Crank/Balancer bolt...250 ft/lbs....wow - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

cc-rider · 04-17-2015, 11:18 PM

Finally got my Kenne Bell install going. Question for you guys I was hoping you could help me out with...

I got my crank pins in nicely. The KB directions say to torque the crank/balancer bolt to 250 ft/lb. %#!?%#!!!!! What the hell Chevy! Incredible spec.

So do I need to go out and buy a 250 ft/lb capable wrench or some angle measure doohickey??? (I've seen the 37 ft lb plus 140 degrees spec too)

I used my floor jack handles (about 4 foot of leverage) and shoved on that bastard as hard as I could. Did this a few times. Did I get it close enough? Can I call it good? Or is this a spec that cannot be broken?

Maybe my thinking is wrong here...but I bet the stock spec of 250 lbs was to prevent the balancer from spinning. Now that it's pinned...I can't imagine why 250 ft lbs would be needed???? What are the torque specs for other motors that have pinned crank/balancers stock from the factory?

ttshovel · 04-18-2015, 03:32 AM

If you don't have a torque wrench that goes that high you can rent one from the parts store... but it goes that high to achieve the proper bolt stretch since they are tty bolts. Do yourself a favor and torque to 250!

Jared91 · 04-18-2015, 01:42 PM

That's all I did as well. 4ft pipe and gave it hell. Good enough IMO. Over a year and it's still tight as ever

blufin · 04-18-2015, 02:52 PM

Couldn't get mine anywhere near 250. Got it as tight as I could and called it a day. 3 years later, no problems.

williamp78 · 04-18-2015, 03:09 PM

I used a torque wrench. Wasnt that bad at all. Be sure and put antisieze on the face of the washer bolt head so it can lube the metal to metal

willhe64 · 04-18-2015, 04:40 PM

Same here, 2 of us and a 4 foot breaker bar. Got it as far as we could and called it a day. Still good 3 years later.

376LS3 · 04-18-2015, 07:51 PM

I went and bought a Snap On torque wrench to do mine. Thing is huge, gave me plenty of leverage. It goes to 275ft/lbs, but it was ridiculously expensive.

Retro69 · 04-18-2015, 08:37 PM

I did mine with a floor jack handle on a long breaker bar. Got the full turn but it was challenging to say the least. Biggest was finding the right position to be able to pull or push without sliding on the floor. Then praying to God the socket doesn't slip off the crank bolt sending the whole contraption into a fender (Yikes).

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

williamp78 · 04-18-2015, 09:15 PM

Yall need to hit the gym lol. Jk.... No but seriously....

cc-rider · 04-18-2015, 11:05 PM

Thanks for the input guys. I put all I could to it with a 4' breaker bar (plus the 1' wrench). And I had the balancer completely immobilized (used a ratchet strap...worked awesome). So with 5' of bar...in order to meet 250 ft/lbs...there would have only needed to be 50 lbs of force put on it. No question I got that. But like the stubborn SOB I can be at times, I had my friend come over with his torque wrench capable of 250 lbs...and it clicked off at 250 without tightening any more. Which means I had it already as I suspected.

But to my original comment...once these balancers are pinned, I simply can't imagine why that bolt would need 250 ft/lbs of torque put to it. That spec was made for the fact that the balancer is not pinned and needs that force to keep it from slipping. If you search the torque specs for other balancer/crank combos that are pinned stock, you get specs in the 90-120 ft lbs. I have a mechanical engineering degree and have spec'd out many bolts (albeit many years ago)...and I just struggle to find any reason why that thing needs 250 ft lbs AFTER it's pinned. Before pinning, yes I get it. But I'm open to be proven wrong here by someone with some solid engineering info on why.

KaBoom1701 · 04-18-2015, 11:07 PM

Try doing the rear axle bolt on the wheel hub assembly...

10aSSee D · 04-19-2015, 08:44 AM

Don't over think it like most engineers do where I work. The balancer is a press fit and 250ft/lbs is spec for the crank bolt per GM engineers, good enough for me. Spec doesn't change on the bolt just pinning it so it doesn't spin on the crank when the blower is spinning it's guts out lol.

willhe64 · 04-21-2015, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cc-rider

Thanks for the input guys. I put all I could to it with a 4' breaker bar (plus the 1' wrench). And I had the balancer completely immobilized (used a ratchet strap...worked awesome). So with 5' of bar...in order to meet 250 ft/lbs...there would have only needed to be 50 lbs of force put on it. No question I got that. But like the stubborn SOB I can be at times, I had my friend come over with his torque wrench capable of 250 lbs...and it clicked off at 250 without tightening any more. Which means I had it already as I suspected.

