Shaking......Harmonic Balancer???

[Paul]

Hey PAUL how long do these harmonic balancer supposed to last? I replaced mine last year and it is starting to wobble again...i am pissed! I got the ford racing stock replacement. Should i upgrade to billet one or something?

Thanks

That's definitely pretty unusual. As GDTrumbo mentioned, I look into the warranty aspect.

I think if you really wanted an upgraded balancer, you could look into the Pioneer SFI balancer. It's relatively inexpensive (around $130 if I remember right) and is a nice piece. I have one on my Windsor motor in my '94.

I actually just had the balancer replaced on my daily driver '95. I had a shop do it because they noticed it was bad while doing some electrical diagnostic for me. I had the just install another Ford Racing balancer - nothing fancy. Here's a link:

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=fms-m-6316-m50

Funkyboss, make sure your balancer installer will work with your new balancer. I know I had to buy a couple big washers for mine to get the installer to properly seat against the balancer.

Paul.

 

[FunkyBoss]

I've always installed them by putting the bolt in and hitting it with the impact gun. Should I be doing it differently?

 

[FunkyBoss]

Pulled the old one off to check it out, What do you guys think??? Doesn't look too bad to me :dontknow:!

 

[Paul]

Might as well replace it while you have it off. If your car has high miles, it is likely going to be time for a new one soon anyway.

Installing it with an impact is the wrong way to do it. If you damage the threads in the crank, or snap the bolt, you'll have much larger problems than a bad balancer. Get an installer tool.

Paul.

 

[Dr Fildo]

I totally agree with Paul. You already have it off. And the rubber looks a lot farther out than it did on mine, and it shook like hell! I went with stock replacement - have not had any problems with it yet and it runs smoooothe.

I too put the old nut back on and used the impact wrench to install. Simple.

 

[Win]

If you look at the pics you can see the rubber is further out on one side you def need to replace it. Yeah do it all by hand thats the way to go

 

[FunkyBoss]

I wound up putting it back together and rotating the pulley on the balancer. The Haynes manual says to note the position when you remove it and I never did this when I started the project, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Once I got it back together, I advanced the timing to 16* and the shake seems to be just about gone. I'm still going to replace it, but I'm not in a hurry. Heck, I don't even have tags on the car yet, it just sits in the garage.

I'll update the thread as soon as I replace the balancer, shouldn't be too long.

 

[Paul]

Sixteen degrees initial timing is too much, and indicates to me that the balancer has likely spun.

 

[FunkyBoss]

I thought I read somewhere that 16* was optimal for TFS heads??? The car certainly runs smother and there is no pinging, but I guess it is possible the balancer spun, in which case who knows where timing is set lol!

 

[Venom351R]

just replace it, its done.

 

[RoadZOmbie]

Not to bring a thread back from a coma (cause its not that old to consider it dead) but do I have to buy a puller and an installer for this job?

 

[topless95]

Puller, yes. Installer, not necessarily. If you use some sort of lubricant on the crank push the balancer on(the first little bit) then using a breaker bar slowly tighten the crank bolt to seat the balancer. If you run into a great deal of resistance, then you may have to pick up an installer tool

 

[Paul]

IMHO, you should NOT install the balancer by pressing it on with the bolt. Get a puller and an installer.

 

[RoadZOmbie]

Picked up a Pioneer peice from Pepboys for $55.00 through a commercial account. Pretty good deal =) Going to try and rent both tools and knock it out tomorrow

 

[RoadZOmbie]

WOW!!!......what a f0cking difference!! The engine cranks on smooth and is overall motionless. I still hear a little pinging at 12 degrees, atleast it sounds like it, but it got late and Ill mess with the timing again tomorrow afternoon. I also had shatter when taking off from 1st and now its gone. I was thinking it was the clutch but guess I was wrong. I probably would recommend everyone that has more than 120,000 to just go ahead and change it instead of waiting for it to fail.