Harmonic balancer question

Nixon1 · 03-28-2003, 08:39 AM

I'm asking this for a friend..

He's got a 65 Mustang that he just dropped a 302 he rebuilt in. It's got all new internals, cast though, and a low rpm torque cam.....it's actually a cam meant for RVs. He's in his break-in period right now and has barely driven the car over 100 miles. His harmonic balancer is shot. It gives him a timing reading of 40 degrees advanced for the car to run AT ALL, and as soon as he hits around 1800-2000 rpms the engine starts to vibrate very roughly. He rarely takes it over 2000 rpms. How long can he go like this before damaging his bearings, etc? I'm sure he plans on another few weeks of driving before replacing it. The engine is cabureted also.

Also....the heads he put on are warped so the car can't go very far, maybe 15 miles, before it starts to overheat and blow coolant past his head gasket. One of his spark plugs is covered in oil.

He's too stubborn to park the car or do anything to fix it right now...how badly can he be damaging his engine? I think it's toast, but he's sure it's just perfectly fine and that nothing bad is going to happen, he just needs to fix these things.

fi347 · 03-28-2003, 10:27 AM

You gotta be kidding! He's breaking it in alright, literally. It makes me cringe just thinking about it. He'll be replacing the engine soon.

sn95gt19 · 03-28-2003, 10:47 AM

??????????????, he already needs a rebuild

Nixon1 · 03-28-2003, 11:17 AM

Like I said...he's too stubborn. And he insists he knows more about cars than I ever will. Yeah, he knows more about the internal stuff of an engine.....but I think I've got him beat on the common sense scale..

fi347 · 03-28-2003, 11:37 AM

I don't know, he doesn't seem to know more than you. If he did he would not be not be doing it.

Nixon1 · 03-28-2003, 11:44 AM

Yeah, who knows. I mean there's a lot of stuff he knows that I don't know, but I think he's pretty damn stupid for running it like this! Oh well.. He wants to drag race me when he gets his break-in period over with because he's also convinced that he'll whoop up on me. We'll see who gets the last laugh.

NotchJohnson · 03-28-2003, 02:54 PM

Dude is this guy drunk! That balancer is gonna screw him up big time! When my balancer gave out, i was scared I could have screwed somehting up in the 3 seconds the engine shook like hell before i got it shut off. Driving around like this is gonna kill his motor. Also - warped heads- wtf is this guys deal? Coolant in the cylinders is GREAAAAT!
Oh and buy the way - the only race he will be winning is the race onto the tow truck after his stupidity leaves him with no ride.

MEDIK418 · 03-28-2003, 02:56 PM

Like it or not, your freind is going to hear a loud noise very soon that will signal the demise of some forward part of his crank. It will literally snap in two. I'm not going to say that it probably or might happen, it WILL happen. Balancers are fairly inexpensive but I know finances can be tight sometimes. But this can't have a good outcome if he lets it go too long.
Pulling the balancer and replacing it. . .75 bucks maybe? New crank and bearings. . . . pulling the engine. . . and whatever other damage he might do to the block????????? Big bucks!

Warped heads? Even I don't do that and I'm so tight my wallet squeaks.

Nixon1 · 03-28-2003, 10:26 PM

If only I could make him realize this. Ah well. His car, not mine.

Technick · 03-28-2003, 10:51 PM

As Forrest Gump said "Stupid is as stupid does". Some times it takes a good hard wack at the wallet to realize you is not as smart as you think you is. Leave him alone in all his knowledge and he will hopefully learn something. You cannot reason with a person who says " do not confuese me with facts, my mind is made up!"

PKRWUD · 03-29-2003, 08:44 AM

If it's half as bad as you say, his bearings are already bad. What an idiot. I hope he's well off, 'cause he's gonna need some money real soon.

Nixon1 · 03-29-2003, 09:54 AM

He's broke...but since his dad helped him build it in the first place, his dad will probably cover a rebuild. But it'll have to be guzzling all colors of smoke and knocking before he recognizes that he needs a rebuild. The funny part is...he's Mr. Know-It-All engine mechanic..I asked him 3 different times if he's sure the harmonic balancer is the right one, and the flywheel too....and he said yes every time, and thought the vibration was coming from his rear end (which is also crapping out because he rebuilt it but used the same gears so it whines constantly) He just now realized that his balancer is shot. Dummy.

