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Fan/Idler pulley/AC/Alt bracket help!

When reinstalling the balancer, leave it in direct sunlight for a few hours
to get it warm. If the Jeep is in a cool garage, the temperature differential
will ease installation. Also lube the mating surface with a few drops of light oil.

And as was said, don't hammer it on. That can cause the crank to fail later
down the road...
 
Yes I only had to remove the bumper

Does the bumper have to be removed?
I've got a heavy winch bumper with overriders, and as I said, no helper. To compound it, I'm working out in the grass...

When reinstalling the balancer, leave it in direct sunlight for a few hours
to get it warm. If the Jeep is in a cool garage, the temperature differential
will ease installation. Also lube the mating surface with a few drops of light oil.

And as was said, don't hammer it on. That can cause the crank to fail later
down the road...

Thanks! I was thinking of gently warming the balancer with a small heater or a heat gun. Not enough to damage it, just enough so the temperature differential is enough to aid installation. I know that it gets too hot to touch at operating temperature so it can withstand a pretty good deal of heat.
 
With an aftermarket bumper it is going to depend on the design.

If the bumper is of a high clearance design and has the winch mounted up high, blocking the grill then you might not need to remove it. OTOH, if it keeps everything in tight and low then it will probably need to come of.

Grab a 3/4" deep socket and a 6" extension. Try to put that on the balancer bolt. Do you have clearance to do so? (you will probably be doing this from underneath the front bumper) If you can fit that coming straight off the crank (no funny angles--balancer puller isn't going to play nice at an angle) then you probably have enough clearance.
 
With an aftermarket bumper it is going to depend on the design.

If the bumper is of a high clearance design and has the winch mounted up high, blocking the grill then you might not need to remove it. OTOH, if it keeps everything in tight and low then it will probably need to come of.

Grab a 3/4" deep socket and a 6" extension. Try to put that on the balancer bolt. Do you have clearance to do so? (you will probably be doing this from underneath the front bumper) If you can fit that coming straight off the crank (no funny angles--balancer puller isn't going to play nice at an angle) then you probably have enough clearance.

Thanks for the quick reply!
I've got custom bumpers built years ago from AJ'S Off-road Armour. The front is kind of ARB style with the winch inside, behind the license plate holder. I don't think it's super tight, I'll check w/ the socket and extention in a little while, thanks again for the tip and your help!
I'm assuming that I'll probably have to use a "Y" style puller like this:
https://www.amazon.com/ARES-43-Piece-Harmonic-Balancers-Crankshaft/dp/B07FWHBWVN
I'm I correct?
I guess if I've got to pull the bumper, there will be plenty of clearance and it won't matter. Given the choice, which style of puller do you prefer? In regards to the installation, is using a longer bolt, lube and washers an adequate solution or is there a installation process or tool that I'm not aware of?
 
That is one of the pullers you can use, they also make a "installer tool" with a bearing on it for a smooth application.
 
Thanks! I'm thinking that a longer bolt with several heavy washers and grease would do the trick as well.
 
Again assuming, but it seems to me that the "Y" style would offer more clearance.
 
I greased the shaft end and inside of the balancer when I installed mine and it went on all the way just with the bolt.
I did not have to use any special installer or heat.
Might just be tolerance differences between cranks tho.
 
I greased the shaft end and inside of the balancer when I installed mine and it went on all the way just with the bolt.
I did not have to use any special installer or heat.
Might just be tolerance differences between cranks tho.

IMHO you were lucky. Best to at a minimum, use a longer bolt and washers. If you bugger up the threads in the crank snout, you're in for a world of hurt...
 
IMHO you were lucky. Best to at a minimum, use a longer bolt and washers. If you bugger up the threads in the crank snout, you're in for a world of hurt...


I've rebuilt the stroker twice now.
Pulled it with the puller tool. and installed it with the crank bolt both times.
It did not seem sketch. bolt was tons of threads deep before it even touched the balancer

No issues yet.
Re-used OEM balancer first time in 2008.
Bought a new one on my 2016 rebuild.

but I suspect greasing the snout and inner surface helped it go on easy.
 
IMHO you were lucky. Best to at a minimum, use a longer bolt and washers. If you bugger up the threads in the crank snout, you're in for a world of hurt...

x 1000, very dangerous and a good way to mess things up fast!
 
I've rebuilt the stroker twice now.
Pulled it with the puller tool. and installed it with the crank bolt both times.
It did not seem sketch. bolt was tons of threads deep before it even touched the balancer

No issues yet.
Re-used OEM balancer first time in 2008.
Bought a new one on my 2016 rebuild.

but I suspect greasing the snout and inner surface helped it go on easy.

I'm glad it worked out for you. I've done plenty of "schechy" things in my 40+ years of wrenching. The older I get, the less of a rush I'm in. I guess my experience of having a few instances where I wasn't doing "by the book" but it seemed fine right up until it didn't has made me more cautious over the years. Not in any way directed at you (or anyone else) but when I was in my 20s, I thought that I knew everything...
 
x 1000, very dangerous and a good way to mess things up fast!

I had a buddy make the mistake of trying to pull the balancer on with only about 3 turns of the bolt engaged. The bolt being harder than the crank, it ripped out the last few threads. Fortunately, we were able to get a new bolt to engage and thread in. Otherwise we would be looking at a much bigger problem to fix.
 
Thanks for the quick reply!
...
I'm assuming that I'll probably have to use a "Y" style puller like this:
https://www.amazon.com/ARES-43-Piece-Harmonic-Balancers-Crankshaft/dp/B07FWHBWVN
I'm I correct?

Yes. That is the style of puller I use.

Nice thing about that kit is it appears to include a shorter bolt for the center of the puller (the bolt that does all the work). That should give you a better chance at clearance. You would probably need all the length that short bolt has to offer, but it looks like it might be just long enough to pull it off.

Expecting that kit to be cheap chinesium hardware I would make sure to lube the threads on that center bolt. Anti-seize works well for that purpose. Well, it works well for the sake of the threads. It is a PITA to clean up as soon as you put your hands on that screw. DAMHIKT, yet I keep operating this way. I have been using the same puller for about 30 years now, so it seems to at least keep the tools working well.
 
I used a harmonic Balancer / steering wheel puller from Napa no issues with any clearance.
 
All those are usually rented free at the major stores!
 
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