Interesting. Maybe I have just been lucky, but the three or four crank bolts I have pulled from smallblocks have always been long enough to press the damper on so long as the frontmost pulley wasn't installed. THe better method is probably to use the correct installation tool.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

I don't think it's the alternator. For one thing, I just removed the shroud, fan, and the front pulley (power steering belt rides on this pulley), and the middle pulley is visibly loose. I can wiggle it back and forth, but it won't come all the way off. I gotta go get a puller tomorrow.
Onward...

Thanks for the input guys!

_________________
"Ja, Ich fahre ein altes auto."
'78 Volare 225
'67 Charger 318

Okay, how do I keep the crank from turning while I'm trying to remove the harmonic balancer?

_________________
"Ja, Ich fahre ein altes auto."
'78 Volare 225
'67 Charger 318

Remove the transmission inspection cover or the starter motor and jam something against the flexplate or ring gear. Alternatively, pull a spark plug and feed a bunch of rope into the cylinder and rotate the motor until the piston is at TDC and blocked from moving by the rope.

_________________
Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Ah! Okay, I'll remove the starter and try that after work. Thanks again Reed!!!

_________________
"Ja, Ich fahre ein altes auto."
'78 Volare 225
'67 Charger 318

Don't go too nuts. You don't want to shear teeth off the ring gear or damage anything. I have found that a long flathead screwdriver can be creatively wedged in there or a box end wrench can be placed around a torque converter bolt head and secured to prevent the crank from turning.

If you had a manual transmission I suppose you could set the parking brake and put the car in gear.

Good luck!

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Could be wrong, but can't you just put a breaker bar onto the harmonic balancer bolt, pull the coil plug and turn the key to rotate the engine to undo it? If you can't do that for a slant 6 never mind. I found this way has been safe in removing the balancer and pulley from some of the newer cars I've worked on.

The slant balancer is an interference press fit onto the crank snout and needs to be removed off with a puller. In fact many slants left the factory with no bolt in the snout, so there may not be one to find.
A lot of modern stuff stuff uses the bolt to actually hold the balancer on.

So - not an idea that would work.

regards,Rod

By Reed: "Don't go too nuts."

This is good advice for me, although some people might say that it's already too late...

Making progress. The first harmonic balancer puller broke, trip to O'Reilly's, get another one, and this one worked. The broken harmonic balancer is off! This was not as difficult as I feared, but as with anything that I have not done before, I was a little anxious/concerned. Now I feel more confident.

The replacement harmonic balancer that I am planning to use is from a '72 vintage slant six. The diameter of the back pulley (closest to the engine) is a little smaller than the one that came off. I don't think this will be an issue. I know that installing a new harmonic balancer would be a better option, but I just can't afford it right now.

Anyway, onward...

_________________
"Ja, Ich fahre ein altes auto."
'78 Volare 225
'67 Charger 318

Oh yeah, my slant does not have that bolt in the crank.

_________________
"Ja, Ich fahre ein altes auto."
'78 Volare 225
'67 Charger 318

If you are using a vintage damper, be sure to check for timing mark slippage.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Reed, do you mean the timing marks on the damper? How can I tell if they have slipped?
Thanks!

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"Ja, Ich fahre ein altes auto."
'78 Volare 225
'67 Charger 318

Yes. As you know, the outer ring of the damper that has the timing marks is held onto the inner ring that presses onto the crank snout by a rubber ring. Over time, the rubber in this ring breaks down ad the outer ring can shift in relation to the inner ring. The end result is that the timing mark is no longer an accurate indicator of the crank position. I once replaced the damper on a 1976 225 that had slipped so the damper was indicating 8 degrees too much advance. As a result, I had been timing the motor 8 degrees too retarded. Quite a big difference. Interestingly, the new damper had the timing mark cast in 6 degrees retarded.

To check for correct timing mark position, see my post HERE.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Okay, thanks again Reed!

Almost finished installing the "new" damper, checking to make sure the pulleys line up.

_________________
"Ja, Ich fahre ein altes auto."
'78 Volare 225
'67 Charger 318

Update:
Yay! She runs! All the pulleys line up, idles fine. Test drive, no issues. The horrific underhood noise is gone!
Thanks to all of you guys for your help, much appreciated!!!
I hope this cool weather stays around for awhile!

_________________
"Ja, Ich fahre ein altes auto."
'78 Volare 225
'67 Charger 318