Tips on chainging harmonic balancer?

syphon

Registered User
So my harmonic Balancer is bad and I've decided to try changing it myself.

I almost definately feel this is over my head, but i cant afford to have it done.

Do you guys have any tips or special things I should know before I do this? I'm gonna go over the whole process... let me know if anything is wrong.

First I have to squirt a bunch of penetrating lube on the center bolt... I'm gonna let it sit for a day or so while I constantly squirt lube in there, then try to remove that huge bolt without breaking it. How do I keep the engine from spinning while doing this?

After this, I'll borrow a Harmonic Balancer puller (either from cinstral on the forums, or from another friend who has one) and pull that bad boy off.

I'm not planning on replacing the front seal, since I havent had a problem with mine and I hear it'll be a PITA to remove.

With the new HB, I understand I have to bolt the pulley on first, then line it up and gently tap it in with a block of wood on the pulley. Then I put some locktite on the main bolt (I'm going to buy a new one from Ford... the newer Mustang one) and then bolt it on at about 100lbs torque.

People keep mentioning anti-sieze compound... what is it and where do I put it? Is there anything else here I'm forgetting? Any problems you forsee?

Lastly... just in case i'm a total bonehead and cant do this in my driveway, how much do you estimate a mechanic would charge to do this? (keep in mind I have all parts and just need the labor).

PS: Can I do all this from above or should I jack the car up and try to go from below?
 
It's not to bad of a job, just tedious like evrything else on our cars. The only thing I remember being a pain is taking that cover over the crank sensor off, just hunt until you find the little bolts and you'll be fine. I had a hell of a time getting my HB off, had to use a really good puller and an impact, soaking it with lube beforehand will help a lot. As fars as the crank bolt, just get a long breaker bar and use a short quick hit to break lose. Anti seize is the cool looking silver stuff that keeps stuff from sticking together, can get it where you get silicone. I would put it around crank before you put HB back on and on crank bolt before you put it back in.
 
Don't hammer your damper on - get the installation tool.

Removing and Installing a damper is not all that hard, just go slow and make sure you get a nice thin coat of antisieze on the snout and inside the damper. Clean out the threads in the snout and torque the crank bolt to 100ft-lbs.

Aaron
 
syph, is yours auto? i know how to keep the engine from turning if thats the case. are you gonna do it this weekend? i can make it up that way if need be. i have some antisieze and locktite as well. i also have: 30-130ftlb adjustable torque wrench, balancer puller, blocks of wood to install front seal (you'll understand if you see them)

definitely do not tap the balancer in. use a installer. you can rent it from shucks for $66. $60 of which you get back upon return. (they start billing more rent after the second day you have it.)

and you will definitely need to jack the car up and go from underneath. i have jackstands (2) if you need them.

later,
 
installation tool ??? i just used the bolt (making sure it was aligned with the notch on the crank)
then used a ratchet to push it on
then when it was on used my snapon 1/2 drive torque wrench to torque to 103 ft lbs

also note i did use the newer style mustang crank bolt & washer
works for me ;)
 
scotte said:
installation tool ??? i just used the bolt (making sure it was aligned with the notch on the crank)
then used a ratchet to push it on
then when it was on used my snapon 1/2 drive torque wrench to torque to 103 ft lbs

also note i did use the newer style mustang crank bolt & washer
works for me ;)

if it is to much pressure when pressing the balancer on, the bolt will only have a few threads in the crank on which to hold on to and pull against. it is a posibility that it could rip these first few threads out of the end of the crank. which would suck big time. it was suggested to me that you could initially use a longer bolt (so it has a lot more thread surface to pull against) to start the balancer on the crank, then when you think the factory bolt will thread in enough before it starts pressing on the balancer, use the factory (mustang) bolt to finish the job.
 
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i got about 12 complete threads in by hand before i started pressing the balancer on also i woundn't go telling people to try a longer bolt (for pressing) as it might seat against the crank (past threaded portion)
and i can guaratee if somebody runs a longer bolt in and it seats against the crank, then they try torqueing it to 103 ft lbs (factory specs) THAT WILL F@#@ THE THREADS UP ;)
 
cinstral is right about the using of a longer bolt.
I dont beleive the standard HB bolt would be long enough
to be safe at pushing the balancer on.

Use a longer bolt,and some washers stack up to keep enough
theads in crank.add washers as you push the balancer on.
If you cant find the right tool.
 
OK I GUESS THERES JUST SOME MIRACLE CRANK IN MY 92 MOTOR THAT LETS ME GET ENOUGH THREADS TO SAFELY PRESS IT ON :rolleyes:
I MEAN COME ON I CAN GET A 1/3 OF THE BOLT HAND THREADED IN
YET YOU DONT THINK ITS SAFE ENOUGH :rolleyes:
 
Cinstral, I wont be doing it this weekend, but hopefully the next weekend.

I'm going to cheap route and buying a used HB off someone from these forums. It should be in sometime next week.

My friend who I plan on getting to help me has some jackstands. We'll jack the car up and just wait for you to stop by with the removal doohickey. Hopefully if you're not doing anything that day, you could stick around for a couple hours and help (or at least give me a few pointers). Plus I'd love to see your Cougar.

Do you guys really think it's worth it to use the tool to install the HB? how hard is it to use? Sounds like threading it on with the bolt is pretty easy, but if there's risk of damaging anything, I'll get the tool (I'm on a really tight budget).

My car is an automagic, so if you could show me how to stop the motor from spinning, that'd be great.
 
yeah, no prob. i'm down to get dirty. what day are you doing it? are you gonna start fri night? i will rent the tool if we can have it back by the end of the weekend. (basically, front the $60. you can buy me lunch sometime for the $6 rental fee) and yeah, stopping the motor is a breeze, will show you when i get there.
 
I was thinking of doing it on Saturday morning. I work 2 jobs at the moment so I'll be at work until 10:30pm on Friday. I have Saturday off
 
sounds good to me. you should pm me with your address, so i can get a map routed there. (i'm still new to WA) how long to get there from kent? you might want to include your ph. # as well. what time sat morning?
 
Ok, I PM'd you directions and my phone number and everything.

Also, I added you to my contact lists for AIM, Yahoo Messenger, and ICQ, but you werent on any of them.

I typed out a huge PM with directions and all, but it said I could only use 1000 characters in the PM so I had to trim it down a lot.

Basically I gave you my address and directions, plus my phone numbers.

You can call my cell phone anytime you want, but I dont have reception inside my house, so if you really need to get ahold of me and I dont answer my cell, you can call me at home.

Let's tentatively plan it for Saturday, May 10th. I hope the HB will be here by then (I'm having it shipped from Maryland).

Once again, thanks for all your help! I look forward to meeting you.
 
to stop the engine from turning, use socket and extension to lock on torque converter drain plug.

Aaron
 
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