i have a seized harmonic balancer my recently acquired 65 400, what's the best way to get this off with minimal damage? it snapped off one of my harmonic balancer puller bolts, thankfully it came out easily but still no avail on the balancer. with the rubber in these balancers, is it good to apply heat? i have applied PB blaster but not working yet. thinking i'm going to stand the engine on end and soak it with some blaster.

thanks
duane

 

Were you using a puller like this when the bolt broke? What grade bolts did you use to attach the puller to the balancer?
I can't say I have ever seen a balancer that would not come off with a bolt on puller.

 

Most balancer pullers I've seen have pretty low-grade bolts. Consider getting grade 8 bolts. Also, I usually remove the balancer bolt, take out the thick washer, then thread the bolt back into the crank to give the puller a solid surface to bear against.

 

yes, i was using that style puller, i will get some grade 8's tomorrow, if i don't have any that will fit.

thanks

 

Agree with better bolts. Be certain to stay square/make the pull even. Tighten the puller and then strike the puller sharply and straight on. Re-torque the puller bolts evenly and repeat the process.

Heat on a balancer? It would be better if you didn't.

Good luck!!!

 

Just to be sure, you did pull the big washer behind the bolt as Joe said, correct? I forgot to do that once and sure enough I broke a bolt trying to pull the balancer.

 

Only two bolts line up, I know I’m supposed to be able to get 3, only one style pulled like this correct?

 

I've always used just two, I think that should work. Although looking at your photo, you want the puller center over the center of the bolt hole in the crank. Use the other two places across from each other on the puller.

 

this is the exact kit that i have, i bought it years ago and have used it many times over the years.

 

[QUOTE=2blu442;1414255]I've always used just two, I think that should work. Although looking at your photo, you want the puller center over the center of the bolt hole in the crank. Use the other two places across from each other on the puller.[/QUOTE

i was trying with two, i left the bolt in, with the washer out, i left the bolt about a 1/8'' out so it had room to move and i had as many threads in the crank as possible. no go.

i knew not to apply heat due to the rubber, i was just double checking. i'm thinking about standing the block on end and soaking it with pn blaster for a day or two and see what happens.

thanks

 

Correct. For a balancer with 3 pulley bolts like a BBC or SBC you would use three bolts in the "y" configuration on the puller. For and olds balancer with 4 pulley bolts, use two bolts in the slots right across from eachother like you would on a steering wheel.

 

i guess my picture should have been labeled a question. that being, is this the right puller? i did have the main center drive bolt of the puller, over the center of the harmonic balancer bolt.

 

well, i've done everything correct, other than grade 8 bolts, i will have to try some of them tomorrow. this car was tore down and resto started 30 years ago, you can tell the engine was rebuilt and never fired, but it sat empty all these years so i'm pulling it all apart to have it freshened up.

did the 65 400 come with flat top pistons? this engine has flat tops. pictures coming

 

You can see how clean the head is, but the varnishing of oil on the mains goes to show how long it’s been sitting .

 

Yes, the 1965 400 would have come with flat top pistons. And yes, that's the pulled I use.

 

In your pic of the balancer, it looks like the bolt is still in the crank. Looks like there are flats of the bolt head visible behind the puller. Are you sure you pulled the big bolt and thick washer out before trying to use the puller?

 

yes, the bolt and washer was removed on my first attempt, pointed adapter for puller flush against crank, it started bending my puller bolts so i backed off, re-inserted the crank bolt to within 1/8'' of touching, therefore having majority of the threads of the bolt, into the crank shaft, giving me a more stable base to push off of, but still leaving a gap so the balancer could move when freed, still nothing. it broke one of the 5/16 puller bolts. i've been spraying it with pb but nothing moving yet. i have the puller attached with as much tension as possible without breaking anything, i am going to leaving it there over night with the engine hanging vertical from my cherry picker and pb blaster soaking in the harmonic balancer

 

You may very likely break that puller you are using. There are stronger pullers like this one from our friends at Harbor Freight.

https://www.harborfreight.com/harmon...-pc-63740.html

It does cost $90. You can probably go to O'Reilly's and borrow one for free after you make a refundable deposit.

 

All harmonic balancer pullers look like that. You only need the two bolts. These are designed to pull either four bolt balancers (by using the two opposing slots) or Chevy three bolt balancers (by using the slots at 120 deg). In over 50 years of working on Oldsmobiles I've never needed more than two bolts on a puller like that.

