there's a big fat washer in the front of the balancer, did you take it out? For some reason there's been a few guys over the years who neglected that and broke tools and stuff.

 

if you got that washer out of there, then i'd put a fair amount of pressure on the puller and tap the hub part of the balancer with a Ford tool to try to get it to loosen up.
if that doesn't work, take the puller off and heat the id of the hole in the balancer with a propane torch to break any glue that might be holding it together, then put the puller back on and try to remove it while it's still warm.

 

Had this issue on a buddies 540 (ATI balancer) 2 or 3 pullers, torch, ended up going to the machine shop. They said they see it a lot.

 

People break puller when they use an impact gun, you shoul do it by hand with a 1/2" drive ratchet

 

I've had to put the puller under a good load, then whack the balancer with a sledge to get it to pop loose. Soaking the inside area with WD40 before trying might help as well. All bolts/washers removed?

 

=
This is the best way I know of :thumbsup:
Tighten the crap out of the puller (I use an impact)
Smack the end of the puller bolt a few times really good
Tighten it some more & do it again,,
It will usually break loose after a few tries

I can't remember any I could not get off this way if I started the job
Heating it does no good & may make it worse, if there is any lube on the crank you may burn it off
You can't heat just the hub, the crank will get hot too.

I did have one brought in years ago I will not forget
The guy tried heating it & it ended up stuck real good
He pulled the crank damper & all.
I stuck it in a 100 ton press, threw a blanket over it & broke the damper all to hell, pressing on it & it still did not come off,,,,
Ended up splitting what was left with a cutoff wheel.

But hey,, we got the sucker off,,,,,

 

I tried pulling a balancer with the washer in place before. Really makes you wonder about yourself sometimes. Jim

 

Thanks for the suggestions.
I will give them a try and let you know.
:boxing:

 

Ok I was in this jam earlier this year.
The propane torch will not help - you need to heat the hub of the damper without heating the snout of the crank
drop the pan and go in from the back side with an Acetylene torch - it will heat much faster & not allow heat soak into the crank snout
Have the puller installed and gp to town. Use an impact or 1/2" drive with a breaker bar.
I broke 2 Craftsman pullers, ended up getting a snap on that was forged rather than cast and it did the trick.
The key is to heat the damper collar fast so it expands and not the crank snout, if you do not get it the first time let it sit and cool for several hours and try again

 

Sid's post is correct.. when in doubt get a BFH and smack it! Don't just tap it either, put some moxy behind it.

 

Good information above.
BB dampers have ALWAYS been known for being difficult to get off at times. I don't have a clue why this is common with BBs and not so much with SBs!

 

One word of warning about hitting the balancer with a hammer. About 33 years ago I did this on my 69 SS. After all was said and done, and I fired up the engine, the balancer exploded. Luckily no one was in the line of fire, or they most likely would be dead.

I should add that I also used a hammer putting it back on, which probably caused some hairline cracks.

Hey I was a dumb 18 year old. I didn't know any better :clonk:

 

Flame out - good point!!! - count on putting on a new damper after you get this one off

 

i have had a couple rough ones over the years, what works sometimes is to tighten it right up to the breaking point, (you learn where that is after a few years-lol) and walk away-sometimes it will finally pop
this is why it is important to ck the balancer/crank fit, and hone the balancer to get the correct fit
if its a fresh rebuild, why does it need cleaning up??????????

 

Thanks again guys for all the good info. The engine is at the builders house right now and I won't get the chance to get to it till tomorrow. I thought about what some of you said and agree that I should invest in a new damper if I end up beating the thing off. So when, and it will happen, I get that thing off the crank, I will purchase a new damper, which raises another question.
The 454's are externally balanced therefore, are all dampers considered equal when it comes to replacing them or will I have to take in the entire rotating assembly for balancing?

 

Sorry, as for forced ind question about the cleaning up, the motor was rebuilt about 3 years ago and stored in not so ideal conditions and the heads were not installed so moisture got into the cylinders and I would feel better about cleaning those up, as well as the rest of the parts. Plus, I would feel uneasy knowing the balancer issue. Call it CARma or whatever. I plan on driving the car with this motor for a long time and if anything happened to the motor and needed to be pulled apart, I would rather get the ghost out of the closet now. Peace of mind I guess.
Like the line in the movie Full Metal Jacket. I just substitute Chevelle for Gun...
"This is my Chevelle, Their is only one like it... and on it goes.
Anyway, I'm like a lot of guys here, It's more than just a car, it's an extension of our personality. Plus, it's winter and this is the best time to do it. The Bears suck and won't go to the playoffs this year, and I can only watch so much "American Muscle Car" on Sundays. This will keep me out of trouble for a couple of weekends.

 

For perfection balance the entire assembly, but it is not required.
You could also have the balancers weight matched, which is the in between route.
I bought the Summit SFI balancer and like it.

 

Thanks, I was looking in the Summit catalog this morning.
Great minds think alike.

 

I hear you man! Like a couple months ago i took off my balancer off of my 327 (which turned out that i really did not need to after all) but my God did it take every ounce of power in my body and tons of tries and to make things worse i had the puller on the wrong way which now i believe contributed to the stripping of one of the bolt holes.

I used a breaker bar but you should go at it like you were going to kill it and rip it out.

 

Check with Mike Lewis, top of the line ATI Super Damper. I want the best. He is most reasonable.

 

O K here is the deal if you could find a puller like mine you might have a chance of getting
it off with out damaging any parts . My puller is 1.1/4 dia 20 threads per inch.
Anyway if it has just a stock timing cover take the pan off take the cover bolts out then
just take the torch to the cover and cut it off being careful not to nick the balancer
take a7/16 bolt and spot drill the head of it put it in the end of the crank for the puller to rest against use plenty molly grease on the end of the puller and on the threads of the
puller get the best and largest you can come up with. Now tighten it up all it will stand
get alarge torch cutting head prefuable a rose bud heat it till you hear it give keep puller tight when it moves keep heat on it till you get it off or till it quits moving then stop let cool and start prosses over if this does not work only solution is cut the hub into. My method on any bbc is to hone .001-.0015 out of balancer and install with never
seiez. good luck OldDog

 

Back in the day I worked on cars for some friends in my mom's driveway. A friend brought over his Imala with a 327 saying he needed the timing chain replaced. He gave me the parts and left. I took everything off the front of the engine and attached my puller to the balancer and started turning. Nothing, got a bigger wrench and turned some more nothing and now my puller was starting to bow. I took it all apart and got in there with a flashlight and found someone had welded the dampner to the crank!

Rick

 

I think I read more topics on problems removing balancers than anything esle.. Upon assembley, does anyone ever mic the od.-id of these surfaces to make sure you dont have too much of an interference fit? Try to do this sometime on assembly and remember to add antisieze compound on these surfaces. Run a rod hone thru these balancers if they are too tight.

 

Part of the problem with dampers coming off hard is the fact that they were carelessly installed previously. Dirt, dings, and the all too common pipe wrench marks I've found on cranks. If people would just polish the surface free of dings, spray with carb cleaner and blow clean, then apply some grease to the crank and damper,and here is another...put the thing on straight. If you get it cocked when you are starting it, it will wedge itself slightly off center the whole way on.