Pins on balencer?

curse

Registered User
OK I just got my ASP underdrive pullleys, I understand how to do everything minus having to remove the pins on the harmonic balancer. What the hell is that? I know what a harmonic balancer is but i dont know what pins they are talking about. Could someone give me a walk though on this. My car is a 94 in case that helps. Thanks

Victor
 
I have no idea what they mean. All they say is pull the pins off the stock harmonic balancer and it is bold black letters, so I think it is a must
 
Ive never had my 94 balencer off but on my 93 there are no pins. do you have the thing in hand? all I can tell you is to take it apart and hope for the best
 
I know the instructions says remove the pins.......but DO NOT REMOVE THE PINS.

This info came from Duffy over at TBSCEC
 
May I ask why? Not questioning your knowledge or anything just curious? I have gotten advice from Duffy and he has never lead me wrong, so could you please go into detail. Thanks for your help.

Victor
 
supposedly the pulley is balanced by itself(neutral), and the pins in the balancer are hammered in there as a final(half-assed) balance for the engine, removing the pin would throw it of balance:confused: . I guess ASP believes the pulley is not neutral balanced and the pin is there to counter balance it. Who is right, who knows, my engine has been re-balanced(each internal piece individually) with the ASP pulley, so I didnt bother looking into it:p

Im sure someone personally has had the stock pulley spun up to check the balance?:confused:
 
Ok well I will check it out, hopefully everything goes smooth(yeah right, like it ever does) Thanks for the help.

Victor
 
This is from July of 2002 where GDII posted this regarding the pully's. And below that is a link to that thread, and a link to another thread that seemed to give some answers from Vernon who actually has the ASP pully's on his car:

While it is true that the pulley and the damper are balanced as a unit. The damper itself is neutrally balanced before the pulley is added. It is much easier to balance the damper than the stamped steel pulley part. The pulley is then gross balanced using welded on weights. Then the two pieces are balanced as a unit. If the two together are unbalanced, pins are added to holes that are drilled in the damper to achieve final balance.

The aftermarket underdrive crank pulleys are generally considered to be neutrally balanced since they are machined from a single piece of aluminum stock. To use an aftermarket pulley, you should really pull out any pins that are in the back of the stock balancer.

One other point. The stock pulley and the damper do not have to be marked to go back together. The holes are offset in such a way that they can only be put back together in their proper orientation.

http://sccoa.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=5908&highlight=pully+pins

http://sccoa.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=10815&highlight=pully+pins
 
And this is a link that uses some of the same info and concludes, the pins should not be removed.

http://pub29.ezboard.com/fthunderbirdscenthusiastclubfrm13.showMessage?topicID=33.topic

I installed a set of ASP underdrives a couple years ago before anyone was aware of the balance pins. I ran the car that way for about 20K miles with no problems. Last year about this time I had a new race engine built and bought a new dampner w/ pulley and a 3.8 mustang bolt and washer from Ford. The balancer didn't have any pins.

I've got about 12K miles on the engine and no sign of problems yet.

David
 
Oh yea, if anyone has a shop manual around it does say to transfer the pins from the original balancer over, so for sure the balancer is neutral balanced NOT using the pins, the balance is for the engine or pulley. Im going to GUESS engine, since the pulley has a few weights welded inside, similar to a drive-shaft:confused:
 
Balance Pins

Ford Shop Manual 1989 Section 21-15-11
Ford Shop Manual 1995 Section 03-01A-32

Engine Front Cover (assembly/disassembly instructions)

Step 15.
NOTE:
If the crankshaft pulley and vibration damper have to be separated, mark the damper and pulley so that they may be reassembled in the same relative position. This is important as the damper and pulley are balanced as a unit.

NOTE:
If the crankshaft damper is being replaced, check if the original damper has balance pins installed. If so, new balance pins (E0SZ-6A328-A or equivalent) must be installed on the new damper in the same position as the original damper. The crankshaft pulley (new or original) must also be installed in the same relative position as originally installed.

It appears to me now that possibly both schools of thought are correct on the damper/pulley balance issue.

The damper and pulley are balanced as a unit probably by the welded weight on the pulley and by removing material from the stock damper. The balance pins in the damper would then be to balance with the rest of the engine and not the damper/pulley assembly.

I would say that if you are installing a new crank pulley, it would be best to have the new pulley/old damper balanced as a unit without the pin, then reinstall the pin before putting it back on the motor.

If you are installing a new pulley and a new BHJ balancer, you should have the pin reinstalled in the same location for engine balance.

Of course, as blackbirdsc (Steve Webb) has told me, an 80,000-100,000 mile motor will be internally out of balance due to wear and carbon deposits that that pin weighs! Big thanks also to Duffy for finding the information in the shop manuals.
 
Re: Balance Pins

gldiii said:
Ford Shop Manual 1989 Section 21-15-11
Ford Shop Manual 1995 Section 03-01A-32

NOTE:
The crankshaft pulley (new or original) must also be installed in the same relative position as originally installed.




well duh, they only fit one way, who the heck writes those shop manuals anyways:D, or I guess they assume people think the bolt holes warped if they lined them up wrong:rolleyes: :p

I hope the rest of those instructions they printed are correct :eek:
 
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