But to my original comment...once these balancers are pinned, I simply can't imagine why that bolt would need 250 ft/lbs of torque put to it. That spec was made for the fact that the balancer is not pinned and needs that force to keep it from slipping. If you search the torque specs for other balancer/crank combos that are pinned stock, you get specs in the 90-120 ft lbs. I have a mechanical engineering degree and have spec'd out many bolts (albeit many years ago)...and I just struggle to find any reason why that thing needs 250 ft lbs AFTER it's pinned. Before pinning, yes I get it. But I'm open to be proven wrong here by someone with some solid engineering info on why.

But you are replacing a torque to yield bolt with a torque to yield bolt. They need to be stretched to make sure they won't loosen.

racesloth · 04-21-2015, 10:54 AM

When we rebuilt my buddy's LS3 - we used the ARP bolt with blue locktite to 200lbft and called it a day - it is not sty, no issues so far...

It is an NA car though

04-17-2015, 11:18 PM	#1
cc-rider Drives: 2010 Camaro SS Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: MN Posts: 1,172	Crank/Balancer bolt...250 ft/lbs....wow Finally got my Kenne Bell install going. Question for you guys I was hoping you could help me out with... I got my crank pins in nicely. The KB directions say to torque the crank/balancer bolt to 250 ft/lb. %#!?%#!!!!! What the hell Chevy! Incredible spec. So do I need to go out and buy a 250 ft/lb capable wrench or some angle measure doohickey??? (I've seen the 37 ft lb plus 140 degrees spec too) I used my floor jack handles (about 4 foot of leverage) and shoved on that bastard as hard as I could. Did this a few times. Did I get it close enough? Can I call it good? Or is this a spec that cannot be broken? Maybe my thinking is wrong here...but I bet the stock spec of 250 lbs was to prevent the balancer from spinning. Now that it's pinned...I can't imagine why 250 ft lbs would be needed???? What are the torque specs for other motors that have pinned crank/balancers stock from the factory?

04-18-2015, 03:32 AM	#2
ttshovel Drives: 12 camaro ss, 72 chevelle, 91camaro Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: findlay,oh Posts: 2,069	If you don't have a torque wrench that goes that high you can rent one from the parts store... but it goes that high to achieve the proper bolt stretch since they are tty bolts. Do yourself a favor and torque to 250! __________________ 12 camaro ss 427lsx, th400, f310 heads, crower shaft mounts, gpi specd solid roller, shearerfab 2k hp a/w, twin bullseye 88mm turbos, hughes pro ssx bolt together converter, holley dominator, 8.50 cert, backhalf, Ford 9", 33x17x16 tires, c16 fuel

04-18-2015, 01:42 PM	#3
Jared91 Drives: 2011 Camaro SS/M6 Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Pennsylvania, 15909 Posts: 180 View My Garage	That's all I did as well. 4ft pipe and gave it hell. Good enough IMO. Over a year and it's still tight as ever __________________ 2011 Ls3. Slp TSV2300. 8PSI. 3.4 Pulley. Livernois Twin Fuel Pump. Id850 Injectors. Slp 1 3/4 headers. CAI Cold Air Intake. 3inch exhaust. V-Maxx portted throttle body. Night Fury cam. Lpe 391 gears. Fj performence tune. 643rwhp 574rwtq

04-18-2015, 02:52 PM	#4
blufin Drives: Fire Engine Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: WPB, Florida Posts: 1,415	Couldn't get mine anywhere near 250. Got it as tight as I could and called it a day. 3 years later, no problems. __________________ 12.618 @ 110.75 Bone Stock 1/4 mile 8.165 @ 86.52 Bone Stock 1/8 mile 11.189 @ 124.44 on a 1.73 60' TVS2300 3.4 pulley, JRE tuned, Kooks LT headers and HF cats, MBRP catback exhaust, CAI intake, ADM scoop. Stock wheels/tires. Sold

04-18-2015, 03:09 PM	#5
williamp78 Drives: 2011 2ss blk/wht strp Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: south of houston Posts: 446	I used a torque wrench. Wasnt that bad at all. Be sure and put antisieze on the face of the washer bolt head so it can lube the metal to metal __________________ 2011 2ss black/wht stripes "CAM only" https://www.instagram.com/w_j_p_boss/?hl=en

04-18-2015, 04:40 PM	#6
willhe64 Drives: 2012 45th Vert, 2011 4x4, 9sec Vega Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Canada Posts: 2,188	Same here, 2 of us and a 4 foot breaker bar. Got it as far as we could and called it a day. Still good 3 years later. __________________ I feel it only fair to warn you, I have a black belt in CAPS LOCK.

