[PAUL K]

Originally Posted by Dragncar

Thanks Paul, Monday I will call both ATI and Innovators West and see if I can get a .001 press fit and go from there.

I looking around at all this stuff I found a Jegs brand balancer/installer kit for 67 $. I had to pay 285$ for the Moroso kit.
I think you are better off with a true press fit and the price of that



Moroso kit has probably has kept a lot of people with slip fit balancers.
67$ is a great deal. I am sure its made overseas but it gets the dampener on and off just the same.

https://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/81395/10002/-1

You're welcome. I had to look up that $300 Moroso kit as I never heard of it. After thirty years of using my $19.95 puller from Sears it was wearing out and I was lucky enough to purchase a second one from an estate sale for $5. I also use the old Craftsman installation tool. That's the original one I bought when I was a teenager and it's still working well.

[Skip Fix]

I had a welding shop extend the wings on a 2 bolt steering wheel puller to make a Pontiac balancer puller.

[Dragncar]

I did not know about that Moroso puller either. But Darrin said I would have to have it to get the BHJ on and off so I bought it.
440 $ for the balancer and 285 $ the puller was a little chunk of money. Bet its why guys go slip fit a lot.

[gtospieg]

Darrin mentioned having a .007 press fit but I read in this thread where someone was looking for only .001. I was thinking that if Pontiac was happy with a slip fit then maybe it doesn't need to be as tight as .007? Unless maybe it's a max effort high HP race engine. Thoughts?

[Joe-Touring]

Originally Posted by gtospieg

Darrin mentioned having a .007 press fit but I read in this thread where someone was looking for only .001. I was thinking that if Pontiac was happy with a slip fit then maybe it doesn't need to be as tight as .007? Unless maybe it's a max effort high HP race engine. Thoughts?

I would think 0.007" is impossible. I'm guessing Darrin intended 0.0007". I believe a thou or so is what is usually recommended.

[Dragncar]

Originally Posted by Scott Stoneburg

Yes, it's a press fit. Not cheap though. I got mine from a friend in a swap plus cash for a Romac, I wanted it for the magnets and my buddy didn't need it for his build.

The IW balancer is still cheaper than the BHJ. 485$ vs 535 $ so its a valid option.
The new engine might get the crank trigger I have.
I also picked up a BOP front distributor drive that I will not use. Sell it or trade for something I can use.
The fellow I got it from is a high end bracket racer. He had it but simply went with a HEI.
Said all the hassle of the front drive with crank trigger was not worth the few HP it gave him just for bracket racing. Ran the same ETs without.

[gtospieg]

Joe Touring...Thanks, I thought that sounded a bit tight. My machinist said it would go on but might never come off.

[chiefbigb]

All the ati balancers I have used need opened up for installation. I use .0005 pressed fit.

[Dragncar]

Originally Posted by Tom Vaught

I had ATI make me 3 balancers some years ago for supercharged applications.

They put a Pontiac 4 bolt cover (for Pontiac) on the parts as well as 10 rib belt drive outer covers. All it takes is money.

ATI can do Press-Fit too.

Engineers do stuff for reasons

TV

Well, ATI tells me for anything custom the require a order of 10 minimum. No way around it they said.

[Dragncar]

Originally Posted by chiefbigb

All the ati balancers I have used need opened up for installation. I use .0005 pressed fit.

So what Chevy pulley do you look for to use one of them on our engines ? How hard are they to get ?

[Skip Fix]

I used a SBC pulley as a guide to drill some Pontiac pulleys center pilot was the same size, and RARE can drill their aluminum Pontiac pulleys for 3 holes

[Dragncar]

So I called IW and their balancer is press fit.
ATI would not do a 4 bolt unless I bought 10.
Then I called BHJ and talked to a guy who had been there for awhile and was all involved in the slipping issue. The old way was to have 2 smooth surfaces, rubber and outer ring and press it together. It was a real issue.
The fix was to have both sides not totally smooth, roughed up a bit and bond it with some glue that does its thing at 250 deg F. They have not had any issues since doing it this way. Even the old ones they rebuilt have not been back to get rebuilt.
I know ATI is a competitor to BHJ but BHJs tech told me ATIs are just a bunch of stacked O rings and the BHJ has more surface area and is bonded. Said it was better. Not only that they will do full out custom balancers (2500) for nich record setting guys. Did one on a FE record setter the guy said it needed to go 10000 RPM. I think it was some kind of 1/2 a FE engine. Well the balancer was good on the machine to 11.000 RPM. BHJ does a lot of custom one off stuff. ATI would not work with the guy.
So I will go back to BHJ.
All 3 of these companies rebuild their balancers for about 100 $

[chiefbigb]

Like skip mentioned. You can drill a 3 bolt pattern in a 4 bolt pulley. Have one.made by the manufacturer or buy one with no drilled holes and do it yourself.

[Skip Fix]

Interestingly my old Pontiac ATI ( aboiut late 80s early 90s) had a separate hub. The SBC one I got for my 409(timing marks different though) was loose and had to order a new center section to "hone to fit" did not have a separate outer ring and you could see the rubber in the inside when swapping out. My Pontiac one also had to be machined 0.125 shorter for the pulleys to line up.

[EFI Pontiac]

Innovators West !

[HWYSTR455]

I've been using the PowerBond SFI ones, 18.1 SFI certified, good the 12,500 RPM, and press-fit. They have anti-slip features.

https://butlerperformance.com/i-2445...tegory:1234723

I will never ever ever use a Romac again, once and done!

Only thing I wish is that they did full timing marks the whole way around, but it's livable with the ones they have.

ATI has been a go-to for many for years & years, but may just be out of habit.

Butler stopped carrying the BHJ ones for a reason, just to say. Maybe call and ask.

I've seen the IW ones, but have never used them, so can't really comment on those.


.

[Tom Vaught]

Originally Posted by Dragncar

Well, ATI tells me for anything custom the require a order of 10 minimum. No way around it they said.

At the time I was buying a bunch of the ATI Balancers for F-ord applications
that were running Vortech Superchargers and was a WD for them so I never had an issue with getting "One - Off" stuff from them.

They were happy to be doing business with "the F-ord Engineers"

My stuff was serpentine 10 rib balancers.

Tom V.