Post by henrypaz on Feb 7, 2020 16:00:17 GMT -5
Justy fans-
Hi. Still lovin' my Justy as always. I think I've had maybe 30-40 cars and it's my favorite. Real rusty though, but I've kept her patched up and inspected for 10-15 years now. Just did a valve job lately. My lady says get rid of it, but I can't.
Got a new / recurring problem, to wit : the darn harmonic balancer keeps coming loose / off.
The first time it fell off, I thought I had hit a big rock in the road. After a while , the battery ran down and it wouldn't start so I looked under the hood, and found the balancer laying there on the 'frame'. Good. Hustled to the hardware store and bought a metric bolt , some washers, and some Locktite. that got her going and actually lasted several years. then it got loose.
I noticed it was loose when the bottom end began to make a LOT of noise. Finally I felt it wobbling on the crank, so I tightened it 'good.' That lasted a while.
NOW, it got loose again, and I took it apart. i didn't find any key at all, and the way on the crank is woggled out some. So i slowly and carefully ground down a key to 'fit', and put it together. There was almost no improvement , because the key didn't really stop the balancer from turning completely on the crank ( maybe 10-20 degrees motion ?) Still very noisy too.
Another thing I noticed was that there is axial play of close to 1/32 to 1/16 inch in spite of the bolt being really tight. ( I checked for bottoming out and don't think that's it. ) I am wondering if the original washer ( lost the first time it fell off ) was stepped? Any one know about that? I can't imagine that the shoulders on the crank or pulley got worn that much even if it was loose for awhile. i don't see any evidence of that kind of wear on the pulley.
SO---I would like to run my plan by you guys and see if you have any Ideas to help me fix her.
I am going to cut out some sheet metal so i can get access to it through the fender well. I'll put that back later too. Next I am going to take my Dremel and grind out the front of the Woodruff key-way and make it for a straight key. I'll refine that with a new small square file. then make a key to fit the new slot and pulley together. Possibly with a slight taper to wedge it in place. If it seems needed, I may force a wad of JB Weld in there before putting my new key in place. I am going to silver solder a ring of brass wire to my washer to take care of that axial play. Does anyone think a softer key such as brass or copper could be driven in and better fill the key-ways?
Well, guys, that's the best I can think of. i can't afford to RnR the crank to do it right, so that's the way it's gotta be.
Henry in Allisonia, VA, USA
Hi. Still lovin' my Justy as always. I think I've had maybe 30-40 cars and it's my favorite. Real rusty though, but I've kept her patched up and inspected for 10-15 years now. Just did a valve job lately. My lady says get rid of it, but I can't.
Got a new / recurring problem, to wit : the darn harmonic balancer keeps coming loose / off.
The first time it fell off, I thought I had hit a big rock in the road. After a while , the battery ran down and it wouldn't start so I looked under the hood, and found the balancer laying there on the 'frame'. Good. Hustled to the hardware store and bought a metric bolt , some washers, and some Locktite. that got her going and actually lasted several years. then it got loose.
I noticed it was loose when the bottom end began to make a LOT of noise. Finally I felt it wobbling on the crank, so I tightened it 'good.' That lasted a while.
NOW, it got loose again, and I took it apart. i didn't find any key at all, and the way on the crank is woggled out some. So i slowly and carefully ground down a key to 'fit', and put it together. There was almost no improvement , because the key didn't really stop the balancer from turning completely on the crank ( maybe 10-20 degrees motion ?) Still very noisy too.
Another thing I noticed was that there is axial play of close to 1/32 to 1/16 inch in spite of the bolt being really tight. ( I checked for bottoming out and don't think that's it. ) I am wondering if the original washer ( lost the first time it fell off ) was stepped? Any one know about that? I can't imagine that the shoulders on the crank or pulley got worn that much even if it was loose for awhile. i don't see any evidence of that kind of wear on the pulley.
SO---I would like to run my plan by you guys and see if you have any Ideas to help me fix her.
I am going to cut out some sheet metal so i can get access to it through the fender well. I'll put that back later too. Next I am going to take my Dremel and grind out the front of the Woodruff key-way and make it for a straight key. I'll refine that with a new small square file. then make a key to fit the new slot and pulley together. Possibly with a slight taper to wedge it in place. If it seems needed, I may force a wad of JB Weld in there before putting my new key in place. I am going to silver solder a ring of brass wire to my washer to take care of that axial play. Does anyone think a softer key such as brass or copper could be driven in and better fill the key-ways?
Well, guys, that's the best I can think of. i can't afford to RnR the crank to do it right, so that's the way it's gotta be.
I will appreciate any suggestions.
Justys Forever !
