Kizmo

My god this is driving me nuts!

Removed the 3 bolts from the balancer pully on my 95 and the thing won't budge. This crappy Haynes manuel says that I don't need a puller to remove the balancer, but it won't come loose.

Do I need to wack the crap out of it to break it loose? I don't want to mess anything up.

This is crazy all this frustration just to get that &*$@#$ optispark out. :mad

Any help with this would be great. :sad:

Kizmo

:cry :cry :cry

VAHROOM

If I had a hammer. I'd hammer in the morning. I hammer in the evening.....But first I think I'd try a puller even though the manual says you don't need one. Manuals have been known to be wrong before.

mn_vette

Here's what you do.
1.) Jack the car up enought for you to lay under the transmittion
2.) Get a 3 ft piece of wood, 1.5 X 1.5 or so (maybe a little bigger)
3.) you should be able to put the piece of wood next to the oil pan against the back of the harmonic balancer pulley. Give it a few good wacks with a 5lb hand sledge then rotate the balancer(engine) and do it again.


This is what I was told to do for mine and it worked. The pulley is "froze" or rusted on to the hub. If this is the first time in how many years that its been taken off it's going to be a bitch. Good Luck!



[Modified by mn_vette, 3:29 PM 5/13/2002]

John Row

Yeah, you need to wack it. Try to get toward the center of the hub and not the outside rim (and potentially damage the rubber). There isn't much surface holding it in place on the mounting hub. Use a 2x2 piece of wood a couple of feet long.

Try and get some penetrating oil between the hub and the dampner.

I was fortunate, mine came loose when I dropped the hammer on it :rolleyes: .

Be sure to mark it so it will be properly oriented when you reinstall it. I used white fingernail polish.

scorp508

Good luck! I had to use a puller on my '87, there was no way it was coming off without one.

Kizmo

Thanks everyone for your help. :yesnod:

Aren't Corvettes fun? More time spent working on them vs. driving. :lol: :lol: :lol:

It would be different if the work resulted in more HP, but this repair crap sux!

Rich B.

I don't like the idea of whacking on a vibration damper, at least not on the back of it. In this case, you'll only be pounding on the outer ring anyway.

Haynes is crap. It has many wrong instructions in it; use it as a quick reference, not as The Gospel.

I use a puller; if it starts to bind, then whack the center (push) bolt of the puller, not the damper itself. Lots of penetrating oil in snout cavity, especially along keyway. Whack the puller bolt only.

Yes, the radiator had better come out... :sad:

The damper is only cast iron, it breaks easily enough without whacking it... :cry

You'd be best served scribing a line radially on the new damper (you are installing a new damper, aren't you?) so you can tell when it moves...And it will move, eventually...Sooner rather than later if you drag race it...


[Modified by Rich B., 11:26 AM 5/13/2002]

Rich B.

...:eek: :eek: :eek: ...

Kizmo

I think I will use a puller, I don't feel comfortable beating on the balancer either. Yanking the radiator is a must, no room otherwise. It'll give me a chance to clean it anyway. I wasn't going to install a new damper but since I got it off might as well.

Hell I might as well go ahead and do some more to it. New performance cam timing chain, I'm going to do it sooner or later anyway. Might as well be sooner. :yesnod:

Thanks everyone. :seeya

emoshn

If you're gonna put in a new cam...might as well pull the radiator and use a puller on the balancer. If not, rap on it from underneath and behind. That's how I did mine, and it came off without a lot of beating on it. It was just stuck a little.

Rick86

I just replaced my balancer and was able to use a puller without removing the radiator. I also used an installer to mount my new balancer. I rented the tools from Kragen and they worked fine. There is a hump built into the hard-line on the rack&pinion that allows the shaft of the puller to fit.

scorp508

What I did...





...damn it was dirty in there. :)


[Modified by scorp508, 3:18 PM 5/13/2002]

kenfusion

Pull out the puller! I just replaced mine and there would not have possible without the puller.

rcdk

On my 96, there isn't enough room to pull the balancer off with the engine in the car. :confused:

I got it out just far enough to replace the opti by running it out flush against the cross brace. If I ever need to replace the front seal, I'm SOL.

PurpleC4

LT1_LT4 Balancer/Hub Removal
By following this procedure you will gain access and be able to change the three front timing cover seals (Water Pump, OptiSpark Drive, Front Crankshaft/Balancer)

Unlike its SBC predecessor, the LT1/LT4 Balancer is a two-piece assembly consisting of an (inner) hub, and (outer) balancer/pulley. Removal of the assembly can be frustrating if approached in the conventional way. By following the procedures below, you can safely and quickly remove the assembly with little or no problem.

You may want to consider using Rhino Ramps or jack stands to gain additional access space and elbow room underneath the front of the engine.