04-18-2015, 07:51 PM	#7
376LS3 Eh, that'll happen Drives: 2010 2SS Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Mesa, Arizona Posts: 1,841	I went and bought a Snap On torque wrench to do mine. Thing is huge, gave me plenty of leverage. It goes to 275ft/lbs, but it was ridiculously expensive. __________________ 2010 Camaro SS LS3 - No Modz

04-18-2015, 08:37 PM	#8
Retro69 Drives: 2018 Camaro ZL1 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Morgan, UT Posts: 1,359	I did mine with a floor jack handle on a long breaker bar. Got the full turn but it was challenging to say the least. Biggest was finding the right position to be able to pull or push without sliding on the floor. Then praying to God the socket doesn't slip off the crank bolt sending the whole contraption into a fender (Yikes). Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk __________________

04-18-2015, 09:15 PM	#9
williamp78 Drives: 2011 2ss blk/wht strp Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: south of houston Posts: 446	Yall need to hit the gym lol. Jk.... No but seriously.... __________________ 2011 2ss black/wht stripes "CAM only" https://www.instagram.com/w_j_p_boss/?hl=en

04-18-2015, 11:05 PM	#10
cc-rider Drives: 2010 Camaro SS Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: MN Posts: 1,172	Thanks for the input guys. I put all I could to it with a 4' breaker bar (plus the 1' wrench). And I had the balancer completely immobilized (used a ratchet strap...worked awesome). So with 5' of bar...in order to meet 250 ft/lbs...there would have only needed to be 50 lbs of force put on it. No question I got that. But like the stubborn SOB I can be at times, I had my friend come over with his torque wrench capable of 250 lbs...and it clicked off at 250 without tightening any more. Which means I had it already as I suspected. But to my original comment...once these balancers are pinned, I simply can't imagine why that bolt would need 250 ft/lbs of torque put to it. That spec was made for the fact that the balancer is not pinned and needs that force to keep it from slipping. If you search the torque specs for other balancer/crank combos that are pinned stock, you get specs in the 90-120 ft lbs. I have a mechanical engineering degree and have spec'd out many bolts (albeit many years ago)...and I just struggle to find any reason why that thing needs 250 ft lbs AFTER it's pinned. Before pinning, yes I get it. But I'm open to be proven wrong here by someone with some solid engineering info on why.

04-18-2015, 11:07 PM	#11
KaBoom1701 KaBoom1701 Drives: 13' ZL1 Red M6 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: I.E. SoCal (Yucaipa) Posts: 8,630	Try doing the rear axle bolt on the wheel hub assembly... __________________ Mods: Roto-Fab Intake, WW Res. kit & Big Gulp Air Scoop, Elite Catch Can, ATI Super Damper & 18% OD Pulley, LF Idler pulley bracket, Metco CC breather, ID850 Injectors, Stainless Power Headers w/ ceramic coating, TR71X Spark Plugs, JMS Fuel Pump Booster, Bo White TB, Tuned by Ted @ Jannetty Racing, Ron Davis HX, D3 Reservoir, Pfadt 1" Springs, Moreno Camber Plates, ZL1 Addons Splitter guard washers, Tow Hook kit & rock guards, Hurst Shifter Billet Plus 6 Speed Short Shifter, ZL1 DRL lighting harness, ZL1 Recaro Seats.

04-19-2015, 08:44 AM	#12
10aSSee D Drives: Silver 2010 SS Camaro Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: TN Posts: 2,562	Don't over think it like most engineers do where I work. The balancer is a press fit and 250ft/lbs is spec for the crank bolt per GM engineers, good enough for me. Spec doesn't change on the bolt just pinning it so it doesn't spin on the crank when the blower is spinning it's guts out lol. __________________ MODS: ADM built 417, 2.9L Whipple with 3.250 pulley, ADM ported and polished LSA heads,ADM stage3 cam,ADM LSA belt drive system,ADM CAI race scoop, ADM dual fuel pumps, ID 850's, BMR full suspension, Gforce 9 inch kit with 3.5 inch driveshaft, Street Slayer twin carbon clutch, Lingenfelter oil seperator. Tuned by built by ADM Performance, 763rwhp,705rwtq

04-21-2015, 10:54 AM	#14
racesloth Dan Drives: 2010 Camaro 2SS IOM Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Georgia, USA not the other one Posts: 1,041	When we rebuilt my buddy's LS3 - we used the ARP bolt with blue locktite to 200lbft and called it a day - it is not sty, no issues so far... It is an NA car though __________________ Dan 2010 IOM SS YSI-B, Pat G Cam, Ported CTS-V Heads, ARH LTs MBRP 3" exhaust http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showth...&highlight=ysi Last edited by racesloth; 04-22-2015 at 03:25 AM.