Any tips?

Yeah.
Stay away from it..


You will be opening a...

And wished you didn't.

...zap!

 

Are you welding a pulley or the harmonic balancer if itt is the balancer don't waste your time

 

Well... I had to Google it...but yep its the harmonic balancer. Sounds rather intimidating. The car has 300,000+ miles...so this is pretty much a last ditch effort. So besides...not doing it (which I'm sure is sound advice)....is there anything I "can" do?

 

Well....is there anything I "can" do?

Let your mechanic buddy weld it with the 7018, that way YOU are not opening that can of worms like Zapster said.

 

There is no dought you will weld it nice but the harmonic vibes will evetualy break the crank at the balancer so it's sort of like a time bomb

 

I assume the bolt hole is striped or the bolt is broke

 

I've dealt with people like that before. If he doesn't weld it, he will just find someone else to do it.

 

That is SO Wrong on so many levels....
The guy needs to find a real mechanic/machinist.... welding is not the answer at any level.
It may be that the hole in the end of the crank needs to be drilled and tapped for a larger bolt, or some careful filing done to a keyway or something... but welding is not the answer.

 

Based on the information I have. The bolt & hole are fine. The rubber "seal?" in old harmonic balancer wore out...causing it to vibrate....ruining the key way. I am not...in any way...a mechanic. I am, however, a better welder than he is....just wanted to help him out. He seems commited to fixing it this way.

 

Also...I'd rather not look like an a@@hole when it fails. So if I could offer him any advice in fixing the keyway...without welding it... I'm all ears.

 

Here's some advice...... Print up some Google maps of new Subaru dealerships close by and give them to your buddy. I'm sure the dealerships are having their "end of year" car sales now!

Don't Mickey Mouse-Engineer that weld project.

 

I would suggest you build up the keyway (tig) ands put on. Another balancer

 

which key way is shot, the one on the crank or HB?

If it is the HB try and find a used one out of a junk yard, might need to dress up the end of the crank with a file and/or emory cloth.

 

With over 300,000 miles on it, he's probably already planning on getting something else to drive anyways. He probably doesn't want to put any money into it.

 

The rubber that has ' gone south' IS the vibration damper...not a seal.... it just finally gives way from ozone exposure, vibration, etc... it has to have a certain flexibility to work correctly.... so types of rubber are limited and those finally need to be replaced.
What HMS said sounds best ...
I am assuming the engine is still together ? Welding there may compromise the actual crankshaft end seal at the case.... so replace that as a matter of principle after the welding.
You may need to completely fill in the keyway and regrind or hand file or hand chisel the new keyway.
Since no pictures are offered .... it might be that a key with two dimensions could be used.... make the crank key wider by a certain amount on both sides ( keeping it centered ) and a smaller top on the key to match the original size and fit the NEW vibration damper needed.

 

Give us more info on the engine and lets see if we can find a NEW Vibration Damper...
one from a junk yard would likely be about the same age and condition..

 

He bought a new harmonic balancer. The crankshaft is still in the motor.

 

subaru's arer so well balanced they dont need harmonic balancers. inline 6 motors and boxer 4 motors are the best balanced motors there are. I have a forester with 110k miles on it, 100k of those with an aluminum crank pulley with no dampener.

With that said, subaru motors are cheap as hell too. weld it, who cares, buy a junkyard motor for $200 2 months later when it fails.. www.car-part.com find local motor, part out existing motor on ebay. In fact, if it is an EJ25, I have a spare crank you can have for the cost off shipping.. pm me.

 

subaru's arer so well balanced they dont need harmonic balancers.

:facepalm:

Even if the engine is internally balanced and the harmonic balancer is not used for balance in the context you're thinking, it is still required for dampening torsional transients in the crankshaft each time a cylinder hits and accelerates (and twists) the crankshaft. Do you have to use one? no. Does a perfectly balanced race motor not need one? No, it does, because it's primary role pertains to something else, dampening torsional harmonics that can break the crank if they reach resonance.

 

It's a turd car, just weld it who the hell cares.

 

Sounds like you need some JB weld or duct tape.

 

Little of both...for good measure.

 

I've done this before as a last ditch effort, not on a motor in something I drive tho. Put the balancer on the crank in the proper position. Its a pretty tight fit, drill a hole halfway into each and shove in a steel dowel. Depends how much material you have to work with, I'd try to do at least 1/4 or 5/16 dowel. Then the washer on the bolt will hold it in so you won't have to weld it.

 

below is what i would do also, one tip though make a jig to hold the drill bit so it doesnt wander on you, i like the idea of tapping it too

.

 

Is the balancer steel or cast?

I learned the hard way that they don't weld together well. I "welded" the oil pan pickup to the oil pump on a SBC. Lasted a yr, then the engine lost oil pressure intermittently. I dropped the pan and the pickup fell out.

I'm wondering if you could braze it. It sounds like its bolted on, so youre only trying to stop the rotation of it. I'd prolly see if you could get a replacement balancer at a junkyard. Even if you manage to get it stuck to the rank, you need a functioning balancer.

Like McGyver said, it is needed to quell the harmonics-the tiny crank flexions that occur with each piston firing. There are balancers that do actually balance the motor (like on certain American V8's), but I doubt a boxer engine needs one.

 

first off - WOW - talk about ******* engineering....

second off - I quote murphy's law - "if anything can go wrong, it will" - that engine will be doomed for the rest of existance.

lastly - ive done a good amount of research on rebuilding subaru engines (im guessing either a EJ20 or an EJ22, if its an EG33 - tell your buddy to upgrade to a real car...since they only came in the SVX and it was a crap car) and you cannot cost effectively rebuild a subaru engine. it will cost easily into a few thousand dollars, where you can buy a JDM over the internet for a few $$ with about 100K on it.

 

If you're going to do it, do it right the first time. Don't weld it. not only would you risk damaging the seal, but you're probably going to ruin the good balacer in the process. I suggest either cutting his losses and getting something with an warrenty, or tearing the engine appart and properly fixing the keyway. the only (somewhat) realistic suggestion so far (besides staying away from it, or getting a new motor) is the drill and dowel one, but I can assure you that the difference in the hardness of the crank in comparison to the balancer would make that impossible with a hand drill.

 

Oversize both keyways and fit a new key, tight, and use a good loctite product on it when you put it in. Can cut that key with a dremel or cut off wheel on a die grinder. hand file but make it as good as you can. Do not weld the balancer, if that thing grenades at speed , you don't wan't to be near it. With 300 K on the Subaru he got his money's worth, best to find a new vehicle. The difference in sales price of that car running or not running for scrap can't be much. Sell a few parts off it and scrap the rest and you have market value in your pocket. Get another car.

 

A mechanic friend of mine asked me if I could weld the pulley onto the crankshaft of an old subaru. He had tried with his small MIG and it lasted 30 days.

At this point it may not be possible to remove the pulley. And if it's been rattling around on the crank for a while, the crank will be worn and a new balancer will not fit properly . . . even with a good keyway it will soon be loose again.

Weld it. If it breaks again, weld it again.