Re: [Chrysler300] Pinging & Timing and balancer problems

["L. Andrew Jugle" <lajugle@xxxx>]

Ring-a-ding-ding!!! Damper Dudes on the net. Been there, done that. Other way to find
TDC is vacuum gauge and rotate distributer at idle, zeroing in to maximaize vacuum by
going from one extreme to other. That was in my old Barracuda manual. Remember the vacuum
"fairy light" for ultimate gas mileage?? Chrysler had some great thinking in the first
energy crisis. (1960's!) L.A. Jugle, Elmhurst,IL.

John Hertog wrote:

> Hi Jennie,
>
> Assuming all is working as it should, distributor advance, etc, one good
> possibility is that you are timing the engine, using the TDC reference mark
> on the harmonic balancer, and that the outer ring of the harmonic balancer
> has slipped . I find this to be a common occurence these days, with more
> balancers being "bad" than good !
> I have a PILE of bad balancers from various 413 - 440 Mopars . Do not assume
> that the TDC mark on the balancer is where it should be !
>
> The balancer is comprised of two " rings" held together by a vulcanised
> strip of rubber, or some such. This is only visible once the balancer is
> removed, from the backside.
>
> Get yourself a piston stop ( one can be made from an old spark plug and a
> bolt, bust out the porcelain from the old plug, tap the metal part to
> receive a bolt than can thread in and out of it.) Then put the engine on #1
> TDC going by the mark on the balancer and remove #1 cylinder spark plug and
> insert the tool. Thread the bolt to where it barely touches the top of the
> piston. Place a socket on the crank pulley and slowly rotate it one way and
> the other ( will be easier if you have removed ALL the plugs ! ) . By
> playing with the piston stop, you should be able to find TRUE TDC - the
> point at which the piston is at the very top, right between where it stops
> going up and starts coming down - and veryfy the accuracy of the mark on the
> balancer. TDC, of course, should correspond on the mark on the balancer.
> betcha it doesn't .
>
> I have some balancers that are off by 5 degrees, some by ten degrees, some
> by fifteen, some by more ! I recently had an engine on a stand and decided
> to "test" all my balancers, so I put the engine at true TDC and then
> test-fitted one balancer after another. For each one good one, I had four
> bad ones !
>
> If balancer is "off" , then you should time the car by ear only... and
> probably have the balancer rebuilt or replaced. There's always a risk that
> the outer ring will separate from the inner one, I have heard of this
> happening to several of our members .
>
> 300'ly
>
> John
>
>
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