questions about BHJ balancer

mikey

Registered User
Soon I will be purchasing a BHJ balancer but I had a few questions about it!!

Will it come with the crank pulley, or do I need to buy another specially for the BHJ, or will the stock one do fine? I am aware that the pulley itself has to be balanced on the BHJ!

Also I would like to change the crank sensor at the same time, will the stock one work with the BHJ, or is there a better one available on the market, or should i not bother changing it at all, for it seems to work fine??

Does anyone have good ideas on how to get the rest of my old balancer off of the crank shaft(behind the timing cover) w/o removing the cover itself? And is easy out the best way to remove the rest of the bolt that is broke inside the crankshaft, i've never used it(easy out) before though, I was told to be very very careful because it is denser than a drill bit, so if u screw it up, then your really in a big mess???

Your thoughts and comments are greatly appreciated, and thanks to all in advanced!!!:D
 
You can use the stock pulley or get a set of underdrives. I used the stocker for a while before I received my set of ASP's. You will want to remove the sensor ring (the thing on the back of the old balancer that has the three "teeth") and transfer it to the BHJ. Be sure to get the sensor ring lined up on the new balancer to match how it was on the old one. Lay out both balancers side by side and mark the BHJ and the ring for positioning. I used the key-slot as a reference point.
If you have any doubts about the crank sensor, now is the time to change it. Fortunately, there are a couple of manufacturers out there making them, so inquire at your favorite parts house. You will need a 5.5mm socket or nut driver to get the tiny mounting bolts out, and a matchbook cover to set the proper alignment gap (.0030").
To get the sleeve off the shaft without removing the cover, you will need to drill some pilot holes with a very skinny drillbit into the sleeve in a pattern that will line up with a balancer puller. I used three selftapping screws (about 3" long) with some washers so the balancer puller would catch the screw heads. Make sure that the crankshaft is slicked up with some penetrating oil and carefully slide the sleeve off with the puller. For the broken bolt, drill a pilot hole in the center and increase the drill bit diameters until you get to around 1/4". Soak the bolt with penetrating oil and use an easy-out to extract it. If it doesn't want to come out, don't force it. I broke an easy-out off in the bolt, and believe me, it's a pain to drill that out.
The main thing to remember is to TAKE YOUR TIME. If something isn't working out, go have a beer (or something), and then come back to it.
One more thing, I used an old hand mirror and some coathanger wire so that I could have a reasonably good view of what I was doing from up above.
(I've broken 3 stock balancers so if you decide to go the route of removing the timing chain cover, I can give you some tips for that also.....)

If you run into a snag, contact me and I'll see what I can do to help....

my email address (at home) ganeco@adelphia.net
 
Necessity is the mother of invention...

Actually, everything I know about the SC, I learned from other folks like you George, Dr. Fred, Duffy, and the cast of thousands (or maybe dozens) of real SC wizards.....
 
Thanks Guys Your Great!!

Thanks for the help here guys, but i've already run into a snag...no matter who i call, i can't find the BHJ balancer anywhere in the city(Edmonton AB)....All the performance shops give me names like "Power Bond" and "Pro Bond" and "Pioneer" Are these balancers just as good as the BHJ, or at least better than stock?? A guy told me people use the "Pioneer" on the strip, but he's not an SC owner so you know!!

I'm not too familiar with Balancers in general so i'm taking all the time nessisary(lol)...and i'm sure i will have plenty of questions along the way...thanks for the links to help me out!!!

P.S. U guys take away alot of grief.......Thank You
 
what difference does it make?

Why does it make a difference for the ring on the back of the HB to be placed in a certain postion? This magentically picked up by the sensor and the sensor does not care about marks on the ring. If you are CERTAIN about your statement, please make reference to it in a manual so I can look for myself and everyone else reading this. thank you
 
Mikey, the BHJ balancer is a specialty part, so I don't know if your local speed shop can get one unless they have an account with BHJ. We used to only be able to get them through a group buy!

As mentioned in a previous post, you can get them at Blue Tongue (Paul), Super Coupe Performance (Bill E.). I also think that BHJ might sell directly.

I just don't know who would be best to get it shipped up your way! Might want to check all three places.
 
Mikey

I got to reading your previous post where you found the bolt broken, but the balancer still in place. If the balancer was still on the crank, and still in one piece, how did it break off? Please don't tell me you put a new bolt in it and drove it? Or maybe it was already broken and I just didn't catch on to that.

Anyways, I am pretty sure that the only other manufacturer who produces a HB other than Ford is BHJ, so none of the other companies you mentioned will have a specific part number for the SC's. If they do make one, let us all know, but buyer beware, it may not be the correct one.

I tried the method mentioned about drilling out the broken part of the balancer, but I sort of went too far and got into the timing gear on the crank. Not a great moment for me, but I ended up removing the entire timing cover and replacing the timing gears/chain with new units. Hell, with 233K miles, might as well right?

I used a new Ford HB/pulley unit instead of the BHJ. I bought this for a previous SC I had a few years back that I never used, lucky me huh?

I am going to save some $$ for the BHJ, or other aftermarket version later on, as I now have zero faith in even a new Ford Balancer.

Good luck and happy motoring.

Phil
 
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