Date:         Tue, 23 Apr 1996 10:18:00 -0700 (PDT)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "Maher, Steve (SD-MS)" <SMAHER@gi.com>
Subject:      V6anagon hmmmm...


You know, I just had a what-if.

When I bought the V6anagon from the PO who put the Chevy engine in it, he
said that he had gotten the engine from a Citation in a junkyard. He
had had it rebuilt *and balanced*, and put it in the V6anagon.

I wonder exactly what got balanced. The Chevy 2.8L V6 comes from the
factory deliberately unbalanced, and needs a flywheel equally unbalanced
in the other direction, to make it come out right, sort of.

I've heard that engine balancing, usually involves making sure all pistons
weigh the same, all conn rods weigh the same, etc. Does balancing an engine,
always include a counterbalanced crank? (I've heard that VW upright engines
have unbalanced cranks from the factory-- a counterbalanced crank is a
popular add-on when rebuilding one. Correct?)

Specifically in the case of this "match-balanced" Chevy V6 engine, I wonder
if the "balancing" that was done by the rebuilder, eliminated the internal
factory imbalance that requires the factory unbalanced flywheel? If so,
maybe that development didn't get communicated to Kennedy when the PO
bought the adapter from them. The flywheel I have now, is definitely
unbalanced, deliberately so. Kennedy points out that this is required for
a *completely stock* Chevy 2.8L V6. But maybe my fancy, rebuilt, "balanced"
V6 now required a *balanced* flywheel???

Hmmm... time for a call to the PO, and hopefully to the shop that did the
rebuilding.

    _______
   /\ o o o\         Steve Maher   smaher@gi.com   75461,1717
  /o \ o o o\_______   San Diego, California
 <    >------>   o /|
  \ o/  o   /_____/o|      '80 VW V6anagon
   \/______/     |oo|        '66 Mustang Coupevertible
         |   o   |o/       '89 Son Sherwin
         |_______|/
                     http://www.lookup.com/homepages/76242/home.html

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