Currently my engine, Chevy 250 L6, is on an engine stand and is in the process of being cleaned to bare metal in order to be painted. Now the problem is, is that in order to remove the timing chain cover the harmonic balancer must come off, and my father is worried about the two following reasons,
1. There is a notch in the harmonic balancer which he believes must later be exactly matched up to where it was, otherwise the engine won’t be balanced
2. He is worried about putting the harmonic balancer back on, which to my knowledge is properly done be a screw type tool rather than pounding it on with a hammer, which could damage the crankshaft.
Any help is welcome, thanks
The harmonic balancer is keyed onto the crankshaft, so it can only go on one way. And you’re right, you don’t want to pound the balancer onto the crankshaft. Use the proper installation tool.
Tester
You are going to be surprised when you remove the timing chain cover…there is no timing chain. That engine uses crank to cam gears.
Now, would be an ideal time to inspect those timing gears, and to replace, if needed.
You might need a puller to get it off, but it will slip back on without any pounding. The retaining bolt will pull it down tight. The mark you see is the timing mark used to set the ignition timing with a strobe light. It will line up with a timing plate fixed to the engine, perhaps on the timing cover…