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I need help in order to keep what hair I have left!
I have been fighting this sheared pulley bolt and I just can't get it. "The Ghost" is a 1969 Chrysler Newport Custom, 383 with the Carter 2 barrel.
The easy-outs are just pushing the sheared bolt threads tighter against the balancer threads, or just spinning. I think that the sheared threads have a memory- the last thing it experienced was a catastrophic torquing failure. No budge...
So my MoPar buddy suggested we remove the harmonic balancer. "It will be easier to get those busted bolt threads out when it's on the bench."
We chained up to the frame and began to struggle with that 1 1/4" bolt that was installed 50 years ago. Ended up bending 2 #5 bolts and could not break it loose.
I'm looking for ANY advice WTF to do. Can't wrench on that huge bolt without spinning the motor. He mentioned some type of camp tool that connects onto the Torque Flight flex plate?
I'm nervous and defeated.
Zep45 Lube..... Strap Wrench with a piece of round tubing on the floor....And ether a Good wrench and a Big Frigging Hammer or a good socket with a air impact.... Lube it good.
Or shoot us a photo if this sounds off base?
Zep45 Lube..... Strap Wrench with a piece of round tubing on the floor....And ether a Good wrench and a Big Frigging Hammer or a good socket with a air impact.... Lube it good.
Greetings RacerHog. Thank you for your response.
I can dig the strap wrench idea- strap around the balancer. Not much clearance on top between the bottom of the water pump but worth a shot.
I was trying to do this surgery without removing the radiator but if we use his electric impact tool we'll need the room. Fact is I have a broken radiator mount- the sweat soilder joint broke. I have a rubber wedge in there now but if the radiator is coming out I can have that repaired.
Also, my power steering pump resivour is leaking all over the place. No radiator would give more room to work on the leak.
Fuel filter looks like it was replaced around 1978! I want to change that out as well.
Aaaahh, the joys of owning a 50 year old MoPar! Stay tuned...
Yup, we were pulling towards the driver's side. That has to be the biggest bolt on the whole car. Swear words are getting a workout!
Threads in the balancer are sloppy, may need to healy-coil these so the bolts are tight. Also holes in the 4 belt pulley are out-of-round. Might try to locate a replacement balancer and pulley but that sounds like a deep rabbit hole. Stay tuned...
One thing I would conciter if I was in your spot is replacing the damper, at 50 years old if the dampers outer ring hasn't moved it will soon. It's one part that's inexpensive to replace.
Good luck
Hey more than glad to help! ...replacing the damper... It's one part that's inexpensive to replace.
Good luck
So if you were going to purchase a new harmonic balancer that fits perfectly the first time, where would you begin to look? Not interested in anything high performance or shiny. I assume it will come with a new bolt?
Rockauto or Summit can fix you up with a OEM style damper.
I'm not sure if some careful tapping can align the problem with the pulley but I'd give it a try.
Rockauto or Summit can fix you up with a OEM style damper.
Hey Man, good call. Summit has what I need.
Interesting how the advertisements on this forum follow the conversation...
Regarding the pulley bolt holes in the picture- can you see how much the holes are out-of-round? I'm concerned about the pulley slipping even after the bolts are tight.
I found a couple 4 groove pulleys on eBay but maybe I'm worrying about nothing. Interested in your thoughts.
Also surfing around reading about leaking Saginaw power steering pumps. Have you ever used stop-leak power steering fluid?
Greetings Crew Members. Happy Winter Solstice. From here on out, the days get longer!
So I got a screamin' deal on a replacement 4 groove crank pulley. Fella on eBay hooked me up with a unit off another 1969 383 from New Mexico. Looks exactly like what I have only the 6 bolt holes are round! Paid $20.00 + shipping...
So do I really need to use an installation tool when I put the new harmonic balancer on? Don't want to screw-up the crankshaft threads! Found an OEM balancer from Summit Racing for $113.00.
Also, the balancer reviews mentioned using the "short" crank bolt. Can anyone elaborate on the significance of the "short" bolt? I think I should replace the original bolt but won't know the size/length until I get the old one out. Trying to order everything I'll need before surgery begins.
Thanks for the knowledge and have a Merry Christmas.
For years I just used the OEM bolt and washer with a little oil on the threads of the bolt, it worked fine.
Ok, good enough for me!
Knowledge comes from experience and I appreciate your help.
I was concerned about using the original crank bolt. 50 years old and having what, 90'lbs. of torque on it for so long, I thought it might be stretched.
