Balancing 302 help

[DeanMLFlame]

Why did ford use a 28oz imbalance on the flywheel, balancer, etc...It is cuz of the firing order causing stress on the front main cap

 

[baddad457]

It's the amount used to dynamically balance the rotating assembly. It's got nothing to do with stress on the #1 main. In 1969 when Ford designed the 351W & C motors, they changed the firing order to lessen the stresses on the #1 main, but again they used the same imbalance factor for these motors too. The switch to the 50 oz imbalance was done when they decided to remove more of the counterweights from the 5.0 cranks. This was likely done to reduce manufacturing costs more than anything. They removed something like 18 pounds off the counterweights (not 100% on that figure, but it was discussed somewhere else on the net, if not here and that's the figure I recall) 18 pounds of iron really adds up when you're casting thousands of cranks a year.

 

[DeanMLFlame]

so when i have my crank balanced, will i need to bring the balancer and flexplate?

 

[baddad457]

Yes, always bring ALL the rotating assembly parts. Rings, bearings, rods, pistons, crank balancer, flywheel (or flexplate) and the bolts that hold anything to the crank.