While assembling my 440, I went to put on the balancer and it slid on by hand. I noticed when I dis-assembled the balancer, I installed the puller and it cam off very easily. There seams to be a very slight side to side play when in place and the key can be easily removed from the crank.
All the other engines I've worked on, the balancer was always tight, on or off.
Is it OK to locktite the bolt in place and use as is??
Or do I need to look into this further??
This is basically a mild street car.
Any advice is more then welcome.
Thanks, Jeff

The damper should have a slight press fit for it to work properly. The damper is designed to reduce torsional vibration so it has to be very tightly coupled with the crankshaft. Otherwise the damper will just spin back and forth and not do its job. I'm guessing that you need a new damper........

What type of engine is this? If it's a low rpm cruiser you might be okay but if it's a race engine that's no good at all as the key would have to take all the load, until it fails.

Thanks for the replies,
This is an original six barrel car. It has the externally balanced dampner on it. It was balanced 25-30 years ago with TRW six pack pistons.
It will never see the drag strip again. Maybe a small burnout when no one is looking, but probably never over 5000 rpms, and then not very often.
The engine is on a stand right now, out of the car.
Jeff

You need a new balancer... has to be snug
EDIT
Measure the crank to make sure its not too small

Totally agree. Early Eagle crank I had snout was undersized and I had to get a custom fit balancer.

OK, I'll pull it apart and measure and see what I have.
Having a hard time getting the bolt back out as I used the red locktite.
Probably have a hard time finding a balancer if that's the problem.
Thanks, Jeff

Heat the bolt head, that softens the loctite. Get the inside diameter of a new balancer & compare it to your crank. Should have a few thou interference fit.

OK, Heating up the screw worked great. Screw came right out.
Here are a couple of pics of the crank. Looks like someone used a pipe wrench while turning the engine.
The crank is not round. It measures between 1.526" and 1.530"
The I.D. of the balancer is 1.531", which is the same as a regular 440 balancer I have.
The balancer does have some scratches inside. probably from the crank.

Here is a couple of pics of the balancer.
Thanks for your help, Jeff

I wonder if this can be repaired??

Is this a rebuilt 440+6 engine that is all together? If so then you have some tough choices to make. Personally I'd probably pull the engine apart since anyone who did that to the nose of the crank probably hacked up the rest of the engine but you and your pocketbook will need to have that discussion.......

No it cannot be repaired without going over the expense of a new damper. Or the crank needs to have the snout welded or metalsprayed and ground down to right size.

I'm starting to think AndyF is on to something. Go to http://www.440source.com/dampers.htm and then look at your damper. Which number does it match? I think it matches the damper for the cast crank 400. But see for yourself.

Either way the damper has to be a press fit on the crank.

R.

Thanks for your opinions.
After some research, I found that this balancer is not correct. It's for a '71 383 with a cast crank.
About 30 years ago, as a daily driver, the balancer would loosen up and I was always tightening it up. I purchased this balancer back then from a well known and highly regarded MoPar racer as a six-pack damper. I then had this engine balanced with this damper and bored .030 over by a local rebuilder. I guess the crank gouging the ID is what held the new balancer in place all this time.
I just had this engine apart for honing and new rings and bearings and was putting it back together.
So, It appears the crank is too small as I noted in a previous posting.
Looks like I can get the crank nose welded, but can't seem to find a place near Chicago to do this properly.
Thanks again, Jeff

How about having the crank snout knurled where the balancer presses on?

I'd have the crank welded up and use the balancer
you have.. the crank can be welded up by any
decent crank shop.. just give them the balancer
so they can fit it

I've dealt with this twice. once on my own crank, and once for a customer.
machine it down slightly, then have it hard chromed at any hydraulic repair shop. They can apply material in areas where you need and not the entire part. Then just have it ground to size. Cost for the chrome is probably 20 bux

I guess the gouges were acting like a knurl and holding the balancer in place.
Thanks, Jeff

Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions.
It's helping me a lot and I keep learning.

Jeff

O.K., Finally got to the next level on my project.
Drove up to Minneapolis, MN and had them fix the crank and give it a good going over. Dropped it off on a Monday and had it shipped back. Received it 4 days later on Friday.
They welded and reground the snout and fixed the keyway.
Knurling would not work as the crank was worn off-center.
Now, I can start moving forward on this project.
Thanks for all the suggestions,
Jeff