65 273 balancer replacement

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The balancer on my '65 Barracuda 273 has rotated and must be replaced. All of the new replacement balancers available are for driver side timing marks, but mine has the passenger side pointer. This is a street driven car and not a HP application. I know I can use a piston stop and remark TDC, but I read that the driver and passenger side marks are 90 degrees apart in a TCI Rattler write-up at Summit. Can anyone confirm this? If true I would prefer to use a balancer that is marked every 90 degrees and just re-mark TDC at the 270 line. I searched the forum for this but only found one mention of this. Thanks, Bob
 
BHJ may have one for you.....But be prepared to open your wallet "really" wide. :D

http://www.bhjdynamics.com/


I personally would put the word out for a used stock unit that's in solid shape.....considering it's for a non-hp application.
 
So if the marks are 90 degrees off, just hook the timing light to an adjacent cylinder in the order. #2 perhaps?
 
90° is just an approximate number. The only way to be sure is to find TDC with a piston stop and re-mark the balancer. I don't believe the timing markls can ever actually be trusted to be correct anymore, especially with all the off-shore manufacturing being done.
 
Thanks guys. I think I'll get the Summit balancer and remark it using a piston stop. If it checks out at 90 I'll let you know. If it does, using the #2 plug to time the engine is also a great idea. I guess there are no shortcuts these days considering the sloppiness of offshore parts. Thanks!
 
A timing tape will provide a lot more detail than OEM scales. Highlight the zero mark on the scale and you're good to go.
 
Oldsmopar said:
Thanks guys. I think I'll get the Summit balancer and remark it using a piston stop. If it checks out at 90 I'll let you know. If it does, using the #2 plug to time the engine is also a great idea. I guess there are no shortcuts these days considering the sloppiness of offshore parts. Thanks!
Click to expand...

The Summit "degreed" balancer I bought a couple years ago was more than 90° off. I had to find & re-mark TDC myself. Then installed a timing tape as suggested above.
 
The marks are NOT 90 degrees off. Its less than 90.

If putting on another NON 273. I would mark the new one to match the stock HB mark

I have a good, clean, painted 273 balance if you need it.....
 

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i usually use my ears for timing. rev engine till about 2000 rpm advance distributor till engine starts to ping and then back it off a little. then a snatch hair more. works just fine .
 
I bought a new harmonic balancer from Summit for ~$78. It was marked every 90 degrees, but the distance from 0 on the later model balancer is not 90 as some of the other balancer manufacturers say. It is more like 80 degrees +/-. I found TDC using a stop on the #6 piston because it was way easier to access than #1 due to the upswept exhaust manifold. The new balancer does not have the dust shield, nor was it machined for one. I had to elongate one lower pulley bolt hole as advised by a member above. The timing chain had about 4 degrees of slop in it as measured at the crank, so I put a new one on. I'll try to post a video showing the old timing chain slack. Thanks for the offers for used balancers, but I thought a new one would be best for me.
 
[ame="http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b636/ryork442/timing%20chain%20slack_zps1lnbkdej.mp4"]
timing%20chain%20slack_zps1lnbkdej.mp4
[/ame]

This is a video of the slack I found in my 20k mile timing chain. It's easy to measure this while the front cover and balancer are on. Just move the timing mark to the 0 on the timing tab while turning the crank clockwise, then slowly turn the crank counter-clockwise until you feel (and sometimes hear) the chain get tight again without moving the cam. If the crank moves more than 3 degrees, you should consider changing the timing set. The new Cloyes stock style link chain I installed had about 1 degree of slack in it. I have found that double roller chains tend to have less slack when new.
 
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