The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 235 Two Belt Low Water Pump and Balancer

Well, as much and as long that I have been hanging around 216-235-261's, I'm somewhat confused about this issue.
I've got a two belt balancer and a two belt water pump on the truck with a low water pump and have had to go to a flex fan with 1-1/8" of depth to clear the balancer with the fan. In the mean time, my fan is sitting about 3/8" away from the radiator, which I don't like. If I install a high water pump kit, I can pick up three inches in height, but the flex fan still barely misses the balancer unless I go to a 13" flex fan of some sort. If I do go to a 13" flex fan, is that enough air for a 261. If I go to a stock fan, the blades will have to be short or shortened to miss the balancer and for some reason the stock fan will end up pretty close to the radiator. Does this sound familiar to anyone else? Have you found another solution that is better than those above?

My 46 with 261 and AC does fine with small flex fan and electric pusher out front. A buddy of mine had no fan at all in his 41 sedan/261 but therm. controlled fan on engine side.
Best of luck

The fan on my 261 is also 3/8" away from the rad, which I like. Why don't you like it? It misses the balancer by 1/4", a miss is a good as a mile. The water temp is always 181 degrees. Just my 2 cents.

I have seen pictures of a fan with notches in the blades near the tips on the engine side to clear the dampener. I do not know what vehicle it came from, but it was used to address your problem. Hopefully someone will pipe in and enlighten.

If your radiator mounting pads and engine motor mounts are in good condition, what can move forward or backward? As 53 panel says a 1/4 inch or 3/8's inch is good as a mile. If it aint broke, why fix it?
May I ask, what vehicles had a 2 pulley balancer and a twin pulley water pump? Jerry

I'll second the question. Where can I find a 235 dual pulley.

Might be the answer for the AC install.

This balancer is a 6-3/4" diameter balancer - a little heavier than others I have seen. I pulled it off of a 57 Chevrolet Bel Air at a wrecking yard. The car had a 235 engine in it and had power steering and A/C. I walked into the yard and it was on top of two other cars. I climbed up there as quick as I could and popped it off. I think I gave $10.00 for it. The water pump was a low mount and I managed to remove the four bolts holding the pulleys on and got them too! I knew that day that I found something very unusual!
It has been a nice set up for an A/C and an alternator on my 261.

Was it an aftermarket AC or factory? I always thought they drove the power steering off the back of the generator in those years??

John

I think they drove the power steering off of the generator on the 216 engines and switched to the pulleys on the 235, but I could be wrong. This car did have factory air.
I have another smaller balancer which has two pulleys for two belts, also. I'm sure it's a 216 balancer since it's smaller, so I'm not sure what they did with the pulleys. It might have been for power brakes. I don't know that much about those pulleys. It does have the "acceptor" for a crank to be used to start the vehicle and that leads me to believe it's for a 216. I used it for a few years on my truck until it also started to move on the crank. So, That's when I was fortunate enough to find the 235 dual pulley balancer that I'm using now.

power steering pump was mounted to the back of the generator both engines, the dual pulley would have been for the A/C

Bill

Thanks, Bill. It's been awhile since I pulled that balancer and I'm not sure what was turning what. I just knew that I had to have the balancer for what I wanted to do.
The way I'm using it, I have both belts on the water pump and on the balancer along with the A/C in the third spot on one belt and the alternator on the third spot of the other belt. It's a nice clean looking set up.

I don't think they ever offered power steering on the 216 engines. 1953 was the first year for power steering on Chevy.

John

They may not have, but the second pulley was used to power something - maybe A/C.

I always thought "Air Conditioning " in these old trucks was, pedal to the metal, both windows down, vent windows wide open if you had them and "Crotch Cooler" wide open unless you had your Girlfriend along for the ride. Jerry

53 and 54 had a 2 belt pulley for the power steering 55 and up to ? were on the back of the generator
Jay D.