Balancer wobble question

[evilways]

Can this type balancers go bad? Mine has a little shimmy to it, and now my crank pulley is chattering on the water pump pulley.

[cdowns]

yes they can go bad //was common in the 80's autoparts stores used to have a kit to repair the damage to the crank a wobbler balancer caused

[evilways]

Now will a worn balancer cause the pulleys to wobble too?

[71swb4x4]

It can mess up the crank if you run it like that. Replace it before you run the engine any more.

[evilways]

Were the old cast crank pulleys prone to wobble? I want to get everything smoothed out down there, and this is the only pulley I have found that lines up with my PS pump.

[ole red]

I had one that the rubber started going out and it made it viberated and shook, sure made a differance with a new one that cost about $50.00

[hayhauler71]

Whats up with the bolts on the lower pulley in your pic.

[evilways]

The center bolt is going through all the pulleys to hold the balancer, as it would not seat on the balancer without affecting the pulleys. The black pulleys hole is not big enough for a washer to set in the middle of it.

[mr48chev]

I think he means, the odd ball bolts and all the mismatched washers behind them.

Is the damper it's self wobbling or is the pully setup you have doing the wobbling.

[GASoline71]

Originally Posted by 71swb4x4

It can mess up the crank if you run it like that. Replace it before you run the engine any more.

Yup... if it has been run for some time like that... damage has prolly already been done.

It's not uncommon for those old 2 piece dampners to have the rubber go bad. Causing the ring to slip, or in severe cases... wobble.

I would say this is a severe case. I've never seen one wobble that far off of the hub before.

Gary

[evilways]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

I think he means, the odd ball bolts and all the mismatched washers behind them.

Is the damper it's self wobbling or is the pully setup you have doing the wobbling.

Not a single odd ball washer nut on it, all three bolts for the pulleys (1flat, 1lock, all same thickness) and the center bolt is for the crank, it looks as though they are mismatch, but they are not. I wasn't sure if using the lock washer was needed, but I used them anyway.

The damper has a slight wobble to it, but the pulleys seem to wobble more, that was my main concern, since I used a cast pulley from a 327 engine, it was the only pulley I could get to line up my power steer.

[evilways]

Here is a top pic. the damper is flush with the rear of the unit.

[Leviticus]

Originally Posted by evilways

Here is a top pic. the damper is flush with the rear of the unit.

If I am seeing that pic right, it looks like the rubber dampening material between the hub and outer ring is squeezing out, this = bad news.

I would not drive that thing anywhere until you get that changed out, as stated above.

The pulley is mounted to the center hub of the balancer and shouldn't wobble, even if the material is shot. You might just be seeing the general wobble from the balancer being bad, but I would put a new crank pulley on when you do the balancer, just to be safe.

Good luck, keep us posted.

[evilways]

Going to place an order for a new balancer, and I am trying to upload a vid for viewing pleasure, if I can get it to load.

[evilways]

This is the vid I just got, the tinging sound is what I think to be the pulleys hitting when it wobbles?

YouTube- balancer wobble

[evilways]

YouTube- balancer wobble 3

[evilways]

Update.

The balancer is defiantly shot (like you all thought); I got it all apart and got ready to install, and Doh! I don’t have the right size wrench for the nut to drive the balancer on. So am currently stuck with no phone (Wife took it to work), and no transportation. I am currently waiting on a buddy to stop by like he said he would I hope. And will hopefully have an update and some pics of the old balancer. Oh and the timing mark is off by a few millimeters too, even though that doesn’t affect me, since I go by vacuum. Anyway updates soon I hope.

[evilways]

She is all done, and it was very easy to do too, I could have had it all done in about an hour if I had that dang wrench. Came off smooth and when on smooth. I know this is not a big deal to some that have done this, but I was a bit intimidated by some of the horror stories people have made of it. Nice peace of mind to know it has got a fresh balancer on it. It only cost me $60 bucks of rental tools to get it done, I guess Autozone is good for something. Now to get my money back and put some more miles on my girl.

[evilways]

For anyone doing a search on this here is some pics of the rental tools I used,
The universal puller, and the universal installer. They both worked great just go slow and easy. Then take them back and get your money.

[Leviticus]

Glad you got her fixed up, its a good thing you caught it early. Now go enjoy your truck!