1987 300d crankshaft / harmonic balancer

[lineman]

My '87 300d is having issues with the crankshaft pully - When the engine spins it doesn't turn the rest of the pullies well enough.

I have it all apart now - radiator, fan and condenser out. I am not sure what the next step is.

I have read lots of threads about it and they mention two locking pins. How can I get it apart enough to see if those pins are sheared?

Right now the 27mm bolt is out and the crankshaft pully and harmonic balancer are loose. But they won't come out all the way because it hits the fan clutch pully. Do I need to remove the fan clutch pully?

Or should I undo the 6 bolts in the front of the crankshaft pully and detatch the crankshaft pully from the harmonic balancer?

[Billybob]

You'll need to remove either the fan or the fan and clutch. The six Allen head screws attach the crank pulley and the balancer to the hub which isa attached to the crank itself, factory puller then uses three bolts screwed into three of the then vacant threaded holes in the hub, the center pulling screw works against the partially threaded into place 27 mm bolt's head (that way the crank end is not damaged). There is a keyway milled into both the crank and the hub which is secured into position using a key.

Sounds like you have an issue with the key or keyways or very probably both now, good luck!

[dmenefee]

As Billybob said, use a balancer puller screwed into the hub, not a gear puller on the outer ring. It will stretch the rubber and maybe even pull it off damaging the balancer either way. I've seen it done.
The balancer should come off fairly easy with the puller. Then remove the old key parts, put the new key in and replace the balancer. It can't go on out of position, it's "keyed"!

[scottmcphee]

I had the front seal and hub done on mine (oil leaking). Done twice in the same day (a different story). But was amazed he got the crank pulley off without removing the rad, fan, or any other accessory on the car, and no puller. Just took tension off the belt, the normal way. I didn't have a lift, which makes this job so much easier - getting at it from below. You need a mighty sized torque wrench putting it back on too. He also used the special crank locking tool (locks teeth on flywheel). That made the third and final reason to get it done versus me doing it.

[lineman]

I do not believe it is possible to remove the crankshaft pully without removing the fan clutch...At least on mine.

Update: I just got back from ten weeks in Mexico and fixed this car.

I got a new harmonic balancer hub from a junkyard, the keyway was pretty messed up in the old one.

I put it on and my friend noticed that it was loose and said this was completley unacceptable. The crankshaft was worn down by the same forces that destroyed the key and messed up the keyways. We decided that the crankshaft notch was worn but probably ok. We cut a shim from a steel aerosol can, it was about 3 inches by one inch and wrapped around almost completely, except for the keyway. It was hard to get the hub on with the shim, which is good, it was very tight after that. Put it all back togeather and torqued the bolt to 200 pounds using a torque wrench set to 200. I was under the car locking the torque converter with a screwdriver. It took all my strength to keep it from turning but we were able to do it.

I put the harmonic balancer back on the hub with a 6 mm allen key socket, then reinstalled the fan clutch and the radiator.

The car works great now, it has been about 100 miles and no problems.

[babymog]

Two inexpensive (and one pretty inovative) fixes, you're on a roll!

[New2MB]

Nice work with the shim!

How did you go about locking the torque converter with a screwdriver?

[scottmcphee]

I guess don't underestimate the sheer innovativeness and thrift of a Mexico-inspired repair job. ..O! Land of a million door dings per day.

[fastpakr]

Dealing with the exact same problem, so I'm bumping an ancient post... Lineman, if you check the forum can you let me know if the repair is still holding up? Also, how did you secure the shim in place? I tried using Permatex multi-metal epoxy, but it doesn't adhere to the crank snout at all. Thanks!

[Diesel911]

Originally Posted by scottmcphee

I guess don't underestimate the sheer innovativeness and thrift of a Mexico-inspired repair job. ..O! Land of a million door dings per day.

Indeed! If the Pins that act as Woodruff Keys to line up the Damper properly were loose the Timing Marks on His Damper are no longer accurate.
The Fix was to line up the Damper properly and drill it for oversized Pins.

Don't know what to say concerning the worn Crankshaft end with out being there to actually see it.
But, I would be suprised if it is going to hold for more than a year or so. The Metal Shim is going to be a lot softer than the Crank or the Damper and since the Damper/Crank was never drilled out for oversized Pins I believe there is going to be movement.

Note; no pictures were posted.

[fastpakr]

Originally Posted by Diesel911

Indeed! If the Pins that act as Woodruff Keys to line up the Damper properly were loose the Timing Marks on His Damper are no longer accurate.
The Fix was to line up the Damper properly and drill it for oversized Pins.

Don't know what to say concerning the worn Crankshaft end with out being there to actually see it.
But, I would be suprised if it is going to hold for more than a year or so. The Metal Shim is going to be a lot softer than the Crank or the Damper and since the Damper/Crank was never drilled out for oversized Pins I believe there is going to be movement.

Note; no pictures were posted.

I may be misunderstanding, but I don't think there was any problem with the damper other than the keyway being chewed up (and he replaced the assembly anyway). The shim was just wrapped around the crank snout to compensate for the wear caused by the pulley spinning around it. At least, that's how I'm reading it. That would match the situation I've run into. The pulley wobbles significantly on the snout. I'm trying to repair the woodruff key slot as well as shim the fit of the pulley over the crank. The strip of metal from a can actually seems to be a near perfect fit (slightly too tight on mine, but I'm working on that). The real problem is just making it stay in place to install the pulley. I tried using a metal epoxy and holding it in place for several hours but as soon as removed the zip ties securing it, it popped right back off.

[Diesel911]

Originally Posted by fastpakr

I may be misunderstanding, but I don't think there was any problem with the damper other than the keyway being chewed up (and he replaced the assembly anyway). The shim was just wrapped around the crank snout to compensate for the wear caused by the pulley spinning around it. At least, that's how I'm reading it. That would match the situation I've run into. The pulley wobbles significantly on the snout. I'm trying to repair the woodruff key slot as well as shim the fit of the pulley over the crank. The strip of metal from a can actually seems to be a near perfect fit (slightly too tight on mine, but I'm working on that). The real problem is just making it stay in place to install the pulley. I tried using a metal epoxy and holding it in place for several hours but as soon as removed the zip ties securing it, it popped right back off.

Since the Keyway for each Pin is 1/2 on the Damper and 1/2 on the Crank and he said there was a lot of wear on the Crank I made the assumption that the Keyway part of the Crank was also worn/loose.

I also think he said that they were loose when he first tried on the Junkyard Damper.

From post #5 "forces that destroyed the key and messed up the keyways."
I dose not seem likely to me that once loose only the Damper side of the keways would get damaged.

[curtmaxwall]

I think keyway part of the Crank was worn out.

[fastpakr]

Yes, that's a given.