So the balancer has to be installed as far as it will go. No exceptions. Why? The balancer snout holds the crank gear in place so the balancer snout butts right up against the crank gear, firmly.
Some 235 and 261 motors came with an oil slinger. If you have one, the install is crank gear on the crank, firmly, oil slinger slips onto the crank snout next, the harmonic balancer is installed all the way in, firmly so that it presses and secures the slinger to the crank gear and the crank gear to the crank. Then, install the thick washer, lock washer and balancer retaining bolt.
You don't want to be aligning the water pump pully by adjusting the balancer position on the crank snout.
