SD purchase advice, beautiful runs great, balancer/belts do not turn.
 

Went to look at an 84 SD.

The good. Fantastic shape outside, not a scratch that I could find. Drove the car around the block, susp and brakes in great condition (all bushings up front fairly recent). For 300k it ran great, good accel, smooth shifts.

The bad A little dirty on the inside but nothing some magic eraser could't fix.

The ugly. My guess is a rebuilt engine. The balancer/belts do not move with the engine running. A little oil dripping from the front.

So, what is worse possible scenario. Needs new front seal and woodruff key in balancer?

Hopefully the key is wiped and the bolt is loose. Worst case the crankshaft end is broken.

Any way I can tell if it is the latter? Pull all the belts and pry on the balancer a little?

That engine has dowel pins instead of a woodruff key. The worst case is that the car needs a new engine. If the belts don't turn, the water pump doesn't turn either. It's a pretty safe bet that the engine has been overheated.

Actually if the keys which are round instead of rectangular are sheared off then a good chance the front of the crank is buggered up too. If so a new or good used crank is the solution. ...which is just as bad as the crank being broken in terms of cost to replace.

This was the solution to a wobbly hb on the 300d euro I put in my 83 240d.

It was tough to swallow but necessary.

Tom W

This not a good sign....
 

This is a shame....

It will be a rare occurance that you will not have a banged up nose on the crank.

I know of one machinist who fixed his in the car, but the normal fix is to replace the crank, so this car is little more than a parts car right now.

Major work, and the potential for an overheat issue is also inthe background.

Worst case....replacement engine.
Best case, almost as bad......

Jim

Weld and re cut the crank. But still....

Can't do that!
 

The only way you can weld and re-cut the crank is to pull the engine and then pull and re-install the crank. If only it could be done in the car, but it can't be done. The parts car I parted out had a crank with a damaged nose and it ran for 130,000 with the HB and associated pulleys held on by a titanium based epoxy which is sold by Caterpillar Corp. Not a good fix, but it did hold for a long, long time.

The owner has agreed to let me pull the balancer this weekend and take a looksies. If it is not going to require another engine I will buy it. Worst case scenario is this guy gets free work out of me and I get to practice :)

I am so pissed it is all I can do to keep from cussin. I showed up at their to look at the car and waited on the owner for over 1hr. They said we would move the car and I could work on it somewhere else. Then they show up and tell me I can work on the car where it is. Jack car up get under and start loosening the belts... The c*ck swabbing knob hobbing owner sells the car right out from under (ok over) me to the mechanic. What a scam. I am so pissed. NEVER do business with Jackie Wilson. I am so livid.