Harmonic balancer

Tiny
PLYMOUTH19952009
  • MEMBER
  • 1995 CHEVROLET CAPRICE
  • V8
  • 239,000 MILES
I am replacing a distributor on a 1995 Chevy Caprice with a 5.7. I am having trouble pulling the balancer off. The puller is on and we have it cranked very tight but the balancer will not budge. The head of the bolts are trying to pull thru the puller it is so tight. Why is this not coming off? I am afraid of breaking something like my head if it flies off. What is a good way also to stop the balancer from moving as we are having trouble with that also. Also if I do get this off, what is the best way to re-install the balancer. Thanks.
Wednesday, August 17th, 2011 AT 1:48 AM

18 Replies

Tiny
ASEMASTER6371
  • MECHANIC
  • 52,796 POSTS
Remove the puller and install washers on the bolts. That will help with the bolts pulling.
I use a screw driver between the bolts to keep it from turning.
Heat up the balancer before installing. It will stay hot enough to start on till you can get the bolt started and pull it on. Try not to hit the balancer as it may damage the thrust bearing on the crank.

Roy
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Wednesday, August 17th, 2011 AT 2:29 AM
Tiny
PLYMOUTH19952009
  • MEMBER
  • 8 POSTS
Yes I did install a washer and they are bending, I will try to add more heavy duty washers. Are they really this hard to pull off? I am just a little leery of busting something.
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Wednesday, August 17th, 2011 AT 5:02 AM
Tiny
ASEMASTER6371
  • MECHANIC
  • 52,796 POSTS
Yes, they are that hard to get off.

Roy
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Wednesday, August 17th, 2011 AT 2:44 PM
Tiny
PLYMOUTH19952009
  • MEMBER
  • 8 POSTS
Okay, we installed large washers and that is not a problem. The first puller threads stripped and the puller failed. The second puller shaft started bending and failed and still this balancer will not move. What do I do now. This balancer should not be this hard to come off. Why would I be destroying pullers? I read that maybe the balancer was probably put on wrong at some point if it was ever pulled off. I have pulled these off before and never seen this before. Do they make bigger pullies, but it seems if I used something bigger the heads of the bolts would pull off. I am using grade 8 bolts. Thanks.
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Wednesday, August 17th, 2011 AT 9:04 PM
Tiny
PROTECH1980
  • MEMBER
  • 901 POSTS
Remove like this/ dont pull whole pulley.
Image (Click to make bigger)
Thumb
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Wednesday, August 17th, 2011 AT 9:25 PM
Tiny
PROTECH1980
  • MEMBER
  • 901 POSTS
Remove the 3 bolts, use jaw puller. As you can see by pic, your not actually removing the hub from the crankshaft, just the pulley part, and do not heat this, use the jaw puller and the pulley will come off, giving you plenty of accsess to remove dist
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Wednesday, August 17th, 2011 AT 9:33 PM
Tiny
PLYMOUTH19952009
  • MEMBER
  • 8 POSTS
Okay, I have the distributor back together balancer on properly and was just wondering we tried to start the car and will not start. Of course all is off like the water pump, air pump and belts all off. Should it start at this point or not? If so, what could be wrong? Just don't want to put everything back together if we have to tear it down again. Thans for the help.
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Thursday, August 18th, 2011 AT 10:53 PM
Tiny
PROTECH1980
  • MEMBER
  • 901 POSTS
Should start, make sure distributor was installed correctly and connection plugged in, what are you missing, ie. spark, is it not sparking off coil? Do some checking and get back with me, check this link to assist you: https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-cranks-but-wont-start
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Friday, August 19th, 2011 AT 2:31 AM
Tiny
PLYMOUTH19952009
  • MEMBER
  • 8 POSTS
Okay, we have no spark. When re-installing the cap and rotor, what could have we done wrong as it seems pretty strait forward. Could the coil suddenly fail? Is there a way to check the coil? Thanks.
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Saturday, August 20th, 2011 AT 2:32 PM
Tiny
PROTECH1980
  • MEMBER
  • 901 POSTS
Ok, thought you replaced distributor, or did you just do cap and rotor. Check to make sure coil has voltage on one wire, the other wire will pulse ground when cranking, check this and let me know. Did this vehicle run before you tore it down?
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Saturday, August 20th, 2011 AT 5:50 PM
Tiny
PLYMOUTH19952009
  • MEMBER
  • 8 POSTS
Yes we did not replace the distributor. We just replaced the cap and rotor and the car ran fine before this. We replaced this because the car would not start in the rain. We will check the coil.
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Saturday, August 20th, 2011 AT 10:44 PM
Tiny
CADIEMAN
  • MECHANIC
  • 3,544 POSTS
Recheck the wires on the cap its 18436572. If you transfered the coil form 1 cap to the other make sure the ground is tight in the cap
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Saturday, August 20th, 2011 AT 11:15 PM
Tiny
PROTECH1980
  • MEMBER
  • 901 POSTS
Thanks cadieman, Any word on the car plymouth?
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Sunday, August 21st, 2011 AT 10:45 PM
Tiny
PLYMOUTH19952009
  • MEMBER
  • 8 POSTS
Thanks to you guys and some checking, we found the problem. The connector had a bent prong and was not plugging in properly. We fixed that, got it all together and running fine. Just need to put the water pump back on and fan and etc and we should be good. Thanks again guys. This was not a fun project.
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Monday, August 22nd, 2011 AT 1:05 AM
Tiny
PROTECH1980
  • MEMBER
  • 901 POSTS
Your welcome, and thank you for using 2carpros.
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Monday, August 22nd, 2011 AT 2:12 AM
Tiny
CADIEMAN
  • MECHANIC
  • 3,544 POSTS
Allways troubleshoot before just replacing parts youll save a lotta money good luck
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Monday, August 22nd, 2011 AT 6:10 PM
Tiny
CADIEMAN
  • MECHANIC
  • 3,544 POSTS
Np allways troubleshoot before just replacing parts youll save alotta money. Good luck
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Monday, August 22nd, 2011 AT 6:15 PM
Tiny
PROTECH1980
  • MEMBER
  • 901 POSTS
Let us know if the cap/rotor fixed your intermittent problem, again thanks for using 2carpros.
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Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011 AT 1:23 AM

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