LT1-LT4 Modifications 1993-97 Gen II Small Block V8

WTF hapened to my harmonic balancer?

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Old Mar 17, 2010 | 10:44 AM
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Default WTF hapened to my harmonic balancer?

What happened here it looks like it is starting to separate from the hub there? First question: Does this mean i have to buy a new one?
Second question: It has a lot of holes drilled in it, so if i just simply pushed it back together would my rotating assembly be out of balance?
And last: Does that big bolt in the center of the hub have to come out to pull the whole thing off from the crank? Any one can help me out here i would appreciate it.
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Old Mar 17, 2010 | 10:51 AM
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yes the middle bolt has to come out to pull the entire hub out. If your just wanting to replace the pulley then no. Just remove the 3 bolts and pull it off. Yes your stuff looks messed up. You only need the pulley. It isnt a "traditional" style balancer, so you wont have issues. Some did get "fine" tuned from the factory to get rid of any extra vibrations but the LT1 is balanced a different way

The pulley can only go on one way. If you put it on wrong the bolt holes wont line up. So you cant put it on wrong. FYI
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Old Mar 17, 2010 | 10:51 AM
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Originally Posted by Jcl_96TA
What happened here it looks like it is starting to separate from the hub there? First question: Does this mean i have to buy a new one?
Second question: It has a lot of holes drilled in it, so if i just simply pushed it back together would my rotating assembly be out of balance?
And last: Does that big bolt in the center of the hub have to come out to pull the whole thing off from the crank? Any one can help me out here i would appreciate it.

First question i dont know.
Second question--- The balancer will only fit on the hub one way, so if you aren't removing the hub, it wont matter. The LT1 is internally balanced, so it shouldn't matter. I believe the Hub/balancer are neutral balanced.
Las question--- Yes, it would have to come off it you plan to pull the crank hub and balancer together.
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Old Mar 17, 2010 | 11:03 AM
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Thanks Guys So i can just buy the pulley and leave the rest on there? And your saying that my car has a different style pulley than most? Does that mean its a dealer item? Wonder why my car would have been balanced more precisely than most of the others? Or was it just so far out of balance that they had to balance both sides?
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Old Mar 17, 2010 | 11:09 AM
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Ya that looks like a potential catastrophic fail.

Go to the Junk Yard and just find an LT1 Car with a Balancer on it and get that.

The LT1's are different from the SBC's..that is all that those guys were saying.
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Old Mar 17, 2010 | 11:10 AM
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All LT1's were balanced the same from the factory, internally balanced at the front, externally at the rear. The pulley is NOT a balancer, it is a harmonic damper. You can simply swap out any stock LT1 pulley and just bolt it up and go.
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Old Mar 17, 2010 | 11:18 AM
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Oh okay. The junk yards around here get picked pretty damn clean i have only ever seen one lt1 car at any of the u pull it yards, and it looked like it hit a pole at about 145mph. It was red that's about all the more i could gather from it. There was nothing left of it.
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Old Mar 17, 2010 | 12:26 PM
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Caprices and Cadillacs had LT1's too..
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Old Mar 17, 2010 | 04:43 PM
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Originally Posted by the_merv
Caprices and Cadillacs had LT1's too..
out of curiosity, and for the benefit of the OP, do the baby LT1's use the same damper?
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Old Mar 17, 2010 | 05:07 PM
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Originally Posted by z_speedfreak
out of curiosity, and for the benefit of the OP, do the baby LT1's use the same damper?
I am not sure to b honest with you. I just bought a replacement at the parts store. I called all the junk yards in the area, and as usual the diden't have so much as a valve stem to fit my car.
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Old Mar 17, 2010 | 05:22 PM
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You could also go with an aftermarket damper, such as ATI or Fluidampr.
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Old Mar 18, 2010 | 12:50 AM
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Originally Posted by z_speedfreak
out of curiosity, and for the benefit of the OP, do the baby LT1's use the same damper?
They all looked the same to me.
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Old Mar 18, 2010 | 01:58 PM
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deleted.
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Old Mar 18, 2010 | 04:19 PM
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the balance is supposed to have 3 smaller bolts around it and then the one bolt in the middle.

Here's a link on how to take it off with good pictures:
http://www.lt1engine.com/tech/remove...lt1-crank-hub/
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