Re: Engine balancing


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Posted by Matt Wilson on Thursday, June 21, 2001 at 8:55PM :

In Reply to: Engine balancing posted by Tom M on Thursday, June 21, 2001 at 12:23PM :

Tom,

After doing a little digging, I found a modern book on rebuilding flathead Ford V-8's. The book is called the "Ford Flathead V-8 Builder's Handbook, 1932 - 1953," by Frank Oddo, published by Fisher Books, if you are interested in getting a hold of a copy of it. It was published in 1997. It is a very well-written book, with a lot of details applicable to engines other than the Ford V-8's.

I know that a Ford flathead V-8 is not the same thing as a Chrysler flathead 6, but at least they are from the same era and probably use a lot of the same technology, materials and construction.

Getting to the point, on page 39, there is a paragraph that states that the Ford flatheads "are internally balanced engines. The flywheel and clutch assembly can be balanced as an independent unit, and when worn or damaged, it can be replaced with another separately balanced unit." The Chrysler/Dodge flathead engine is also internally balanced, and therefore does not need to be rebalanced when replacing the pressure plate or flywheel, but it sounds like it's probably a good idea to have the replacement pressure plate and flywheel balanced before installing. The clutch disk is apparently not a concern, as my machinist would not take it when I offered it to him to balance along with the flywheel and pressure plate.

From responses to my posts, it sounds as though a lot of shops do balance everything together when doing a rebuild, just to get everything as good as possible. However, I've spoken to some people I believe are pretty knowledgeable, and they've told me there is no need to do this on an internally balanced engine. Separate balances are ok.

Have fun!

Matt



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