So today we were changing my cam and adding a supercharger to my chevelle. The engine is a 350, and im running a weiand 177 supercharger. Now the problem is this, When trying to put the harmonic balancer on we used the center bolt and an impact gun to press it on. After the balancer was on the center bolt didnt want to come off. We finally got it removed, but 1/4 or so of the bolt broke off and is still in the crank. Now i can still get on a good amount of thread on (about 1/3 of an inch). My question is: should i just leave it and put lock tite on the end of the center bolt, or change the whole crank :(?? Is it really possible for the balancer to wiggle loose? Be easy guys im a n00b..

I wouldn't take any chances with this. Get a bolt extractor and remove the broken piece from the crank and buy a new bolt to install the balancer. An entire crank replacement isn't necessary.

Isn't it preferable to use a balancer install tool instead of an impact gun?

Impact hammer on a crank balancer. Tough lesson there. That broken part of the bolt may not come out easy. Those bolts are hardened. Check with a local machine shop and see if they can extract it. They probably have plenty of experience with this.

Impact tools are for taking things apart, NEVER to put things together!!!!!!!

Don't use a 2x4 and hammer to "press" it on either. Proper tools are the way to go.

not to hijack his thread but how much distance should be between the balancer and the timing cover on a 350? I cannot get mine to go down any further and I have a 1/2 in gap between the end of the balancer and the timing cover. Is this to much gap?

Thanks and sorry for hijacking your post....

also just checked and have a little less than 1" between the end of the crank and the edge of the balancer...sound ok?

today i installed a similar edelbrock kit. the blower pulley is an add-on to existing balancer pulley. we had to chase the center hole with a tap because there was nothing there before and the bolt in the kit wouldnt go in with our fingers. After that it was ok. for 1 hr we thought the bolt was wrong

The shop manual for 1965 shows the balancer being installed with a block of wook and a BFH! They had no special tool for it back then. The picture is very clear!

man, you guys are hard on a guy who admits he's a 'noob' and screwed up.

i'd used the 1/3 inch of thread and some red locktite. you'll probably have to cut a bolt down or shim one. check on it regularly for a few months. if the bolt is so lodged in there that it broke, there's no way you'll be able to extract it. bolt extractor kits are worthless and only work if you broke a bolt off because of sideways shear, not because it got seized. if it's so siezed it broke the bolt, how can you possibly get a better bite on it than the original metal of the bolt???

and if you ever have to take it apart, you'll just have to put a torch to the bolt for about 30 seconds or so, let it sit for a minute, and it'll come right off.
good luck, have fun.

the locktite is a legitimate idea

our motor didnt even have a bolt in the center ( should there be one?) We thought the pulleys........ummm ahhh should i feel real dumb right now or is it ok to be missing that bolt?

what can happen if u hit the balancer in with a hammer?

Some engines didn't have bolts in the balancers. A BFH was the only way to install them.

The balancer rubber could be damaged if hit the wrong way.

Don't feel bad, many of us have screwed up the balancer bolts, just do a search.

man, you guys are hard on a guy who admits he's a 'noob' and screwed up.

i'd used the 1/3 inch of thread and some red locktite. you'll probably have to cut a bolt down or shim one. check on it regularly for a few months. if the bolt is so lodged in there that it broke, there's no way you'll be able to extract it. bolt extractor kits are worthless and only work if you broke a bolt off because of sideways shear, not because it got seized. if it's so siezed it broke the bolt, how can you possibly get a better bite on it than the original metal of the bolt???

and if you ever have to take it apart, you'll just have to put a torch to the bolt for about 30 seconds or so, let it sit for a minute, and it'll come right off.
good luck, have fun.

I agree all day long and twice on sundays! And Beating them on is awful hard on the thrust bearings.
Bill

I would probably try to center punch the broken bolt and then get a REAL good sharp left-hand drill bit and it may come out. If you are putting on a roots style blower, I don't know that I would mess around with this area...that Gilmer drive cog is going to be putting more stress on the front of the crank. Other option is to center-punch the bolt and drill a small hole and work your way up in size. You will need some carbide bits. Work your way up in size until you are close to the size of the bolt, and watch that you are centered on the bolt. After you have basically only the threads left you can usually take a small punch and bent/break the remaining bits out of the hole. Finally...chase the threads with a proper size chase or tap and reinstall. As others have said...use a balancer installation tool.

So that's where the BFH technique came from.

I would try the center punch and drill, using a left hand bit.

If you could find a drill bushing or something similar to center the drill, and protect the remaining threads that would also be good.

Have not stuck and broke one of these yet, but I had one break off due to a balancer failure. The rest of the bolt came out easily.