What are the advantanges of using a Romac balancer over a new stock one? Is the stock one only capable of handling X amount of power? Or is anybody out there running big numbers with a stock one? Just wanna know if its's worth the $240 before I buy it. Thanks
My car goes 11.60's and I had the stock balancer on mine and it started to come apart. I bought the BHJ balancer and it is more expensive than a Romac. I was told that with a Romac balancer your belts do not line up and you will have to shim your alternator and PS to get the belts to line up. I was also told that the Romac balancer will not clear a block girdle and the BHJ will. If I am wrong on any of this info, somebody PLEASE CORRECT ME!! With and aftermarket balancer it is easier to time your engine because they are marked well past 40 degrees. I know of some guys running low 11's and they still use the stock balancer!! The money that I spent on the BHJ balancer was well worth it for me. Hope this info helps, Tony
I also run a BHJ balancer. Installation was easy, and everthing lined up nice. I was running 10.70's with a stock balancer for a season. I never thought it would go that fast. Although i didn't experience a catasrophe, i would use an aftermarket sfi balancer for racing applications. Randy
i run the stock on my 462, 520 h/p and shift at 6k, no problems, it is used and has 100k on it, and only 2k with the new moter, so as long as it stayes tight say till 10k, i will just keep putting on stock ones, i have at least 3 extra around here, i had only one stock one fail and it was on my stock stage 1 moter, but it was after 100k miles of abuse.
Earick Racing Engines has them, i sent him my stock one so the new one could be balanced with the stock one. Randy
I used a stock one for a quite a few years in the mid to low 11's. Had a lot of passes on it. One day with the engine idling, I look down and the balancer had about 0.375" wobble to it :eek2: . The rubbler was pushing out the backside. I run a BHJ now.
Broke! I had a very similiar experience to Shayne's. I had a bad vibration while racing a few years back at US41 dragway. It also thru a few belts off. It turned out to be a cracked balancer. Cracked along the keyway. It actualy screwed up the end of the crank. I feel very fortunate that it didn't come completely apart! That could have been very expensive and dangerous! I thought I was getting away fine with a stock balancer until this happend. Since then I run a Romac and have had no problems. The Romac does come very close to the bottom part of the timing cover. In some cases the cover may need to be trimmed. Steve
I had two balancers start to come apart all with in 1200 miles of my new build. I put a Romac on with no problems. They are marked 360* around. The only thing is they start toget a little rust spots after a wile.
Repair Kit for Balancer Sorry if this is a bit off topic but... does anyone know of a harmonic balancer repair kit for a 455 that can be used to fill in the groove that can be found around the front main seal? I have seen one for SBC that is a sleeve that presses on to the nose with a threadlock retaining glue. The sleeve makes the crank/balancer unit slightly larger in diameter but, it covers over the groove and stops leakage. Any suggestions? THx, Doug
Repair sleeve I have several in stock. When I get home this evening, I will look up the part number and info. You can buy them at any automotive parts store (Napa, Car Quest, etc). I have been using them as needed for years and they do work well. I had one on the balancer that cracked as posted above. I am inclined to believe that the balancer might have came completely apart without this sleeve holding it together. I will post the part numbers tonight, unless someone else has the number available now. Steve
Seal Sleeve The seal sleeve is a CR SPEEDE-SLEEVE #99200. It should be readily available. It may be able to be crossed over to a NATIONAL SEAL number also. Just follow the enclosed instructions and do not deviate! The seal repair kit should cost you anywhere from $30 to $45, if my memory serves me right, although prices might have gone up since I bought my last one. Steve
I have a ROMAC balancer on my 464 600 hp shift at 6500 , and ive had no problems with it . also everything lined up perfectly, and the rust issue i took care of by just clear coating the balancer. i like the metal look but you could also paint it if you like ..mike
