Anybody every tried warming a balancer in an oven to try and make installation easier?

I'm having a heck of a time installing this bugger. Stripped the threads on my bobbiemartin special HB installation tool. Died them back, but it's never going to be the same.

My bro-in-law suggested the oven idea. He said he'd heard of it before, but never actually done it himself.

So now I'm warming the balancer in the oven at 170degrees for 40 minutes or so. If this don't work, I'm running out of options.

Surely there's a tool rental shop near you - get a Cornwall, SnapOn, OTS, Matco, etc pusher-puller set which will have a hardened screw in metric and english thread patterns.

The screw should install full-thread in the crankshaft, with a flat-washer or bearing and nut to do the compression - use a copper- or aluminum-based moly anti-friction lube paste on the nut, washer and threads.

It is an intentionally difficult install because of the tremendous harmonic distortions in all planes - the balancer hub must effectively become part of the crank to be functional, and requires a quality installer.

The final tightening torque value is ~200ftlbs

It's likely the rubber or silicone (whatever is in the balancer) would not like that amount of heat at all.:badidea: .rent the proper tools.

I would think the balancer must see 170f temps in operation 170celcuis would be a differant story. Could you also cool the crank down even with a little ice might get you anouther .0005 to .001.

We use an upside down hand iron in the shop to heat bearings and such before installation. Expansion rate for steel is some thing like 0.00000645in/in/deg.

W H-
I actually bought a metric threadrod with proper threads , but found the corresponding SAE thread was close enough to work before the metric arrived onsite. If still no lucky , and you can't borrow/buy a pro tool , i could send you some of the right threadrod.

If you all ready buggered the threads a little , the pro tool with the hardened threads would seem adviseable.

I'd wrap the HB in aluminum foil to preclude the ovens' temperature excursions from bothering the exposed edge of the rubber(elastomer)... it should be able to handle coolant temps, any way. Be sure no burrs, and good alignment of keyway !

I've done the oven trick for a crankshaft timing chain gear. I think it was on a 460 engine. Never tried it though with a balancer. Good luck.

Wade, I have felt your pain on many engine builds. I realize that the balancer should be able to tolerate 170F in typical operating conditions, but for whatever reason, I would be leary of warming it in an oven.

Several tricks to balancer installation I've learned over the years is:

1> Use a good quality installation tool. Nothing against the one you have, but good ones will have a case-hardened lead-screw, and use a large washer with a large nut (in addition to being able to thread fully into the crank to eliminate damaging the crank threads as well). The reasoning behind the large nut and washer (bearing surface against the face of the balancer) is to ensure that the face of the balancer is purpendicular to the crank-snout axis. This is critical to getting the balancer "started" correctly on the end of the crank. I know first hand what happens if the balancer isn't started squarely, -and the result is a boogered-up bore in the balancer, -not good, -and it turns the part into scrap.

2> Before assembly, remove the woodruff key from the crank and file a "lead" on the front-end of the key (where it protrudes up past the diameter of the snout). Also don't be afraid to hand-dress a small lead into the leading edges of the keyway in the balancer. Hand-dress the chamfer in the leading edge of the balancer bore with a deburring knife and some emery cloth. I also always make sure the key is ever so slightly "tipped" down (don't over-do it too much) to make the initial start of the balancer go smoothly. Contrary to what some guys would probably say, -I have always used anti-sieze both in the bore, -and on the snout.

3> This tip cannot be stressed enough, -but always make sure the woodruff key stays in the crank during the "pull-up" of the balancer. I have seen woodruff keys get rolled-out during balancer installs, -again, not a good scenario. Use whatever is necessary to ensure the key is staying put, -lights, mirrors, etc. A loose fitting key should either be replaced, -or staked with a centerpunch so that it is a "snug" fit in the crank. If you do ever have to stake a key, -make sure to apply grease around the keyway to catch the inevitable small "chips" that will occur from installing the staked key. Simply wipe the grease off when done, -and voila, no chips in the motor.

My .02

After warming the balancer in the oven, it went right on. I think the 30degree (F) temps in the garage while I was trying to do the install is the reason warming the balancer made such a difference.

I wouldn't hesitate to do it again either. If the balancer cant handle 170d(F), then I wouldn't want to put it on my truck anyway. I realize that there's a possibility that I degraded the integrity of the rubber, but to me the risk was easily worth the benefit.

I'll keep an close eye on my balancer and report back to this thread to warn others not to follow my lead if it fails sooner than usual. But for now, I'm pretty darn happy with how much it helped. ;)

since it is new paint or mark line from hub to outer ring. gives visual line to inspect if it starts to rotate/move or you notice vibration later.

Good deal - but 170deg harm the assembly?

Do you realize how many hours a day it runs at that temp, and heat-soaks even higher?

Nah - you done good - it's only 70deg here so I don't give much thought to frigidity down here below the 'it don't snow much down here' line.

Good deal - but 170deg harm the assembly?

Do you realize how many hours a day it runs at that temp, and heat-soaks even higher.

Precisely what I was thinking while warming the oven to temp yesterday morning, but I still had my doubts.

However, I now know for certain that a 140 degree temp differential (crank to balancer) really makes easy work outta the install.

I was going to suggest hanging it in a pot of boiling water. It is pretty easy to control the temperature that way. The oil in the crankcase is generally hotter than that.

Wade, I'm glad to hear it worked out.

I will consider doing the same thing in the future.

I'm sure there is some peace of mind being able to "feel" it as it is going on.

I'm sure there is some peace of mind being able to "feel" it as it is going on.

Exactly.

After the frustrating hours spent trying to install the balancer prior to warming it up, I almost couldn't believe my eyes as I watched it slide right on. Everytime I turned the nut on the installer, which had stripped out on the first attempt and was now running on shabby re-died threads, I kept thinking "this is the turn where the threads strip out again", but it never happened.

The fact that the died threads on the installer (which were ruined on the first (cold) installation attempt) worked after warming the balancer says it all. What a difference. I gave my bro-in-law a big thanks for the idea.