The car is a '82 240D. On a previous post, you may have read about how the harmonic balancer came loose and damaged a few parts. Anyway, I've purchased a new balancer, new dowel pins, new center crankshaft pulley bolt and the 3 big washers that go on the bolt for the crankshaft pulley.

Everything has come together so far except for the dowel pins. I was able to align the harmonic balancer and the crankshaft holes where the dowel pins go in. I was able to drive in the dowel pins almost all the way in. I have about 1/64 of an inch to go on one pin and about 1/32 of an inch on the other. I keep trying to drive them in using a punch and a hammer but they don't seem to go in flush with the harminic balancer. Is this all they are supposed to go in or should they be flush with the balancer?

I know the balancer is all the way in but I'm not sure about the dowel pins. Suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Herb
'82 240D
'87 300SDL
'92 300D 2.5 Turbo

They should indeed go in flush. Have you tried drawing down tight on the big bolt and then removing it to see what everything looks like?

Good luck,

How have you been ' driving ' them in ?
Steel faced hammer on steel dowel pins may have blossomed the ends enough that they will not go in...
Sometimes it is better to use either hardwood , like oak, or soft metal , like brass, to protect the part being hammered....

How long were the dowels to start with ?... the amount sticking out seems very small... if they were over an inch in length to start with you might just grind off what you can not get driven into the hole....

Thanks guys. I think I just may use leathermangs recommendation and use the dremmel tool to grind off that very very small amount that sticks out. I would sure hate to pull the balancer back off just because of that very minuscule amount that is sticking out.

Thanks again.

Herb
'82 240D
'87 300SDL
'92 300D 2.5 Turbo

They are only about 1/4" or so long.

Have a great day,

Bigger hammer then....

I would be worried about just using a BFH and putting it together. I would want to investigate and see that the balancer is seated all the way in place.

Is the front edge of the balancer flush with the front edge of the crankshaft? If so then maybe you can carefully grind the ends off of the dowels so that the washer will have full surface conact.

If it is not flush, you should investigate. IMHO you are correct in being cautious and thorough in this area given the history of these balancers coming off.

My $0.02,

I was able to grind off the very small amount that was sticking out from the crankshaft with the dremmel tool; it was only about 1/32 of an inch sticking out from the balancer. And yes, the balancer was seated all the way onto the crankshaft. I was very careful in making sure that the dowel pins were indeed seated into their respective locations because I wanted this job to done right and I didn't want the balancer coming off. The only thing that I was sweating during assembly was whether the crankshaft bolt would torque down to the 200 Foot pounds after chasing the threads with the 18MM tap. When the torque wrench finally reached the specified torque, I knew I was home free! I also put thread locker just in case.

I put everything back together and I resurrected her back to life! When I started the engine and heard her usual diesel clattering again, I was smiling.

Success!

Thanks for the input guys.

Herb
'82 240D
'87 300SDL
'92 300D 2.5 Turbo

Good job! IMHO you were exactly correct in exercising caution in this critical area of your engine.

Have a great day,