Several days later----
I got everything back together again, with a lot of blue Loctite, and the original woodruff key ( I found the access hole to the crankshaft end was through the frame , not the fender-well, so i couldn't cut it out to allow access for the Dremel tool, so I went with the original key ) and the stepped washer that I made to insure I had grip in the axial direction. The result was that the balancer seemed tight, but it had some wobble in it and it rubbed on the dipstick tube. I am considering undoing the tube mount and pushing it to the side a bit to clear the pulley. That 'solution' might work well enough to get me through for awhile, with a new o-ring for the pipe joint.
BUT--I am surprised to observe the balancer seems to sit about 1/8th inch inboard of the alternator and AC pump pulleys. It's misaligned. Now, I am wondering if there is supposed to be a spacer behind the balancer on the crank. Or do I have the wrong balancer? Or something else? Does anyone know the answer about that misalignment issue?
Thanks for any information on the matter.
Even later ( march 2020 ).........
That fix worked for a while, then it threw the belt off, but not lost, so i put it on again, and it threw off 5 miles later and was gone. So i gotta figure how to get that balancer on and running true. thought about putting a sleeve in it at a machine shop? Or use some JB Weld and get it on straight ( the issue for sure ! ) and hope for the best.
Any and all help will be much appreciated. Anyone able to tell me the original bore diameter on the balancer? Does anyone recall a spacer behind the balancer? Anyone got a balancer to sell? Wonder if it's possible to knurl the inside of the bore to tighten things up a bit? maybe there's a penetrating sealer that could magically fill those ugly gaps?
Can i run a non-air conditioner belt and just leave it out of the loop?
If anyone has any ideas at all , please chime in. i've been saving this old justy for about 15 years now , and i hate to give up just yet.
thanks
Update/solution December17-2020:
I think I finally solved this little wobbling balancer issue. I had some .001" thick copper foil laying around for years now. I took some small pieces and super-glued it into the bore of the balancer, over and over-trial and error, until it fit snugly on the crankshaft. then a little JB Weld in the key-way with another key, and Gosh-A-Mighty it seems to run quite true now.
I got the non -AC belt for it, but 28.5 inches is too short. Measured it and got a 34 inch belt and it fit good. Back rubs the AC pulley a little, but not hurting anything. been driving it a month now and all seems well.
Hard to kill a rusty Justy,innit?
Update September,2023---That copper foil fix is still goin' strong! Justys Forever! Yay!!!
Henry in SW Virginia
Henry
Several days later----
I got everything back together again, with a lot of blue Loctite, and the original woodruff key ( I found the access hole to the crankshaft end was through the frame , not the fender-well, so i couldn't cut it out to allow access for the Dremel tool, so I went with the original key ) and the stepped washer that I made to insure I had grip in the axial direction. The result was that the balancer seemed tight, but it had some wobble in it and it rubbed on the dipstick tube. I am considering undoing the tube mount and pushing it to the side a bit to clear the pulley. That 'solution' might work well enough to get me through for awhile, with a new o-ring for the pipe joint.
BUT--I am surprised to observe the balancer seems to sit about 1/8th inch inboard of the alternator and AC pump pulleys. It's misaligned. Now, I am wondering if there is supposed to be a spacer behind the balancer on the crank. Or do I have the wrong balancer? Or something else? Does anyone know the answer about that misalignment issue?
Thanks for any information on the matter.
Even later ( march 2020 ).........
That fix worked for a while, then it threw the belt off, but not lost, so i put it on again, and it threw off 5 miles later and was gone. So i gotta figure how to get that balancer on and running true. thought about putting a sleeve in it at a machine shop? Or use some JB Weld and get it on straight ( the issue for sure ! ) and hope for the best.
Any and all help will be much appreciated. Anyone able to tell me the original bore diameter on the balancer? Does anyone recall a spacer behind the balancer? Anyone got a balancer to sell? Wonder if it's possible to knurl the inside of the bore to tighten things up a bit? maybe there's a penetrating sealer that could magically fill those ugly gaps?
Can i run a non-air conditioner belt and just leave it out of the loop?
If anyone has any ideas at all , please chime in. i've been saving this old justy for about 15 years now , and i hate to give up just yet.
thanks
Update/solution December17-2020:
I think I finally solved this little wobbling balancer issue. I had some .001" thick copper foil laying around for years now. I took some small pieces and super-glued it into the bore of the balancer, over and over-trial and error, until it fit snugly on the crankshaft. then a little JB Weld in the key-way with another key, and Gosh-A-Mighty it seems to run quite true now.
I got the non -AC belt for it, but 28.5 inches is too short. Measured it and got a 34 inch belt and it fit good. Back rubs the AC pulley a little, but not hurting anything. been driving it a month now and all seems well.
Hard to kill a rusty Justy,innit?
Update September,2023---That copper foil fix is still goin' strong! Justys Forever! Yay!!!
Henry in SW Virginia
Henry
Henry in Allisonia, VA, USA