The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 1950 Chev 216 Harmonic Balancer problems

afternoon folks, I have just returned from picking up a parts truck ( 1950 One ton longbox ) and after going thru the truck my dad wanted to see if it would run, been parked for 5 years, after filing the points and changing the fuel pump it started, I put a rad and hoses on it this morn and started it and i noticed that the crank pulley was loose. after looking at it you could see the bolts had loosened on the backside of the harmonic balancer, I used a puller and pulled it off, no driftkey, bunch of blobs of welds, a nice mess.my question is can I grind out the weld that filled the key in the crank ? Can I tap the end of the crank , dont want to pull the crank and the motor seems to run well ? any ideas ??

Yes you can tap the end of the crank. Get in touch with Hotrod Lincoln.🛠

Unless the balancer is keyed to the crankshaft in some way, the tension of the fan belt and the load of driving the charging system and the water pump will eventually unscrew a center bolt.
Jerry

I'd say if you were careful, you can remove the weld material.........just don't take more than the weld material.

Left hand bolt?

Ed

How dos the inside of the damper look where it slides onto the crank- is it galled at all?

It would require a lot of time and effort, but I'd suggest removing the timing cover and reshaping the Woodruff key slot with a cutoff wheel on a Dremel tool. Then a custom-fitted key could be filed for a tight fit to both the crankshaft and the balancer.

To do it right would involve removing the crankshaft, welding up the key slot, and cutting a new one with a Bridgeport mill. A replacement crank would probably cost less.
Jerry

On an internally balanced engine it is OK to make a new key way 180 degrees from the factory one in both the dampner and crank snout. Can't do this on an externally balanced engine like a 400sbc or a 454. The fit should be close, 0.0005 to 0.001 so the balancer can't "waller" during acceleration/deceleration. We have an ancient key way machine that can actually do this with the engine assembled but by the time the front clip is pulled and the machine set up a Bridgeport would probably save money. Machine is now used by a friend to put new key way for drive pulleys/sprockets on ditching machines. When one of these machines is down price is not discussed to get it back in action. X2 on replacement.

Since no timing marks are involved on a stovebolt balancer, the placement of the keyway isn't critical. If the keyway in the balancer is damaged, either have a new one broached in a different position, or just replace the balancer with a good one. Getting the keyway in the crankshaft straightened up and making a key fit tight is the critical operation.
Jerry