 

well, this one has been sitting 60% of the time you've been doing this...lol it's being a real PITA. i left it vertical all night with pb blaster and it's still not budging. i don't have 50 years under my belt, but i do have 30, and i too have never had an issue pulling off a balancer. i've probably pulled 20 balancers and never remotely anything close to be this seized. and yes, i have double and triple checked, there is no washer, you can clearly see the color difference in the crank metal and the balancer

 

I never said he needed more than two bolts. My point was the puller he has looks like it is made from cast metal and could break if he puts too much pressure on it. It looks more like a steering wheel puller and would probably work fine for that. I guess you have never seen the one from Harbor Freight. If you click on the link you will see the difference and realize they do not all look alike.

 

Updated my bolts and used some old balancer bolts for washers, still no go. Just gonna let it sit like this for a couple of days and see if the PB can do it’s thing.

this is a true balancer puller, not a steering wheel puller, I’ve had this tool for a very long time and have removed many balancers with this very tool. I have torn down and rebuilt many of engines so this is not my first rodeo, with that said, I might go buy the beefier round puller, drill holes to possibly get four bolts into the balancer, and see if that will give me a better bite pulling.

 

Consider striking the center bolt of the puller periodically while it is sitting under tension.

​​​​​​Good luck!!!

 

^^^This!!!

 

Are you trying to save the balancer? otherwise, set it up with some tension and put the heat on it .

 

[QUOTE=REO442;1414400]Are you trying to save the balancer? otherwise, set it up with some tension and put the heat on it .[/QUOTE

that's about where i'm at, the crank is the important piece here, as long as i have a new balancer in the hands of the machinist when he balances everything, that's all that really matters.

 

and of course, nobody within a 45 minute drive of me has oxygen right now. i can't even go to harbor freight and buy tanks from them, they're out too

 

Good Luck! I agree this is out of the ordinary. Soaking it in your favorite penetrant sound like the best thing to do. The balancer looks good, the rubber ring doesn't look all cracked. I hope your able to get it off without damaging it.

 

thanks, I actually got it to move a little bit, but damn. It seems that blowing it with the hammer works with loosening the balancer, but finally shredded the threads on my puller.

 

this puller right here is a beast! Well worth the money. I went and bought this one today and was finally able to get the balancer off. I hope I never have one like this again!!

 

Looks like it might have had Loctite on the snout.

 

Glad it worked for you. Kinda of expensive but cheaper than the balancer if you had to take a torch to it.

 

my nephew suggested the same thing. with size of the bolt, and depth of the threads, not sure why anyone would ever do that.

as to the balancer, i will let the machine shop determine if it's usable. i smacked it a few times and can honestly admit i said some choice words to the balancer once it hit the floor. lol

 

Wow, glad you got it done !!

 

Glad you got it off.

Re Loctite: still not as crazy as what I encountered helping a young friend with a Chevy 327. When we tried to pull the balancer something just felt weird and I couldn't get a socket on the balancer bolt. Went after it with brake cleaner and a screwdriver thinking gunk, and found some previous owner had WELDED the balancer to the crank.

That was the day it struck me just what kind of mayhem and redneck engineering Chevy guys are capable of. What started out as a simple seal and refresh turned into a parts hunt since the crank and balancer were ruined. If the 327 hadn't been that Camaro's original engine I'd have chucked the whole works in the bin.

And y'all wonder why I talk so much trash about Chevrolet guys.

 

I assure you, redneck engineering is not limited to just Chevy guys, this site has proven it numerous times. The last time I pulled a balancer I used the harbor freight one, definitely a winner.

 

We have come a long way when we are considering HF tools being better than others. Maybe HF has come a long way. I think they have on a lot of their stuff. I actually have one of these HF pullers and have never used it.

 

redneck engineering has made the world go around for centuries, but welding a balancer to a crank is a little much, especially on an original piece.

thanks guys. the balancer was a real bitch but now on to the fun stuff, making up my mind on how to put it all back together. bone stock, or a little extra. i'm not a racer, but that don't mean i don't want to go vroom vroom. lol

 

Idk them rednecks must be watching hot rod everybody knows gorilla glue and some duct tape is all you need to hold the balancer on , amateurs :-)