Please help diagnose my problem
 

Hello,
I've got a 63 220s that developed a serious problem after a high-speed highway jaunt. The engine started shaking and got worse to the point of being too scary to drive. When the car idles I can see the vibration damper/counterweight has a wobble. When I removed the radiator and other things in the way, I can see an opening into the engine, a large bolt hole. I don't know what filled this opening. Did the violent vibrations shake something loose? Or has this hole been there all along (accounting for the heavy coating of oil?) Are the two related? Could it be the crankshaft needs balancing, not the vibration damper/counter weight?
Thank you for your ideas.

Here's the pic. The arrow points to the hole and what looks like the two mounting screws.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Nz...Q=w520-h770-no

This is usually a bad sign, the inner and outer ring of a damper is bonded with rubber, this might have deteriorated and slipped. The fix is to replace the damper or have it rebuilt.

Pull the #1 spark plug, then turn the crankshaft clockwise crank until piston is at top, ( look with a light or poke with a long screwdriver ) , look at the timing marks on the damper to see if zero or TDC lines up with the pointer. If the mark should be within a few degrees (allowing for not having the crank exactly at TDC ) I'm expecting it to be off inches.

I don't know what should be there. By looking at it, the large hole seems to be a locating point ( hollow dowel would go here ) with a smaller threaded home in the bottom.

Crankshafts don't go out of balance on their own so the problem won't be there. Is this an automatic or manual trans car? I've seen clutch covers throw a spring causing things to vibrate.

The plug that has gone on holiday carries on its inner end one of the mounting pins for a timing chain slide rail. The smaller hole that is visible in the cavity is in the bracket of the slide rail, and is where the fugitive pin is intended to be.

Thanks.
Could the missing plug and what it is supposed to do cause the vibrations, including the wobble in the counter-weight?
Does one have to disassemble the motor to put the timing chain slide rail in correct position?

If dampers are available, that would be an easy fix. The car is an automatic.

As the plug and pin assembly (about 2.5-3" long) went over the wall, it likely put a shoulder to the warden's belly, which is now wobbling. If just the hub/counterweight/dampener assembly was bent, a replacement can be found. A rather more unfortunate situation will have the nose of the crankshaft bent.

If the lower of the two pins in the slide rail is in position and tight, the upper one (in the plug) can be installed with the chain tension relaxed.

DavidF: The holes you pointed hold a pin to indicate the timing of the engine on the vibration damper. I don't see the pin on the picture, so i'm assuming it was knocked out by the damper.
As 97 SL320 pointed out, the damper has rubber in it. This rubber can get deteriorated by oil.
So, in my opinion, this is what's happened:

-Your engine developed an oil leak;
-The oil makes it to the damper;
-The damper rubber deteriorates;
-You take it to a high speed (high damper rpm) drive;
-Damper fails, taking out the timing pin (the holes you pointed).

You should do something about that oil leak before fixing the damper, though.

I've run engines with bent crank noses and other than shorter than normal seal life, any vibration was not noticeable.

Something I left out on "the damper has spun due to failed rubber". Some engines are externally balanced. This is where the damper and / or flywheel has a weight on it because there isn't enough room in the crankcase for this weight to be on the crankshaft.

If the damper slips, the weight is now in the wrong position and will cause a vibration.

the hole is where the power steering pump bracket is mounted. Although mounting configuration is not the same as on a 130 engine. In the photo i can see the power steering gear box which could means you are driving a car with power steering without power steering fluid. Unless the 63' manual gearboxes are as big as a power steering box. But I do know that a 68' manual gearbox is very small than the on in the photo.
This could explain your handling problems.

The car does/did have power steering. The vibrations shook the fluid canister loose so it tipped over and ground a hole in the radiator. There were leaks in the power steering gear box so I have been running the car without power steering for years. If this is the case, can I just find a bolt the right size and plug that hole?

Can a bolt be screwed in to the hole? Is it treaded?
What happened to the bracket and pump? I would think not having power steering fluid circulating through the steering gear box would cause damage.

On the engine vibrations. First thing is how old are the engine and subframe rubber mounts? If they are bad it would explain engine and front end vibrations.
Also what are the hoses attached to the valve cover (AC lines?). They are in poor condition and should be replace.