95_302_StangMan

Hey everyone. This is kinda a newb question, but I dont quite understand exactly what balanceing is. I will be rebuilding my motor and after I buy the kit I will have to get it balanced or balance it myself. How and what exactly is balancing a engine? Thanks everyone.

Mustangkiler

from what i know, there is an external, and internal balanced engine, our 5.0's are external which means the balancer up front and flywheel out back to be balanced while internal ones both are neutral and to balance it means working on the crankshaft balancing that, but i do not know how to balance it. and if im totally wrong then thank God i find out now

myshifter

Balancing the reciprocating assembly is key to longevity. You cant balance nothing by yourself. This is what it entails. You bring the crank, all rods, all pistons, all rings, flywheel or flexplate depending on your trans and the damper to the machine shop. He is going to weight all pistons and choose the lightest one, then match all other 7 pistons to the weight of the lightest one. Then he will weigh all rods and chosse the lightest and then match all rods to the lightest. he will make up the necessary bob weights and hang your crank on the balancer, get his initial readings and see where if any he needs to remove or add weight on the crank throws. Theres more to it, but I am tired So NO your not doing anything yourself. Find a competent engine builder. A good machinist will charge 250-300 to balance your rotating assembly

SurWicked

make sure you have a few extra hundred if your doing a kit, most of the time the kits are wayyy off and need malery which is $50-$75 a slug. if your doing a stroker expect at least 2 slugs.

tinman

I would almost be inclined to say that if you are going to buy an engine kit, not to buy it 'balanced' as if they (seller) do not have the balancer and flywheel(or flexplate) there, they can't balance anything.
Also, if it's a stroker motor, try to find out what the 'bobwieght' will be before you buy anything. Look for the kit with the least bobwieght as that will be the easyist to balance........

95_302_StangMan

What do you mean by malery and slugs? Never heard of them. Im sorry I'm a newb.

tinman

'Mallory' metal is a very heavy, dense, metal that is used for balancing. Quite expensive also.
The whole idea is to use the least possible as it will effect the the bob wieght which you want to be as little as possible. I.E. 1960 grams instead of 1990 grams (just an example)

P.S.I.cho

when i bought my kit from CHP, they asked what year the mustang i was putting in it so, they knew if the fly wheel or harmonic balancer was 28 oz or 50 oz, as that is the only 2 weights that came in the mustangs. after that i still had it balanced at the machine shop but very little metal was taken out of the crank and fly wheel to make the balance at a dead 0. but "my shifter" is right about $250 for a balance is average going price, they balance each rod piston crank, dampner and fly wheel to make the vibrations in the motor a minimal, without a balance your motor is likely to shake violently wich isnt good... also another thing is if your boreing your motor get a torque bore and if its a stroker kit the cylinder walls need machined for the crank. you will also most likely want your block to be flat decked to increase compression.

tinman

It's real easy to do the grinding on the block yourself for the stroker crank, place on E-Bay sells the template.
I think they they are called TMD in Riverside, Cal. Don't hold me to it.
balance job being accurate cannot be understated, causes motors to live for a long time.........

95_302_StangMan

Thanks alot guys, that clears things up alot. I have seen the cleacance thing on ebay. I think I will buy it when I get the kit.