Balancing the rotating assembly for a small-block Chevy V8

Progress continues on our 283 Chevy small-block V8 rebuild. Davin heads downstate to our friends at Apex Competition Engines to get the rotating assembly (crankshaft, pistons, rods, bearings, wrist pins, and rings) internally balanced. The pistons Davin got for this build are significantly heavier than the stock ones, so a good amount of weight needs to be added to the crankshaft counterbalances to balance things out.
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[@Paulster2]

Davin chewing his nails as the crank spins is priceless. Like a Dad waiting for his newborn ... :o)

[@paddle_shift]

Kind of grossed me out! 🤮

[@Jesse-B]

I watch a lot of motor shows Davin, and that is the first time I have ever seen the balancing process explained and demonstrated properly, thank you old son.

[@williamwright6978]

JB you're exactly right. When you're doing it it feels a bit like witchcraft...

[@williamwright6978]

I worked in an automotive machine shop while in college for...automotive technology. Balancing rotating assemblies was my favorite part. The owner was not only a patient teacher but a fabulous machinist. R.I.P Billy Newton Whitfield, 1937-2021

[@DuchesnesCorner]

A part of me died inside watching him weld the plugs with out coverimg the rest of the crank...

[@scottdoubleyou563]

Honestly it's a valid concern, but you'd be suprised how a clean and polished bearing surface will not allow welding spatter to stick.

[@DuchesnesCorner]

@@scottdoubleyou563 I don't know man... I weld alot and spatter seems to stick to everything. I even worry about lint from my cloth on bearing surfaces. I'm sure they will clean it well. He does an awesome job. But I just can't get past it... 😳

[@SOLDOZER]

@@scottdoubleyou563 Weld will stick to any steel.

[@hotrodswoodshed7405]

Totally AGREE!!!... I was like... "OH-MY-GOSH! 😳😲

[@boknows3841]

The least he could have done was spray it with antisplatter spray or covered it with a welding blanket. Fix one thing and damage something else. Any shop I worked in they would be fired. Their motto must be - we do it nice because we do it twice.

[@lakiza55]

Amazing how much effort one can put into something they love. All those tiny details needed to get it perfect. Amazing work guys

[@cosworth444]

Impressive skills, a pleasure to watch as always ! and filming quality is gorgeous

[@plexx88]

I'm sure in the moment you guys were less than thrilled about the crank, but your machinist is correct, this did make for a good video. Really enjoyed this one.

[@rv16ad]

as a welder i was cringing at him plug welding the crank with exposed crank journals ,but the end result is awesome

[@ericempson2498]

That's a great employee. Cool to see a younger guy take his job series and trade

[@paulmac9634]

Great video, you are absolutely right about the labor shortage in these types of fields. Young guys just don't seem interested in going into machining anymore. I was pleasantly surprised to see such a young guy balancing that crank for you!!

[@michaeldavis3430]

Long hours, low pay, abusive to your body... Yeah, sounds like a great career.

[@231pilot]

@@michaeldavis3430 Same with aircraft maintance. I love working on airplanes but no one locally is willing to pay a wage that'll cover food and housing. Oh well.

[@danosburn80]

I don't know about anywhere else, but here in NC machine shops cry and scream about having to pay 11 or 12 bucks an hour. I have my own machine tools but it's not worth turning them on.. I make more mowing grass.

[@paulmac9634]

Just to add to the conversation here, I've been working with a machinist here in Washington state after going through 2 other shops that closed due to retirement. This new shop's owner is a spring chicken in his mid-forties!! But with that said his shop is completely booked for months, and just added a fourth machinist. He has to be making a ton of money, since his prices are well above average and has this big backlog of work. Most of the work he does is performance LS stuff, but occasionally will work on SBC/BBC for old farts like me :)

[@231pilot]

​@@danosburn80 I can make $150-$250 per day working at home vs $100 per day doing aircraft mnt in town. That is net $ after fuel, lunch, and taxes are accounted for. No reason to drive 45 minutes each way and spend 10.5 hrs away from home for slightly above minimum wage when everything is accounted for.

[@mcanderson0]

“Externally” balancing, as you’ve put it, doesnt correct the imbalance where it occurs, so your local stresses would still exist… despite the whole assembly being balanced. In other words, you may still have issues related to a large, local imbalance such as localized fatigue cracks, excesssive babbitt wear, to name just a few. A well-balanced rotating assembly ALWAYS helps a machine run better!

