Recently put an engine together and fired it up and the first sound I heard was a horrible scraping noise coming off the front of the motor. A thousand thoughts rushed into my head as to what the cause was. All along thinking of all the money in parts and machining that had gone into the project. It was hard for me to shut the engine down because I had to break in the cam but didn't want the engine to eat itself either. Quick work with a stethescope revealed the issue. Noise out of the balancer. Problem is with these balancers for stovebolt 6s are the pulley is on the inside and there is no way to visually see if the balancer is fit for duty that I could tell.

Can anyone offer any encouraging words on how to purchase a used balancer and any checks to see if it is good to go or not? How can one tell short of pressing it on the crankshaft and see?

Steve

Last edited by sstock; 09/06/2019 10:47 PM.
1953 Chevrolet 3100
261 cu inch, sm420, 3.55 rear, torque tube still,omaha orange, still 6 volt, RPO green glass, side carrier spare, all done
In the DITY Gallery
Video of the 261 running

1964 GMC 1000
305 Big Block V6, sm420, the next cab off restoration