# balancer-crank bolt torque--chasing the big one



## john23 (Mar 6, 2016)

Hi All, 
2 questions. i am swapping my factory style balancer from my 455 to my 400. i think it will be fine on the different sized motor, if not please let me know. 
question 2: my torque wrench only goes to 100 ft lbs. the spec for the balancer bolt is 160 ft lbs. Here's my procedure: i cleaned the male and female threads. i lubricated the threads and under the bolt head with 30 wt and made sure i used the proper thick washer. i used my torque wrench to tighten the bolt to 100 ft lbs in steps. using a breaker bar, i then tightened the bolt slightly less than an additional 1/8 turn, in 3 steps. any thoughts at my final torque? thanks. 
oh and Happy Easter!


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

john23 said:


> Hi All,
> 2 questions. i am swapping my factory style balancer from my 455 to my 400. i think it will be fine on the different sized motor, if not please let me know.
> question 2: my torque wrench only goes to 100 ft lbs. the spec for the balancer bolt is 160 ft lbs. Here's my procedure: i cleaned the male and female threads. i lubricated the threads and under the bolt head with 30 wt and made sure i used the proper thick washer. i used my torque wrench to tighten the bolt to 100 ft lbs in steps. using a breaker bar, i then tightened the bolt slightly less than an additional 1/8 turn, in 3 steps. any thoughts at my final torque? thanks.
> oh and Happy Easter!



Question 1 - Should be OK on the balancer swap. They are neutral balanced.

Question 2 - Torquing the bolt. You are not torquing the main cap bolt on a Caterpillar diesel. You can try anything you want, but keep in mind that it could loosen and what typically happens is the collar that goes over the crank can crack and worse case scenario is it breaks off and goes into the timing chain and the rest is history. And I suppose if you over torqued and damaged the threads, the balancer could come loose. Is the price of another torque wrench that will go to 160 ft lbs worth the loss of your engine?

You might check with your local auto parts store that loans out tools or bring it to a shop and let them do the final torque.


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## bigD (Jul 21, 2016)

Yeah, recently "borrowed" one from my local O'reilly store, cause my torque wrench only goes to 150 lbs.

You have to buy it. It's around $100. Then, when you take it back, your money is refunded.

I've seen quite a few cracked balancers, usually in the keyway. I assume most cracked because of under torqued bolt. Can't say for sure. Never had one crack that I torqued to 160 lbs.


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## john23 (Mar 6, 2016)

thanks D, good info


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## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

Buy or borrow the right torque wrench. Not worth breaking a crank over.


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