So I got my old harmonic balancer off! Now I'm trying to install the new Summit Racing balancer.
How do you align the groove of the dampener with the key on the crank if the interruption fit occurs before you get near the key?
While I was installing the new piece by hand, I kept pulling my rig off the balancer checking alignment with some marks I scribed on the end of the crank snout. Even with all that checking I still managed to miss the edge of the key and gouged the side of the groove of the new dampener. Not too bad but HOLY SHIZEN!
Celebrated getting the balancer back off but don't want a repeat performance. Interested in your thoughts...
One is make sure the Key fits the balance groove.
Sand all the rough edges off the crank and new dampener. If you have to use a file, so-be-it. and then sand.
I put a light coat of oil on the crank snout.
I align the key by sight. tap them with a mallet and once the alignment is good. then I use the installer to install the dampener the rest of the way on.
One is make sure the Key fits the balance groove.
Sand all the rough edges off the crank and new dampener. If you have to use a file, so-be-it. and then sand.
I put a light coat of oil on the crank snout.
I align the key by sight. tap them with a mallet and once the alignment is good. then I use the installer to install the dampener the rest of the way on.
Just my 2 cents
Greetings RacerHog!
Thank you for your reply.
I measured the groove in the old balancer with the groove in the new dampener and they're the same.
I used Scotch Bright on the snout of the crank and it looks freshly machined. Impressive for a 50 year old part. No Nick's, burrs or scratches.
I applied some red grease to the snout before installing the new dampener.
My old Buddy (MoPar Wiseman?) suggested a trick he used. He said I should file a "funnel" into the balancer groove where it meets the key. Maybe a 1/16" wider on both sides of the groove and not more than 1/4" down the groove.
That little bit of bevel should help with alignment and allow the groove and key to find each other when pressed together.
I made my own installation tool- not only because I didn't want to chance destroying the snout threads attempting to pull that new dampener on with only a few bolt threads, the interruption fit occurs long before the crank bolt even touches the threads.
Got my radiator back from the shop today. Fixed the sweat solder joint on the one mounting bracket and gave it a professional power flush. Discovered it's not the original radiator but an aftermarket replacement made by Modine!
Interested in your thoughts regarding my Buddy's "funnel" idea...
Couldn't hurt if you need the bevel.... I would use a lighter oil and not a grease...
" S U C C E S S " !!!
Couldn't you hear me jumping around hootin' and howling? YEE-HAW! I got it! I got that nmad thing on there. I'm the replacement dampener King!
I filed a beautiful bevel onto the receiver and of the groove in the harmonic balancer. It looked like a high-end machine shop did the work and charged thousands of dollars to do it. Then went over all the mating surfaces with Scotch Bright.
I used some motor oil on everything! Everywhere! Even oiled up the installation tool threads, washers and nut. Pulled that sucker on by hand all the way to the seat. I made an extension for my adjustable wrench for more leverage. Had to chain-off to a handy bolt on the motor to keep from spinning the engine.
What a beautiful thing! A little nervous since this was my first time at camp. Now I'll be telling the tall tales around the fire pit! Even put my replacement 4-groove crank pulley on with six brand new #8 bolts. Now I'm shot!
Thanks for your help RacerHog!
Well on my way, Captain Chrysler
I new you could do it !!!
And you are very welcome...
Happy Easter!
Worked on The Ghost most of the day on Saturday putting the belt drive back together. Certainly isn't much room between the power steering belt and the water pump pulley.
Installed the freshly overhauled radiator, battery tray and battery. Once the fluids were in it was time to wake up my big block.
Needed starting fluid to get it started. Awfully noisy valve until the oil got up to the rocker arms and everything quieted down.
I left the radiator cap off so it could burp. Kept watching it till the thermostat opened and saw circulation.
Kept an eye on the belts and checked for leaks. Everything was dry under the front of the car but noticed a puddle developing at the rear of the car.
Shut it down and crawled under the gas tank to find the leak. ORIGINAL rubber fuel line between the tank and the hard line had a tear on the back side. Looks like I had that fuel leak for a while since the undercoating was disolved away around the leak.
Replaced the rubber line and took the car around the block for a quick test hop. All good, so we ran The Ghost for a nice 40 mile cruise!
SO WONDERFUL to have my car back on the road. Fell on it's face on Halloween, reborn on Easter. Doesn't get much better than that.
11-10-2019, 01:34 PM
