harmonic balancer

1995 CHEVROLET CAPRICE
239,000 MILES • V8
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PLYMOUTH19952009
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I am replacing a distributor on a 1995 Chevy Caprice with a 5.7. I am having trouble pulling the balancer off. The puller is on and we have it cranked very tight but the balancer will not budge. The head of the bolts are trying to pull thru the puller it is so tight. Why is this not coming off? I am afraid of breaking something like my head if it flies off. What is a good way also to stop the balancer from moving as we are having trouble with that also. Also if I do get this off,what is the best way to re-install the balancer.Thanks.
Aug 17, 2011 at 1:48 AM
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ASEMASTER6371
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remove the puller and install washers on the bolts. that will help with the bolts pulling.
i use a screw driver between the bolts to keep it from turning.
heat up the balancer before installing. it will stay hot enough to start on till you can get the bolt started and pull it on. try not to hit the balancer as it may damage the thrust bearing on the crank.

Roy
Aug 17, 2011 at 2:29 AM
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PLYMOUTH19952009
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Yes i did install a washer and they are bending,i will try to add more heavy duty washers. Are they really this hard to pull off? I am just a little leery of busting something.
Aug 17, 2011 at 5:02 AM
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ASEMASTER6371
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yes, they are that hard to get off.

Roy
Aug 17, 2011 at 2:44 PM
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PLYMOUTH19952009
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Okay,we installed large washers and that is not a problem. The first puller threads stripped and the puller failed. The second puller shaft started bending and failed and still this balancer will not move. What do I do now. This balancer should not be this hard to come off. Why would i be destroying pullers? I read that maybe the balancer was probably put on wrong at some point if it was ever pulled off. I have pulled these off before and never seen this before. Do they make bigger pullies,but it seems if i used something bigger the heads of the bolts would pull off. I am using grade 8 bolts. Thanks.
Aug 17, 2011 at 9:04 PM
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PROTECH1980
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Remove like this/ dont pull whole pulley.
Aug 17, 2011 at 9:25 PM
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PROTECH1980
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Remove the 3 bolts, use jaw puller. As you can see by pic, your not actually removing the hub from the crankshaft, just the pulley part, and do not heat this, use the jaw puller and the pulley will come off, giving you plenty of accsess to remove dist
Aug 17, 2011 at 9:33 PM
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PLYMOUTH19952009
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Okay,i have the distributor back together balancer on properly and was just wondering we tried to start the car and will not start.Of course all is off like the water pump,air pump and belts all off. Should it start at this point or not? If so,what could be wrong? Just don't want to put everything back together if we have to tear it down again. Thans for the help.
Aug 18, 2011 at 10:53 PM
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PROTECH1980
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Should start, make sure distributor was installed correctly and connection plugged in, what are you missing, ie. spark, is it not sparking off coil? Do some checking and get back with me, check this link to assist you: https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-cranks-but-wont-start
Aug 19, 2011 at 2:31 AM
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PLYMOUTH19952009
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Okay,we have no spark. When re-installing the cap and rotor,what could have we done wrong as it seems pretty strait forward. Could the coil suddenly fail? Is there a way to check the coil? Thanks.
Aug 20, 2011 at 2:32 PM
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PROTECH1980
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Ok, thought you replaced distributor, or did you just do cap and rotor. Check to make sure coil has voltage on one wire, the other wire will pulse ground when cranking, check this and let me know. Did this vehicle run before you tore it down?
Aug 20, 2011 at 5:50 PM
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PLYMOUTH19952009
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Yes we did not replace the distributor. We just replaced the cap and rotor and the car ran fine before this. We replaced this because the car would not start in the rain.We will check the coil.
Aug 20, 2011 at 10:44 PM
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CADIEMAN
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recheck the wires on the cap its 18436572.if you transfered the coil form 1 cap to the other make sure the ground is tight in the cap
Aug 20, 2011 at 11:15 PM
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PROTECH1980
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Thanks cadieman, Any word on the car plymouth?
Aug 21, 2011 at 10:45 PM
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PLYMOUTH19952009
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Thanks to you guys and some checking,we found the problem.The connector had a bent prong and was not plugging in properly. We fixed that,got it all together and running fine. Just need to put the water pump back on and fan and etc and we should be good.thanks again guys.This was not a fun project.
Aug 22, 2011 at 1:05 AM
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PROTECH1980
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Your welcome, and thank you for using 2carpros.
Aug 22, 2011 at 2:12 AM
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CADIEMAN
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allways troubleshoot before just replacing parts youll save a lotta money good luck
Aug 22, 2011 at 6:10 PM
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CADIEMAN
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np allways troubleshoot before just replacing parts youll save alotta money. good luck
Aug 22, 2011 at 6:15 PM
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PROTECH1980
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Let us know if the cap/rotor fixed your intermittent problem, again thanks for using 2carpros.
Aug 23, 2011 at 1:23 AM