03-28-2003, 08:39 AM	#1
Nixon1 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Palm Bay, FL Posts: 432	Harmonic balancer question I'm asking this for a friend.. He's got a 65 Mustang that he just dropped a 302 he rebuilt in. It's got all new internals, cast though, and a low rpm torque cam.....it's actually a cam meant for RVs. He's in his break-in period right now and has barely driven the car over 100 miles. His harmonic balancer is shot. It gives him a timing reading of 40 degrees advanced for the car to run AT ALL, and as soon as he hits around 1800-2000 rpms the engine starts to vibrate very roughly. He rarely takes it over 2000 rpms. How long can he go like this before damaging his bearings, etc? I'm sure he plans on another few weeks of driving before replacing it. The engine is cabureted also. Also....the heads he put on are warped so the car can't go very far, maybe 15 miles, before it starts to overheat and blow coolant past his head gasket. One of his spark plugs is covered in oil. He's too stubborn to park the car or do anything to fix it right now...how badly can he be damaging his engine? I think it's toast, but he's sure it's just perfectly fine and that nothing bad is going to happen, he just needs to fix these things. __________________ '91 Mustang GT 5.0 AOD Daily Driver Current stats: NEW 302 short block, E-303 cam (@.050, 220/220, .498/.498, 110 degrees), 1.6 roller rockers, Performer RPM heads (aluminum, 1.9/1.6, 60cc chambers), Cobra intake, Granatelli 75mm MAF, Billet AFPR, Equal-Length Shorty Headers, Off-Road X Pipe, Flowmasters, 4.10 POSI 13.73 at 103.8, ~2.2 60'

03-28-2003, 10:47 AM	#3
sn95gt19 motors done......woohooo Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 799	??????????????, he already needs a rebuild __________________ 95gt lazer red (98 cobra clone) Rice Haters Club Member #116

03-28-2003, 11:17 AM	#4
Nixon1 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Palm Bay, FL Posts: 432	Like I said...he's too stubborn. And he insists he knows more about cars than I ever will. Yeah, he knows more about the internal stuff of an engine.....but I think I've got him beat on the common sense scale.. __________________ '91 Mustang GT 5.0 AOD Daily Driver Current stats: NEW 302 short block, E-303 cam (@.050, 220/220, .498/.498, 110 degrees), 1.6 roller rockers, Performer RPM heads (aluminum, 1.9/1.6, 60cc chambers), Cobra intake, Granatelli 75mm MAF, Billet AFPR, Equal-Length Shorty Headers, Off-Road X Pipe, Flowmasters, 4.10 POSI 13.73 at 103.8, ~2.2 60'

03-28-2003, 11:44 AM	#6
Nixon1 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Palm Bay, FL Posts: 432	Yeah, who knows. I mean there's a lot of stuff he knows that I don't know, but I think he's pretty damn stupid for running it like this! Oh well.. He wants to drag race me when he gets his break-in period over with because he's also convinced that he'll whoop up on me. We'll see who gets the last laugh. __________________ '91 Mustang GT 5.0 AOD Daily Driver Current stats: NEW 302 short block, E-303 cam (@.050, 220/220, .498/.498, 110 degrees), 1.6 roller rockers, Performer RPM heads (aluminum, 1.9/1.6, 60cc chambers), Cobra intake, Granatelli 75mm MAF, Billet AFPR, Equal-Length Shorty Headers, Off-Road X Pipe, Flowmasters, 4.10 POSI 13.73 at 103.8, ~2.2 60'

03-28-2003, 02:54 PM	#7
NotchJohnson Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Florida Keys Posts: 593	Dude is this guy drunk! That balancer is gonna screw him up big time! When my balancer gave out, i was scared I could have screwed somehting up in the 3 seconds the engine shook like hell before i got it shut off. Driving around like this is gonna kill his motor. Also - warped heads- wtf is this guys deal? Coolant in the cylinders is GREAAAAT! Oh and buy the way - the only race he will be winning is the race onto the tow truck after his stupidity leaves him with no ride. __________________ 89 notch-finally not stock!! ported gt40's, ported cobra intake, 65mm tb, 75mm maf, mac cai, lt's,prochamber, fms 1.6 rr, 125 shot.

