The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop I fear the 292 has a 230 Harmonic Balancer

I am troubleshooting a hard starting motor. Long story, made short... The original owner put in a new motor back in 1977 he bought from the local GM parts counter.

He claims the 1965 C30 originally came with a 230 6 cyl. The engine he placed in was a 292. Questions:

1. Do you think the new engine came with a Harmonic Balancer from GM back in 1977?

2. Will a Harmonic Balancer from a 230 fit a 292 and will the engine run?

3. The current Harmonic Balancer on the 292 only has one belt grove. Does anyone know if a 1965 230 Harmonic Balancer had one belt grove? A replacement Harmonic Balancer for the 1977’s 292 shows 2 belt groves.

I think the balancer on 292's are a lot heavier then the 230's and I would bet it should have 2 or even three grooves. Check over at inliners.org and ask them.

Joe

Thanks again Joe...

What a great site. I just registered and have to wait for approval. I can then ask the about the balancer.

Just an update:

I spoke with the original owner. He did not remember the new replacement engine coming with a harmonic balancer. He contacted his mechanic who did the engine exchange, and he did not remember the job. So I am 90% sure they used the balancer from the 230 engine on the 292.

Also, every balancer I see for a 292, as Joe stated above, is bigger with 2 to 3 belt grooves. The one on the engine is thin and only has one groove. Others have stated that the 292 came with the 2 groove balancer even if you only needed one belt groove.

Hope this helps anyone else who runs into a similar situation.

Regards... Russ

Bornco, is your balancer question related to getting it started? Or just a curiosity question? Apparently from 1977 the previous owner ran this engine? Does the balancer matter?

Hi Frank...

Well, troubleshooting the hard starting engine led to checking the timing. The hard starting was accompanied by a little blow back into the carb, thus the reason for checking the timing.

Since the timing mark could not be found with the engine running (I cleaned everything and marked the timing mark), I wanted to troubleshoot the possibility the engine had the wrong balancer.

I currently have a new balancer for the engine and with weather permitting; I will install it, time the engine and go from there.

Thanks everyone for helping me with this.

...Russ

There might be a little confusion on my part. I assumed the timing marks on the different harmonic balancers are different. Thinking about it, they should be the same.

Either way, the old 230 balancer's timing mark was off because the rubber dried up and moved. I hope the new balancer will confirm this when I hope to see the mark when I try to adjust the timing.