The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Engine assembly questions

So now that I have my rear seal straightened out, I'm finally putting the 235 back together. Crank is in, cam is in, front cover is in. But when I put the harmonic balancer on it only goes on part way, I think. Not sure how far on it goes. There is about a 1" gap between the back of the balancer and the fro9nt edge of the front cover plate (where the front motor mount is attached). And the end of the crank shaft is about an inch or so down inside the cneter of the balancer. Is this right? I used an 8 pound hammer and a block of wood, but I can't seem to get it to go on any farther. Any help, ideas?

Tim

The only sure way to know it's back against the timing gear is to do some measuring before you start driving the balancer on and check it once it stops moving. The 1" measurement from the front of the crank snout to the front of the balancer sounds about right. Check to see how well the pulley on the balancer aligns with the water pump- - - -there shouldn't be a noticeable angle to the belt, front to rear. An 8# hammer is plenty of force, so you should be good to go. If the oil pan isn't on yet you might be able to use a mirror to see if the balancer snout is touching the timing gear.
Jerry

Thanks for the quick reply. I guess I'll assume it's good for the moment. Maybe I can temporarily attach the water pump to check it out.

Tim

Somewhat off topic but, remember to seal the flywheel bolts when you get to that point. (Pretty sure I am correct on this. If not, someone please chime in)

Joe

To get the balancer to slide on better, you can apply a VERY small amount of heat the the balancer shaft. A few seconds with a propane torch will make it a lot easier. Again just a few seconds to get some expansion on the shaft.

Or if you use one of Jerry's harmonic balancer installers that comes in his crankshaft snout tapping kit, the harmonic balancer slides on like a hot knife through butter!!

Wedge something between the crank and the engine stand, so when you drive the balancer on, all the force is not applied to the thrust bearing. Standing the engine on end with the crank on the ground is best, but pretty unhandy! Heating balancers to 200* is OK and will greatly help, but you need to work fast. Dry ice on the crank snout also works, but again, work fast. Once it stops, and you are not sure if it's right, it may be best to pull it off and start again. It could gall together and never move if you keep trying. Cranks are easy to drill and tap, I have done a few with simple hand tools. Being dead center is not that important, being straight is. I used a small block Chevrolet bolt and washer and pulling it on with a bolt was much easier.

This morning I temporarily stuck the water pump into the block and it seemed to line up very well with the balancer. However, when I put the front motor mount on it seemed to be awfully close to the balancer. How much clearance should there be? Because of the way the mount has to go on, I have to put it on now. Should I slip some washers to create a bit more space? The balancer is just drilled out for a bolt, so the mount bolts have to go on from the bottom (is that at all clear?).
By the way, does anyone know a good way to get the pick up tube off of the oil pump? Either I am not doing it right, or I am a lot weaker than I thought. If I can't get it off, I'll use the old oil pump, which I disassembled and cleaned before the machine shop sent along a new pump. The old one looks nearly new.

Tim

I have assembled several Chevy and gmc motors. I install the water pump and pulley and use that to gauge whether the balancer is located correctly in alignment with the two. Never looked back or over my shoulder. Onward ho!

If you have enough clearance between the balancer and the mount to change the fan belt without jacking the engine up, you should be good to go. If not, tweak it until you can slip a new belt on with everything bolted down.
Jerry

The mount sits just behind the balancer so the pulley part is open. but between the rack of the balancer and the motor mount top cover (oil shield?) there is about 1/10th of an inch. I'm just worried that if the engine/mount flexes a bit the balancer sill chew up the mount.

Tim

My motor mount cover was also sitting right next to my pulley- I flipped it around and it gave me a tiny bit more more clearance...

The aftermarket oil shields are made with square edges rather than like the radiused edges of the original. This causes the interference.
That shield is not a high tech part. It is simply a rain coat to keep oil leaks form getting to the rubber underneath it. If you still have the old battered up one, you can weld up the rips and holes, and bang it into shape. You can use the new aftermarket one to figure out where holes go after you finish welding up the old one..

I've got the original mount from the 53, cover and all. Just had to replace the rubber part. Mine is curved, not squre like the newer ones. I think I'll try swapping it around to see if I get more clearance.

Tim

A little hammer and torch work on the new part is also a possibility. As was mentioned above the cover is just a splash guard for the rubber parts.
Jerry

All of the bright minds today modifying this and that on these old trucks, and no one has come up with a new style of front engine mount which is simple in design, easy to install/remove and holds up better to oil leaks.