I need some help installing an ATI balancer, please

So I'm putting my ATI balancer on, and it looks like it's about 3/4 of the way seated, but now when I try to tighten it on, it doesn't seem to tighten and instead it just starts spinning with the crankshaft. What am I doing wrong, or what should I be doing? Car is a manual, but I tried putting it on with the car in gear and in neutral, and I'm running into the same problem.

So I put the car in 6th and got it going again. Now I don't remember how to tell when the thing is fully seated...

EDIT: Well, now I'm fucked... Was getting the balancer closer to being seated, and the stud I was using for install sheared. I'm so fucking sick of this thing right now, I can't even explain it.:frusty:

That really sucks, sorry to hear that. You will have to try to extract the broken stud without damaging the crank threads. Be very careful not to destroy the threads in the crank or the repair bill goes up a few thousand dollars. Afterwards you should probably run a tap through the threads to clean them up just in case. Definitely use blue loctite on the balancer bolt once you get it installed IMO.

The ATIs are a very tight fit and it may have gotten stuck half way on and wouldn't slide on the crank snout any further so the stud snapped. Or you were fully seated and kept trying to turn it.

I've installed several of them and the best way to do it is

1. Heavily oil the crank snout with motor oil
2. Use a Propane torch (Home depot $20) to heat the balancer up a good amount (5min or so evenly heating around the hub to expand it)
3. Slide it on the oiled crank snout
4. Pull the rest of the way on via bolt or stud method.

I've been able to heat it enough that it slid all the way on in one go without needing to pull it on further. Having it heated also makes pulling it on with a bolt nice and smooth without much stress on the crank threads. I highly recommend this method, the $20 torch is worth it. A heat gun can be used as well but still not as good.

To remove the balancer you can rent a puller from Autozone like the image below. Thread the three bolts into the ATI and pull it off. Reinstall and tighten it all down in one go while you have the balancer heated.

Sorry to hear this.
I used a length of all-thread and a nut to install the stock pulley. Made sense to me that you want maximum thread engagement in the crank at ALL times. A bolt simply can’t do that.
Also, if something’s going to strip, it’ll be the nut, NOT the crank.
Best of luck with it.

Thanks for the input! I'm pretty sure that once I take the balancer off there will be enough of the stud remaining to back it out. At least I hope so... I didn't have it in me last night to take the balancer off after all that happened.

Do you guys know what is the proper size socket for the ferry cap bolts on the ATI balancer? I think the one I have is just slightly too big and slips on the bolts every once in a while, and I don't want to strip them. I'm going to wait until I get the correct size socket to take the balancer off so I don't create another problem in the process.

Stupid question, but how do you know when the thing is fully seated? Obviously the belts should line up, but is there anything else? Will the crank bolt torque down all the way if the balancer isn't seated?

Dragster said:

Thanks for the input! I'm pretty sure that once I take the balancer off there will be enough of the stud remaining to back it out. At least I hope so... I didn't have it in me last night to take the balancer off after all that happened.

Do you guys know what is the proper size socket for the ferry cap bolts on the ATI balancer? I think the one I have is just slightly too big and slips on the bolts every once in a while, and I don't want to strip them. I'm going to wait until I get the correct size socket to take the balancer off so I don't create another problem in the process.

Stupid question, but how do you know when the thing is fully seated? Obviously the belts should line up, but is there anything else? Will the crank bolt torque down all the way if the balancer isn't seated?

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If you heat the balancer it will slide on easy and you'll be able to easily feel when it's fully seated. If it's stuck on the shaft because its not lubed or heated it might be possible for it to torque without being seated evenly which I believe has been determined to be the culprit of a few crank snout failures.

If it's lubed and heated you don't have to worry, it will be seated properly by the time you torque it.

Thanks for the tip, I appreciate it. I’ll pick one up today when I’m out. Do you know the correct socket size for the ferry cap bolts on the balancer?

Dragster said:

Thanks for the tip, I appreciate it. I’ll pick one up today when I’m out. Do you know the correct socket size for the ferry cap bolts on the balancer?

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No problem. That I don't remember though but I want to say that they were standard, not metric. The Torx is a Torx PLUS bit also, not a regular torx. Regular torx will work but may be hard to get them out of you ever need to take the balancer apart in the future.

ahl395 said:

No problem. That I don't remember though but I want to say that they were standard, not metric. The Torx is a Torx PLUS bit also, not a regular torx. Regular torx will work but may be hard to get them out of you ever need to take the balancer apart in the future.

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Cool, no problem. I figured they were probably standard so I'll just pick up a new set while I'm out and hope that I can get the correct one. Yeah, I used a regular Torx bit to put it together (I think), which worked well enough, but I'm not sure how well it would work to back them out.

Thanks again for all the help!

Do you guys know the thread pattern on the long 12 point bolts? I need to get some longer ones in order to use the puller that I have. They aren't quite short enough to grab when they're place through the remover. Guess I'm off to Lowes. AGAIN.