[@jerrywhalen2100]

So how do you correct those problems

[@hotrodswoodshed7405]

@Jerry Whalen in a external balance... those issues (difference within the crank itself) can not be resolved... it's why internal balance is better... external balance is an acceptable compromise of NOT being spot on excat

[@GNaron]

That is a lot of work to put into a cast nodular iron crank. I get why. But it brings memory's!!! Back in the day I had a 440 crank balanced, hard chromed and grooved and it still broke. I bought a off the shelf crank kit and slap in it and as far as I know its still running!!!

[@scottimusgarrett15]

Cool process. Of course I've always known what "balanced and blueprinted" meant, but I've never seen a dynamic balancing of a crankshaft before. Pretty sweet! This puppy's gonna be smoooth...✌️❤️🙂🇨🇦

[@williamwright6978]

"Balanced and blueprinted" We just saw the "balanced" part. "Blueprinted" referes to the process where the block and head(s) are machined as close to perfect compared to the original (or modified) engine Blueprint. This may include: bore size, bore spacing, deck height as well as the deck being perpendicular to the crankshaft journals.

[@scottimusgarrett15]

Yup. I said I know what they mean, but thanks!

[@williamwright6978]

@@scottimusgarrett15 sorry partner...

[@Hoaxer51]

@@williamwright6978,For those of you who don’t know what blueprinting means, William has just given us a good explanation!

[@JS-oy6nn]

Awesome video.!! I love watching Davin in his natural habitat.

[@vettekid3326]

At one time I balanced transmission parts in Caterpillar auto shift transmissions. There's a real art to doing it quickly and efficiently and since all the trans were dyno tested a small out of balance even in a huge tractor trans would show up as a vibration.

[@donaldnichols2434]

Those small block 400s were the most under rated motors Chevrolet ever built, also the lights being blown out of the ceiling very cool

[@N-Scale]

Wow , I never realized how much work was involved in balancing.

[@romankalyniuk2596]

Thanks for showing what I've wondered about. The detail and difference between internal and external balance. These videos are a learning experience.

[@futten3230]

good to get everything right but really? mig welding and not having something to protect the journals from spatter?

[@michaelnoyes4817]

The welding sparks going all over the bearing surfaces :)

[@xKrispyx]

The closed captions during the welding read “applause”, and I love it

[@stephenmoxley3004]

Very cool video. I already knew about piston and rod balancing, but never saw the procedure for balancing a crankshaft. Now I know. Keep up the great work.

[@ellieprice363]

Bob weights and harmonic balancers are only used on V8 engines. The straight six is a naturally balanced design.

[@TML34]

@@ellieprice363 the motion of a straight six creates theoretical balance, but you still need to have your pistons and rods equal weight for optimal balance.

[@ellieprice363]

@@TML34 Yes that’s very true. I decided not to include that important blueprinting operation.

[@hotrodswoodshed7405]

Welding with all them naked journals laying around!!! Omy my!

[@ednis32]

Couldn't imagine how smooth this engine would feel like. Must be butter

[@Falconsgang8988]

The precision and amount of effort that goes into these videos are truely astonishing and uner appreciated. Thats why i will stay subbed forever

[@408Satellite]

Very entertaining. I bought a crate motor that was 640 grams off on total bob weight, 80 grams per piston/rod. It snapped the cast crank in half within the first 500 miles of install. I no longer trust that nationally known engine builder and when local. Glad I did. He's a one man shop that took a lot more care with it. I also went with a forged crank instead of a cast one. I consider myself lucky because past the crank only 1 piston needed to be replaced. Usually with a crank braking it wipes out the whole block, but didn't. It's been 4 yrs since the new crank, it's perfect!

[@alanbare8319]

A note about engine shops-the local shops that serve our local circle-track are desperately looking for help. They're hard pressed to help the "regulars," never mind taking on new clients!

[@rushwal]

That look of an expectant father, the first time they spun up the crankshaft.

[@superandresr]

Davin Hetfield 🤘

[@nicz1984]

Always learning something on this channel, appreciate all the detail and knowledge!

[@Fuelcut]

Learned a lot!

[@kimlund5369]

that is my son, best engine builder around. He knows his stuff

[@StuPedassol]

The mix pic with Hetfield is badass. 😄

[@kyleforeman4543]

It's all about the Details.!!! Great video

[@0616ko]

Excellent. First time that I've seen this done.

[@Duskconqueror]

Proper (dynamic) balancing is such an important part of engine building that is overlooked by so many tuners. Heck, even Caterham and Lotus messed that up with the Rover K-Series. Just balancing a dime a dozen V8 can free up an easy 10 HP by reducing internal friction. Plus the engine will run smoother, more reliable and has more tuning potential.

