from a 400/430.<BR>I would be more worried about damaging the chrankshaft end than the balancer at this point. My advice would be to keep using PB blaster and good strong bolts on the puller. Though much more than what you are using may snap the bolts. Keep trying before getting drastic.<BR>Good Luck,<BR>Mark

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....and Chuck, if you had money on it you would have won! It was the washer..thanks to the DCM post....If I recall correctly, the hole in the washer had to be bigger on the 455 in order to let the end of the puller go through the washer and contact the crankshaft.. Two lessons learned on this one, the washer, and how to take off the crankshaft bolt by resting the breaker bar on the frame and hitting the starter...thanks again.

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I had no trouble when I pulled the balancer off my 73 Electra in Nov 2001. The Electra has a 455 and the 68 Wildcat has a 430. In order for my prior post to make any sense, you would the information I just described.

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Ok so now how do I collect from you guys, I will take check or certified money orders. JUST KIDDING glad it worked out. I won't go into how I found out about the washer, it's embarassing. Mind you I didn't make the mistake with over 6000 people reading my posts either! Ha Ha!!<P>Welcome to the club, maybe one day I'll tell you how many times I've started a brand new rebuilt engine at 3000 rpm for intial break-in after prefilling the carb and forgot to connect the fuel line,<P>---Hmmm at 3000 rpm and 10 gallons per minute with an average response time of 30 seconds---Ahhhh I'll let you do the math. Ohh and don't forget gasoline is very slippery and when you've got 5 gallons on the ground already and a 500HP big block with open headers screaming in your ears thats popping flames back through the exhaust because the timing is not quite right.........Hey it's not funny, I hurt myself pretty bad when I fell on that wrench in my back pocket. You guys can stop laughing anytime!!

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  • 14 years later...
30 minutes ago, rcumba said:

I am trying to remove my harmonic balancer on my '47 Buick Super 50 and cannot get the bolt off. I am going clockwise with a craftsman impact wrench, at 400 ft lbs, I think. Can anyone help me? Very frustrated!

Thanks,

Roger

 

 Roger, it is a normal right hand thread! Set the impact on counter clockwise, just like any normal bolt/nut.

 

  Ben

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1 hour ago, rcumba said:

I am trying to remove my harmonic balancer on my '47 Buick Super 50 and cannot get the bolt off. I am going clockwise with a craftsman impact wrench, at 400 ft lbs, I think. Can anyone help me? Very frustrated!

Thanks,

Roger

 

You need to go counter clockwise.

 

Edited by JohnD1956 (see edit history)
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  • 2 months later...

I love the sense of humor! I am replacing the timing cover gasket after having replaced the oil pan gasket, so I wasn't sure. The 1000 pound torque going the correct direction took the nut off easily and the gasket went on easily! Thanks for your help....all of you! This little Straight eight runs smoothly. Sorry it took me so long to get back and thank you, but been fighting some wiring to the tail lights annnnnd my oil pan has a tiny leak at the passenger side front corner. I have posted a picture under my post, topic," Oil pan tiny leak". Would appreciate some help there, too!???

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