montana_28

First of all, I hope someone on here is willing to help me out. Been on several other sites and no one either knows, or is unwilling to help.

I am rebuilding a stock 5.3L out of what I was told is a 2000-2003 Chevy P/U. I pulled the harmonic balancer and replaced all the gaskets & seals. I'm ready to re-install the balancer and noticed that there is NO woodruff key to align the balancer with. HERE IS MY QUESTION... is there a certain alignment I need to consider with this or is it just a press fit condition? There are 4 holes in the top of the balancer. Are they "timing" marks? I just want to get this right... it's for the wife's Burb and as the saying goes, "Happy wife, happy life!"

Thanks in advance!

MT

kevinkpk

I'd say the two holes are what was done to balance it, i.e. remove the heavy spot. I've never seen anything without a woodruff key. I am assuming the crank shaft is keyed, therefore you need to get one that fits the keyed slot.

montana_28

Hey Kevin!

The crankshaft is smooth with no keyway milled into it. I've read on a few other forums that guys will pin them once they have the balancer on, but it's not necessary unless you have a performance vehicle with a blower, etc. If it comes undone, I'll have to have a chat with my wife about her driving habits! If the holes in the top of the balancer are just for material removal to reduce a heavy spot, then it would stand to reason that it's not crucial for timing as to where it is mounted on the crankshaft snout??

Thanks for the response!

MT

73shark

If there's no timing mark on the balancer, then I'd say it must use a sensor to determine timing.