All Small Six How common is it for the Harmonic balanacer to slip.

This relates to all small sixes
Common? Probably not very. Has it happened- yes. With that being the case, when rebuilding an engine, it should be part of the rebuild. If not rebuilding, it is easy enough to check
 
The harmonic balancer on my 200 six is the "original" that I used when I rebuilt the motor several years ago. Engine had 43K miles at the time. When checking timing at idle, I notice a very slight wobble. No evidence of slippage ever, and the rim of the pulley is tight to the hub. This is my hobby-use car and I put 400-800 miles a year. Not sure if there is a failure mode due to slight wobble, but I will monitor to see if anything changes.

The car is a 65 Mustang without PS. Has anyone swapped out a harmonic balancer on the car? there is only about 4 inches to the radiator. I expect that the radiator would need to be removed? Thanks.
 
It’s a good idea to mark the inside and outside of the balancer to make it easy to see if it is slipping. Remember only a few degrees matters.
I am not sure I would change it for a little wobble, just depends how bad it is. If you do pull it, there are places that will rebuild your. Guys have been happy with them. I believe you can get a repair sleeve to go over the seal surface area- a good thing to do. It gives the seal a smooth surface to seal against as well as adding a little to the diameter making a little tighter seal. Don’t forget a little silicone between the balancer and the sleeve to keep from having a little oil leak by
 
Need some recommendations on a installation method for a new harmonic balancer.
Can the center bolt hole thread be used to jack the pulley in with a longer bolt and keep adding washers until original bolt can be inserted?
Any tips for a process?
Single pulley, no power steering.
Do not want to pound the pulley in. Thanks
 
You don’t want to use a hammer
I have always used a bolt, it pulls it down even. You might want to take some measurements on how deep it needs to go and mark the balancer so you know when to stop. You can -feel- it when it becomes seated, but if you are not comfortable with that- measure it👍
It’s a good idea to put a mark on the inner part and the outer part for future reference- to know if it is slipping
 
Make sure that you torque the crankshaft balancer bolt to 85-100 ft, lbs. Otherwise the timing gear and the balancer will move some and work on the keys.
 
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