crankshaft?

well after trying to figure out why the coupe wouldnt run thanks to the help of a few people I discovered the crankshaft bolt was broke allowing the balancer to walk away from the crank sensor.

Does anybody have any tips on how to get the broken bolt out?
Another question is looking at the balancer and the crank the way the keyway is cut the key really doesnt really fit into the balancer is this normal or is something else really wrong? Will the crank pull back into balancer when I finally get the bolt back in and tightend back down?

THANKS.........................

Let start at the beginning:

The balancer breaks the bolt not the other way around. You need a new balancer.

If the balancer is in on piece, rent a removal tool and pull it. You may want to remove the fan to get more room.

Next, you need to get an easy-out to remove the bolt. Carefully centerpunch the broken bolt. Drill a small hole and work up to the correct size drill bit. If you do it in steps you have a lot lower chance of wandering off and hitting the threads. Once you have the hole drilled, tap the easy-out into place (gently) and pull the bolt. It's not hard but it is tedious.

Aaron

You are very lucky my man...

If you caught your balancer before it broke off, you are extremely lucky indeed!! Be very glad and say a prayer tonight to thank God that you found out now. Pastera is very right, the balancer is what snaps the bolt off, not the other way around. the rubber elastomer ring becomes brittle and weak, after time, and the steel balancer ring (with the balance pins) starts to spin independantly of the aluminum hub. This causes high freq vibration and stress that the balancer bolt cannot take for long and it snaps off. After that, there is nothing but the tolerance fit to hold the balancer on the crank snout, so the balancer starts to stroll off the snout. This is where you are at now. My car had the exact same thing happen, but when it quit, I looked under the hood and all appeared normal. I had my g/f crank it over and over while I watched, then the main belt tensioner let up and I heard a "clunk" and my main pulley fell on the swaybar. If only I had stopped cranking it, I would be in your shoes now.

Anyway, get the old balancer out, toss it in the trash can, along with the pulley (they are a matched set). The hard part is coming up. You can spend either around $250-$300 for the new HB/Pulley assembly from Ford, or get the BHJ balancer for about $350.00 I guess (but from what I hear, it must be machined to fit properly, costing even more $$). My suggestion personally, would just be to get a new Ford unit. After you purchase it, buy some clear silicone sealant and seal the black elastomer ring from the atmosphere with it on both the front and the back of the balancer. This should help prevent any failure from happening probably for as long as you own the car. Mine lasted 230k miles before she gave out.

Hope this helps. any questions, PM or email me.

Phil