So I'm shopping around for a new daily driver since I got rid of my O/T one. I'm looking pre 66 chevy truck. I drove to the next town over from me to look at a 55 Chevy pick up. Truck sounds great runs great and is very clean. Looks like they just did a ground up resto no more than a year ago. Anyways... I check it out real good to notice the crankshaft pulley is real shaky, I mean to the point it sounds like a gear drive under the hood. Now my question is... Could this just be a bad harmonic balancer? The price is right for the truck: Big window cab,Straight body, 327/350,Ford 9", interior is new, new wheels and tires. I mean everything is new. Steering is really tight also. Almost scary tight but other than the pulley and the steering its perfect. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
yes.... could be a bad harmonic balancer , could be a loose harmonic balancer , could be a bent pulley. you better check it out carefully. one of those coming off at rpms is not a pretty sight
JACK...It sounds like a lose balancer, there's a big bolt in the middle. so maby you should tighten it before buying. it's my understanding some later models are press on. either way it's not good. they realy should make it safe before selling...POP.
I believe the 327 is out of a 60's Vette. So would this be the bolt that tightens it? And if the bolt is tight as it gets but still loose would this be the balancer?
I'd be wondering what else was dummied up on the truck. Ask him what's the deal with it and if he could fix it before you get any deeper in the deal. It could be a loose pulley, balancer coming apart or a stripped out crank bolt or crank. Bob
See here's the deal. The truck was put together very well. I mean it looks like he took it to a pro shop to have it done. Nothing is cut on the truck. The motor looks brand new, tranny is brand new and nothing else is wrong(besides the steering is too tight for my taste). Now if it is just loose or the harmonic balancer is bad what is the cost to replace it? I've never done one before.
Perfect that's what I'm thinking it is. Cause the motor runs strong without any problems. And the steering... Anyone have any suggestions? It is way too tight. Like it's hard to turn tight. The tires up front are wide so this could be part of it right?
Give us a little more info about the steering. Power or manual? Rack and pinion or otherwise? You said the pulley is wobbling, and it's making a lot of noise. I'd check the pulley-to-hub bolts first. If they're tight then you likely have a hub which is loose on the crank snout. If this has been run this way for a while, you may have a situation where a new damper may not fix the issue, since the crank snout might be pretty beaten up. Hope that's not the case, but I'd sure as hell use it as a bargaining point.
I'd get a motor head whose opinion you trust to take a second look at the truck before you shell out the $$. Bob
Steering tight? Do mean it takes lots of effort? Manual steering + fat tires + V8/heavy front end will definatelly be armstrong power steering. The "shaky" crank pulley is no big deal to fix unless the crank shaft is bent or damaged. A new harmonic balancer costs $60 to $300 depending on what quality/performance range you want. If it is just the pulley, not a lot of dough. I agree with the advice to get a more mechanically inclined friend, or real mechanic to check it out for you. Most shops will do a pre-purchase inspection for around $100. Just be sure if you go that route, that the shop you choose is familar with classic vehicles.
If that harmonic balancer has been run loose for any length of time, you'll probably have to turn the crank and sleeve it.....Thats an engine tare down. Make sure you determine the cause of wobble before dropping the money down.
It's most likely that the wobble and the noise are related. I wouldn't trust present owner to fix it, If he could he would have already. Iwould figure what I thought would do it, and make an appropriate offer considering that. Expect, at a minimum, to pull the radiator, get in there and go deep enough to assure it's fixed right.
as all have said -take a hard look at the balancer--if it's and early small journal 327 it is probably a press on dampner with no center bolt holding it on--loosen the belts and then try to wiggle it,etc.-saw a 350 like this with the same problem--it ran ok and all-crank was broken near front main but still running turning, etc.-you can drill the crank and install a bolt if the crank snout is not all chewed up-with the belts off, you should be able to tell what the issue is.
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