This subject seems to come up from time to time, especially when someone is doing a stick conversion on an automatic.

Here has been my experience with it:

When I first installed the 616 in my Rover it was a standard engine and came with a flywheel already on it. In my haste, I removed it and never made any marking on my own. When the time came to reassemble it, I looked and looked and looked and could never find any factory marks. I spend a few days calling everyone I know and consulting with some old-time Benz guys and they all said that these engines are internally balanced and don’t need to the flywheel to be timed to the crank. So I took their advice and bolted the flywheel on any-old place. The engine was fine for 4 years until I changed it out.

The second motor that went into the truck was from an automatic. Just for the hell of it I put the old motor to TDC, marked the flywheel, put the new motor to TDC and put the flywheel in the same position. That motor feels just as good as the old one.

As far as 82-300td’s flywheel being 250 grams neutral, I can’t explain that. 250 grams is almost ½ pound and a hell of a lot of weight at 4000rpms!

As I’m writing this, I’m surfing the manuals and came up with this.

Linky

Read the text on the first page about how the different engines are balanced. Kinda explains why some flywheels are neutral and why 82-300td’s isn’t.

Logic leads me to think that on automatic tranny engines the balancing would have been done somewhere other than the flywheel as it doesn’t carry enough weight to help a whole lot.

All this leads back to the original question as to whether there are markings on the flywheel and crank. I think there must be and that you need to find them.

And:

If the crank is from a manual car, you need to find the original flywheel, find the marks and install it back where it was.

If the original engine was an automatic, I would send your flywheel out and have it balanced to neutral.

Hope I didn’t confuse you. I know I confused myself a couple times!!

And I guess I just got lucky with mine!!

jim