1. Drain the radiator by opening the drain valve on the lower right hand (passenger side)
2. Remove the serpentine belt
3. Remove the upper radiator hose
4. Remove the water pump. When removing the water pump, it is important to remember that the LT1/LT4 water pump is attached to the engine with 3 bolts on each side, vs. its predecessor, which only had 2 bolts on each side. The center bolt on the driver side is a challenge, but can be removed without removal of the power steering pump. When removing the water pump, take care to remove the pump drive coupler along with the pump and place it on the pump drive shaft for use when re-installing the pump.
5. Mark the coil wire and all plug wires at the OptiSpark cap for easy reference when re-installing the OptiSpark unit after balancer seal repairs have been completed.
6. NOTE: There is no need to separate the balancer pulley from the hub if you intend to pull the hub off anyway. The only time you need to separate the pulley from the hub is if you are simply changing the OptiSpark. There is a match mark that is cast into the balancer assembly that allows you to mate the two pieces together in the exact orientation that they come apart. If you intend to separate the balancer pulley from the hub, locate the marks and make note for re-assembly.
7. The balancer pulley is attached to the hub with three bolts. The bolts are 7/16” SAE standard, 14 threads per inch, ¾” length (not metric). Fully remove all three bolts, and if you intend to remove the unit as a complete assembly, jump to steps 9 thru 18. If you intend to separate the assembly, continue by rethreading one bolt by a couple of turns. It is now time to separate the pulley from the hub. Most pulleys have been found to be rusted in place and require considerable effort to separate from the hub. Spraying the inside of the pulley with penetrating oil helps. Do not strike the pulley with a hammer in your frustrated attempts to remove. The best method is to position yourself under the engine with a steel rod (or better yet a brass drift) and one healthy hammer. Position the rod/drift on the inside portion of the balancer when striking it with the hammer. This step requires more than a gentle tap. Try to position yourself so you can give a good solid hit at each rotation. Rotate the crankshaft 120 degrees after every couple of heavy hammer blows. Do not hit on the outer diameter of the pulley as damage can and will occur.
8. After successfully separating the pulley from the hub, it is now time to unbolt and remove the OptiSpark module. As with the water pump, a coupler drives the OptiSpark module and care should be taken to remove the drive shaft and place with the OptiSpark module for use when re-installing the unit. When the time comes to re-install the OptiSpark unit on the engine, you should pay close attention to the Notice below

Notice
Contrary to what all the books say, in some cases, the OptiSpark drive coupler can/will go on in more than one position. When the coupler is correctly installed, the OptiSpark unit will slide in place and rest firmly against the timing cover without forcing it into position. The drive spline in the rear of the OptiSpark is keyed. Pay close attention to the key, and match it up with the corresponding slot on the drive coupler.

9. Finally, it is now time to remove the hub. The center bolt that holds the hub on the crankshaft snout is 7/16” fine thread (not metric). I have found that I can generally break the center bolt loose by placing a 6 sided socket on the bolt, with a ½” breaker bar attached. By striking the breaker bar with that healthy hammer you just used in step #7, you can break the torque on the bolt.
10. Fully remove the bolt, remove the washer from the bolt, then re-install the bolt by 3 full turns.
11. Re-read step #10. If you skip this step, you are a screwed pooch.
12. The “General” was thinking when he installed the power steering rack hydraulic lines as he has installed a loop in the lines that allow the use of a balancer puller without interference of the puller jack screw. Check it out, you will be glad that he did this.
13. Use a standard balancer puller that requires the use of 3 puller bolts that fit into 3 slots on the crab portion. Make sure that you use a tip on the jack screw end that is a flat rotating plate, not a sharp point, because you will eventually place the jack screw end directly on the head of the center bolt of the hub and you don’t want to damage it.
14. Next, select three new (or used) 7/16” bolts that are of sufficient length to slip thru the puller and fully thread into the hub where you previously removed the 3 bolts in step #7. If you do not have 3 – 7/16” bolts that are the proper length, you can use bolts that are slightly smaller than the tapped holes so you can slip them completely thru the hub. Make sure that the bolts are of sufficient length so that you can insert them completely thru the puller assembly and the hub, with a flat washer on each end, and a nut on the backside.
15. Rotate the entire hub assembly until the (^) mark is at the 12:00 position before removing the hub. When re-installing the hub, make sure that you install it back in the same orientation. This is a balance mark, and although it really won’t make too much difference if you fail to do this, it is there for a purpose, so try to do the right thing here.
16. Position the puller onto the front of the hub, with the jack end of the jackscrew slid thru the power steering line loop, and attach as mentioned above.
17. You are now ready to slowly remove the hub from the crankshaft snout. The crank may start to turn as you apply force. Placing a 2x4 against the puller and left wheel "A" frame will stop the rotation. If you have access to a micrometer (click style) torque wrench you will find that it will take about 70 - 85 foot pounds of torque before you will see the hub start to move. As you continue to turn the jackscrew in a clockwise rotation, the hub will slide off the crankshaft. Keep doing this until you feel the hub come loose, or until you back it out against the shoulder of the center bolt. It may be beneficial to purchase a 3" x 7/16 grade 8 fine thread bolt and continued the removal with that. Without the 3" bolt you might not be able to get the hub all the way off.
Plan to use the 3” x 7/16” bolt when re-installing the hub back on the crankshaft after your repairs are complete. Just slide the washer over the bolt, start the bolt in the crankshaft, and mechanically pull the balancer back onto the crankshaft snout.

18. You have successfully removed the balancer hub. Now, time to R&R that front seal assembly.

NOTE: I am looking for feedback from those who use this procedure in improving the steps above, and adding a section for re-installing the balancer hub. Please e-mail me at PurpleC4@qwest.net with your feedback.
Purp

rcdk

I have a big time problem with this. On my car, you have two choices if you need to get the hub off: 1) Separate the balancer pulley or 2) raise the engine and remove the radiator.

Another thing -- when hammering from underneath, you have to make sure you are hitting inside the rubber ring and outside the hub.

Kizmo

All I want to say is thanks for all the great feedback on this question. With purplec4s detailed instructions and scorp508s photos and everyone else's helpful hints I know this job will be less difficult.

Once again thanks everyone. :yesnod:

Heck with this kind of cooperation we C4ers should be able to conquer the world. Well the Corvette world anyway. :seeya

Kizmo :flag