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The bearing issue. Visual everything is normal. The blue marks are the heat treat marks from when the bearing were made.
Now that the engine has vibration, everything must be rechecked per Paul's instructions.
The vibration issue.
I would like to see front and back pics of the new & old balancer.
Also you tell us the engine has been balanced.
If the modified the flywheel by adding tungsten to it.. In the accident this could have been knocked out. I would like to see front and back of it.
Bottom line.
Disassemble the engine have the rotating assemble balanced. This is the only way to have the vibration checked or solved if the engine is the problem.
The bearing issue. Visual everything is normal. The blue marks are the heat treat marks from when the bearing were made.
Now that the engine has vibration, everything must be rechecked per Paul's instructions.
The vibration issue.
I would like to see front and back pics of the new & old balancer.
Also you tell us the engine has been balanced.
If the modified the flywheel by adding tungsten to it.. In the accident this could have been knocked out. I would like to see front and back of it.
Bottom line.
Disassemble the engine have the rotating assemble balanced. This is the only way to have the vibration checked or solved if the engine is the problem.
IMO
Al
Thanks Al. I got everything checked up until the rod bearing clearances. I don't have V-blocks, but the whole rotating assembly is at the shop right now getting checked and balanced (if nothing is broken). I brought a piston/rod/rings/bearings, crank, balancer, flywheel, clutch, pressure plate and all bolts. Hopefully if the vibration is in the engine, he will find it.
The flywheel wasn't balanced with the engine. It was bought separate. It's a Hays aluminum 153 tooth neutral balanced flywheel. Balancer pics aren't available because it's in the shop and the old one has since been discarded. I have one picture of how it looked after I took it off. I will see if I can find it.
I take it that it ran smooth when you first got it running?
If it did are you taking it back to the same guy for balancing it that balanced it the first time? If you or he has the bob weight specs checking the crank for balance is not a big deal.
If it were me balancing this I would check it first with out the flywheel or balancer and then add them one at a time to see if it makes a difference.
Personally I prefer to balance the flywheel on the crankshaft any, as compared to using an arbor. I like the way it centers on the crank better, and you can read it in 2 plane mode instead of single and I like that better especially when you add the pressure plate.
What type of balancer do you have?
Some you cant really put on the crank when its in the balancer, some you can.
Jeff
__________________ my shop "I think I would rather have an honest opinion instead of inaccurate, irrelevant, or non-applicable data"
Pop the bearing halves out and look at the finish under them. If it was align honed it should look similar to a freshly honed cylinder, including the cross hatch.
Here are some pics of beneath the bearings/main bores. Doesn't look a crosshatch. I'm guessing it wasn't done, or either the align was on. I'm almost positive it was atleast checked.
I take it that it ran smooth when you first got it running?
If it did are you taking it back to the same guy for balancing it that balanced it the first time? If you or he has the bob weight specs checking the crank for balance is not a big deal.
If it were me balancing this I would check it first with out the flywheel or balancer and then add them one at a time to see if it makes a difference.
Personally I prefer to balance the flywheel on the crankshaft any, as compared to using an arbor. I like the way it centers on the crank better, and you can read it in 2 plane mode instead of single and I like that better especially when you add the pressure plate.
What type of balancer do you have?
Some you cant really put on the crank when its in the balancer, some you can.
Jeff
Thanks Jeff
I am not 100% positive that there was a vibration right after I put it all together. I didn't drive it too much after, and have only put on about 150 miles in the past 6 months. Part of the reason is the vibration. The other part is because I was busy tubbing my Nova. I am going to say yes, that it was there after, because I can't really remember when it wasn't.
This is a different guy balancing the stuff this time. I was never told the bob weight, and at the time, probably wouldn't have thought about asking for it.
He explained it exactly like you said you would. He said he would check the crank first, and make sure it's neutral balanced before adding on things (balancer, flywheel, pressure plate, clutch).
I would think that balancer would be fine to spin in the balancer.
If his balancer is similar to mine the crankshaft actually sets in a v blocks. Have him indicate what you would like to see.
Personally if it checked that good in the block and as good as the bearings looked (to me anyway) and Im taking it the crank spun free when it was torqued, and slid forward and backward ok, I dont see where you would benefit from him indicating it there, but it might be worth a shot.
I hope it all works out for you.
__________________ my shop "I think I would rather have an honest opinion instead of inaccurate, irrelevant, or non-applicable data"
That is the factory finish on the mains. The block was not align honed. Any time you upgrade the fasteners on the main caps it should be align bored as the new fasteners will distort the caps and main webbing differently, which will affect the hole size and shape, which affects bearing wear. You wouldn't upgrade rod bolts without resizing the big end. Same principal applies here.
__________________
'63 wagon, L33, 4L60E, 12 Bolt, Vintage Air gen IV,
13" Willwoods, Church rack, A arms, and front bar
Just got word (finally..) from the shop that my crank is NOT cracked. Took him 5 days to come to conclusions from a wet-mag. Seems a bit excessive, but the guy may just be busy. He said he would try and get everything on the balancer and ready for me by Monday.
Doesn't know yet. I brought everything in the driveline to re-balance it with. Only thing new is the harmonic balancer, so maybe it's that? Don't know at this point, just hoping he finds it.
Yea. It's not the crank. He thinks it's the pressure plate/clutch that's out enough to cause a vibration. That and my flywheel has heat marks. He said that it could cause vibration as well. But, I've yet to get it back. Two weeks and it's getting a bit ridiculous. Hopefully he's done today.
Got crank tonight along with everything else. It checked out just fine as I mentioned earlier. Pressure plate is slightly out, but he thinks the flywheel heat spots caused the vibration, so he resurfaced it. Will see, but I doubt that was the cause. Started putting everything back together tonight. Got bottom end in and crank degreed in. Only took me 7 hours.
Will be finishing it up tomorrow. Everything else is just a matter of bolting everything back on. Getting a vacuum pump setup next week to take care of my oil leak issues and gain some HP out of it. Very excited to just have peace of mind that the crank is OK. Will report if vibration is still there when I start it back up (hopefully Sunday sometime).
Thats kinda bad that something didnt show up out of balance?
Still makes you wonder about the vibration.
Did it vibrate with the trans in neutral and the clutch out?
I never did test it with the pressure plate/clutch detached. And to be honest, I don't think i tested it with the clutch pressed in and in neutral. I was going to but I figured taking it all apart was probably a better idea, since I hadn't done a real tear-down since my wreck. I was betting the crank was out a bit. I am going to be testing that though before I put the transmission back in. He said the pressure plate was out 30 grams, but said that I should be able to run it. We will see.