03-28-2003, 10:27 AM	#2
fi347 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 26	You gotta be kidding! He's breaking it in alright, literally. It makes me cringe just thinking about it. He'll be replacing the engine soon.

03-28-2003, 11:37 AM	#5
fi347 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 26	I don't know, he doesn't seem to know more than you. If he did he would not be not be doing it.

03-28-2003, 02:56 PM	#8
MEDIK418 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 1999 Location: Amarillo, Texas, USA Posts: 780	Like it or not, your freind is going to hear a loud noise very soon that will signal the demise of some forward part of his crank. It will literally snap in two. I'm not going to say that it probably or might happen, it WILL happen. Balancers are fairly inexpensive but I know finances can be tight sometimes. But this can't have a good outcome if he lets it go too long. Pulling the balancer and replacing it. . .75 bucks maybe? New crank and bearings. . . . pulling the engine. . . and whatever other damage he might do to the block????????? Big bucks! Warped heads? Even I don't do that and I'm so tight my wallet squeaks. __________________ 1986 four-eyed LX coupe, 358 Cleveland, Tremec TKO600/centerforce clutch, dish cut Probe forged pistons, comp cams hyd.roller cam, .579/.588@224/230, Edel.performer, 670 holley street avenger, CPR custom built long tubes, ported and polished 4bbl heads, manley valves, beehive springs, MSD peo-billet dist/MSD6AL, fluidamper, 5 lug conv. with 17x8 bullits there's more but it's still not finished yet. Oh, and the oldest boy is turning his 89 GT into a FFR cobra this next summer.

03-28-2003, 10:26 PM	#9
Nixon1 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Palm Bay, FL Posts: 432	If only I could make him realize this. Ah well. His car, not mine. __________________ '91 Mustang GT 5.0 AOD Daily Driver Current stats: NEW 302 short block, E-303 cam (@.050, 220/220, .498/.498, 110 degrees), 1.6 roller rockers, Performer RPM heads (aluminum, 1.9/1.6, 60cc chambers), Cobra intake, Granatelli 75mm MAF, Billet AFPR, Equal-Length Shorty Headers, Off-Road X Pipe, Flowmasters, 4.10 POSI 13.73 at 103.8, ~2.2 60'

03-28-2003, 10:51 PM	#10
Technick Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Seattle, Wa. Posts: 175	As Forrest Gump said "Stupid is as stupid does". Some times it takes a good hard wack at the wallet to realize you is not as smart as you think you is. Leave him alone in all his knowledge and he will hopefully learn something. You cannot reason with a person who says " do not confuese me with facts, my mind is made up!" __________________ No matter how much you spend, or how much you prepare, there is ALWAYS someone else faster or quicker than YOU!!!!!!!!!!

03-29-2003, 08:44 AM	#11
PKRWUD Junior Member Join Date: Mar 1999 Location: Ventura, California Posts: 8,981	If it's half as bad as you say, his bearings are already bad. What an idiot. I hope he's well off, 'cause he's gonna need some money real soon. __________________ Webmaster: Rice Haters Club Jim Porter Racing Peckerwoods Pit Stop Support Your Local RED & WHITE!

03-29-2003, 09:54 AM	#12
Nixon1 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Palm Bay, FL Posts: 432	He's broke...but since his dad helped him build it in the first place, his dad will probably cover a rebuild. But it'll have to be guzzling all colors of smoke and knocking before he recognizes that he needs a rebuild. The funny part is...he's Mr. Know-It-All engine mechanic..I asked him 3 different times if he's sure the harmonic balancer is the right one, and the flywheel too....and he said yes every time, and thought the vibration was coming from his rear end (which is also crapping out because he rebuilt it but used the same gears so it whines constantly) He just now realized that his balancer is shot. Dummy. __________________ '91 Mustang GT 5.0 AOD Daily Driver Current stats: NEW 302 short block, E-303 cam (@.050, 220/220, .498/.498, 110 degrees), 1.6 roller rockers, Performer RPM heads (aluminum, 1.9/1.6, 60cc chambers), Cobra intake, Granatelli 75mm MAF, Billet AFPR, Equal-Length Shorty Headers, Off-Road X Pipe, Flowmasters, 4.10 POSI 13.73 at 103.8, ~2.2 60'

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