EDIT: Never mind, I went to Autozone and used the puller tool that they have because that's what I did last time. It worked, but because I'm an idiot, I messed up the balancer in the process, and I stripped the threads where one of the AC pulley bolts goes. Also, all of the washers got totally messed up and bent in the process. Not sure how that happened, but at least I got the damn thing off! Also "good news," the stud that I was using to install the balancer is sticking out about an inch and a half, so I should be able to remove that.

With that said, is there anything I should be on the look for when it comes to damage to the crank from having that stud in there? I wasn't sure what, if anything, can get messed up from having a stud in there torqued so much that it snaps... The Autozone puller tool instructions says that there may be a crank sensor in there, so don't put anything in too far. Hopefully I didn't completely mess something up. Ugh...

Sounds like you probably shouldn't be working on the car at all.

Dragster said:

Cool, no problem. I figured they were probably standard so I'll just pick up a new set while I'm out and hope that I can get the correct one. Yeah, I used a regular Torx bit to put it together (I think), which worked well enough, but I'm not sure how well it would work to back them out.

Thanks again for all the help!

Click to expand...

Dragster said:

Do you guys know the thread pattern on the long 12 point bolts? I need to get some longer ones in order to use the puller that I have. They aren't quite short enough to grab when they're place through the remover. Guess I'm off to Lowes. AGAIN.

EDIT: Never mind, I went to Autozone and used the puller tool that they have because that's what I did last time. It worked, but because I'm an idiot, I messed up the balancer in the process, and I stripped the threads where one of the AC pulley bolts goes. Also, all of the washers got totally messed up and bent in the process. Not sure how that happened, but at least I got the damn thing off! Also "good news," the stud that I was using to install the balancer is sticking out about an inch and a half, so I should be able to remove that.

With that said, is there anything I should be on the look for when it comes to damage to the crank from having that stud in there? I wasn't sure what, if anything, can get messed up from having a stud in there torqued so much that it snaps... The Autozone puller tool instructions says that there may be a crank sensor in there, so don't put anything in too far. Hopefully I didn't completely mess something up. Ugh...

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Damn dude, you aren't having a good day lol.

I also used a standard Torx to put it together.

How badly are the threads stripped? You may be able to run a tap through it but if it's too bad probably best to send it out to ATI for them to repair/replace. Get new washers too. Make sure to assemble the new one with a torque wrench, you don't want to eyeball something like this. The torque values are on the front label. Blue loctite is a good idea too.

Very good that the stud is sticking out, that makes things much easier for you. If I were you I would heat the crank snout slightly, might be best to do that with a heat gun, torch flame will end up burning the rubber seal on the timing cover that's around the crank snout. Remember heat expands metal, the crank will expand a fraction of a hair and it will be that much easier to remove the stud. Spray some WD40 around the stud and either lock two nuts together on it and remove or use vice-grips on it if the threads on the stud are gone/stripped. Hold the ratchet/vice grip tightly by the head so that the force you put on it only goes into rotation and not horizontal force that will snap the stud.

If you're able to thread it out easily after it's loosened your crank threads are probably fine. The crank sensor is not anywhere in the crank so no need to worry about sensors. If you bottomed out the stud in the crank it's possible to put a small crack in it which would be bad, but let's not think about that! Lol.

Let us know how it goes.

ahl395 said:

Damn dude, you aren't having a good day lol.

I also used a standard Torx to put it together.

How badly are the threads stripped? You may be able to run a tap through it but if it's too bad probably best to send it out to ATI for them to repair/replace. Get new washers too. Make sure to assemble the new one with a torque wrench, you don't want to eyeball something like this. The torque values are on the front label. Blue loctite is a good idea too.

Very good that the stud is sticking out, that makes things much easier for you. If I were you I would heat the crank snout slightly, might be best to do that with a heat gun, torch flame will end up burning the rubber seal on the timing cover that's around the crank snout. Remember heat expands metal, the crank will expand a fraction of a hair and it will be that much easier to remove the stud. Spray some WD40 around the stud and either lock two nuts together on it and remove or use vice-grips on it if the threads on the stud are gone/stripped. Hold the ratchet/vice grip tightly by the head so that the force you put on it only goes into rotation and not horizontal force that will snap the stud.

If you're able to thread it out easily after it's loosened your crank threads are probably fine. The crank sensor is not anywhere in the crank so no need to worry about sensors. If you bottomed out the stud in the crank it's possible to put a small crack in it which would be bad, but let's not think about that! Lol.

Let us know how it goes.

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You're not kidding! I've done headers, cams (twice), a GT350 manifold, OPG and CS, and all the suspension work on my car (springs multiple times), and nothing has made me want to push it into a lake like this damn balancer!:lol::frusty: Crazy thing is that I got it on last time without any problems...

I've got a stud removal tool coming from Amazon today, and I appreciate the advice on removing it. Hoping I get a chance to work on it later tonight. Also nice to know about the crank sensor. I appreciate the help, and I'll update the thread if and when I get this stud out and the balancer back on. I sent an email to ATI last night asking about the AC pulley.

be sure to measure the interference fit on the balancer bore and crank.



ATI's instructions mention that honing may be necessary, but I've run them in the past and noted they were very tight fitting (which is needed if in spec for proper dampening)

Just curious, why are you putting that damper on?