Front Harmonic Balancer Ring

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Crookedaxle

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Well, when it rains it pours for me it seems. The ring slipped off of the harmonic balancer and is spinning around between the hub it was on and the main pulley. It sounded exactly like the fan was hitting something and it only makes sound when it's idling or coming down from higher RPM. It may have slipped off halfway into my 40 mile commute for all I know since it makes zero noise when you're going down the road. I'm not very familiar with externally balanced engines. Is the counterweight in the hub like I'm assuming? Is it safe to drive home?
 

Crookedaxle

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I don't know if it's safe to drive home but I made it anyways. Roads are ****** out so limped it home at about 45MPH like everyone else. Once again nobody stocks it for me. O-O-O-O'Really? has a POS Dorman coming in tomorrow morning. Everything else was almost a week out. Now I get to go freeze down in my pit tomorrow morning and play with wrenches.
 

PlayingWithTBI

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I feel your pain, back in the '70s my 1st build was a 283 in a '63 Impala, didn't have that balancer ring, drove it for 15K miles before it scattered! Young and dumb, some of my best lessons were the School of Hard Knocks.
 

Schurkey

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I feel your pain, back in the '70s my 1st build was a 283 in a '63 Impala, didn't have that balancer ring, drove it for 15K miles before it scattered! Young and dumb, some of my best lessons were the School of Hard Knocks.
I rebuilt my first engine--also a 283--and after about four--five months, the damper blew up.

Replaced the damper with "junkyard used".

Another couple of months, and the crank bearings spun. Knocked like an Olds Diesel.

I was never sure if the faulty bearings caused excess vibration on the damper, which couldn't take it and let go; or if the damper blew and the excess vibration of driving it back to college the next morning wounded the bearings.


limped it home at about 45MPH
I don't have a good feeling about your engine. But what do I know?
 

88monteSS

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I don't have a good feeling about your engine. But what do I know?

I wouldn't write it off just yet. Had that happen on the 78 305 I had in my Monte back when I was young & dumb (well, dumber than I am now lol). Drove it like that for the better part of a year before I figured out what was making the noise (mine only made noise for a couple seconds after shutoff). By that point I figured if it hadn't blown up by then it wasn't going to & if it did it would be a good excuse to drop a 350 in.

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Crookedaxle

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I rebuilt my first engine--also a 283--and after about four--five months, the damper blew up.

Replaced the damper with "junkyard used".

Another couple of months, and the crank bearings spun. Knocked like an Olds Diesel.

I was never sure if the faulty bearings caused excess vibration on the damper, which couldn't take it and let go; or if the damper blew and the excess vibration of driving it back to college the next morning wounded the bearings.



I don't have a good feeling about your engine. But what do I know?


I "limped it home at 45MPH" as in that's all the faster the road conditions would allow for everyone anyways so it was just fine with me because I could keep the revs down. I got it all put together today and it seems fine but who knows, maybe tomorrow the crank snout will break off. Looking back now after it idled nice and smooth after I put it back together it must have been going bad for 2-3 weeks because it had a small vibration for just a second or so coming down to idle from a fast idle. I didn't think much of it, just chalked it up to being a big block. It was nothing too noticeable. 8-900 RPM??? or so is the only range I noticed anything before the rubber all flew out so hopefully everything is fine. Worst part of the whole job was getting the front seal out of the stamped cover. Seals sure are easier to get out of a cast iron casting you don't have to worry about bending. I'm sure there's a proper tool for it but what fun would that be?
 
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