[@briancsgarage5911]

Love the background music on this vid. Pure class.

[@briancsgarage5911]

Don’t do Whatsapp

[@justpauls]

Very informative, thank you for so many good videos.

[@vettepicking]

Maybe next time protect the crankshaft from the welding slag with a simple welding blanket.........

[@aosmer8218]

Awesome work Jon from APEX!!!

[@scottolisar456]

Nice Muzak. feel like im at a nice supper club with my wife!!

[@erichildreth7562]

Man this motor should run super smooth!!!

[@Ho4HouJIeCHuK]

KEEP CALM AND BALANCE THE CRANKSHAFT

[@Damien.D]

serious wizardry been done here.

[@kadenwatt2033]

Davin's head on James Hetfield's body works much better than I would've expected lol

[@ldnwholesale8552]

Hypereutectic pistons are a LOT lighter than the steel reinforced cast pistons. I have never had to put mallory in a Chev crank. And I have done 3" 3 1/4 and 3.48/ 3.5" engines

[@lateefcarrere1649]

So, this should handle a 6-71 blower and turn tires into smoke soon, right?😁

[@hotbod4you]

Still debating which is better: The video or the thumbnail

[@tanodelmasogeis5775]

Yea heavy metal 🎸 y motores súper cool 😎

[@drewmurray2583]

I can't find a good machine shop where I live now and it sucks! I need someone I can trust to do the work properly! I really do need to move back to Edmonton.

[@hugieflhr03]

Great video BTW and it does make a difference!

[@timmccreery6597]

I love this piano jazz. Use this more.

[@oldtown6240]

Loved the content, but not the 50's piano lounge music.

[@mtd610]

Welding spatter flying all over those bearing surfaces..

[@cranklabexplosion-labcentr8245]

If this is “heavy metal” I can’t wait to see what will be defined as “industrial harsh noise”

[@RANDOMNATION907]

I've never actually seen the crank being balanced before. On the other hand, and not to brag but, I have instantaneously unbalanced, while simultaneously and rapidly disassembled a small block Chevy before. It went _BOOM!!_ . . . and then went silent. Not my proudest moment.

[@monkeybarmonkeyman]

6:18 Those spindle speed buttons must be for military trained technicians. Back in the day, the military found pictures (cartoons) trained soldiers faster than words. Nice.

[@markk3652]

I never knew that a crankshaft could be welded on, I figured the localized heat from the weld would somehow denature and weaken the overall unit.

[@911engineguy]

very interesting to watch this.

[@robertsherman5428]

Davin needs to get some sleep your looking wore out man !!! Thanks for all you Do

[@JAFSMcarter]

Dat Elevator music on Quaalude's tho

[@craigmajoros2607]

What did it cost $$$ to do this procedure?

[@johnherdener6801]

Where I live a typical balance job is about $200. Alittle more if they have to add heavy metal.

[@pb3033]

Can't wait to hear that baby purrrrrr !!

[@SOLDOZER]

Throwing MIG splatter on his crank journals. Did not even take the 30 seconds to cover them. What a hack. Would get demoted to floor sweeper in my shop for that.

[@yodasbff3395]

Good stuff 👍.

[@georgef1176]

If you have a motor apart for a build then always balance it no matter what the power level it will balance in longevity

[@joen5332]

I would not have been welding on that crankshaft with the journals exposed

[@JeffersonGomes87]

Very good 🔥🔥🔥

[@CliffordRainwater]

Of all the channels I watch with engine repair and will it run I have never seen this done before.

[@brokenbonegarage8910]

Why do you go thru all that trouble???? A good answer is "Because MY name is on that engine!" That simple! Good job Sir, now break is over, I'm going into my garage to work on my project.

[@skylinefever]

Some new cars get a signed engine. AMG Mercedes and Nismo edition Nissans do.

[@simeonscott4224]

Are we not concerned about weld splatter landing on the bearing surface?

[@danoldsbb4558]

They should

[@DH-ik1vf]

Blanket journals from welding spatter

[@retiredafce3373]

That’s awesome

[@CarlosRivera-hi7th]

When he made that huge hole . To add a weight . Supposed to compensate what he drilled out

[@borismcfinnigan3430]

He drilled cast iron to install mallory,.. Pretty self explanatory why that would work....

[@muhamedshorbagy7854]

professional

[@raymondparks4108]

Always balance your assembly. Why would anyone skip this step? If your not going to balance it, just get a junk yard motor and skip the rebuild.

[@mattgraham1983]

Why would someone skip balancing the assembly? Cost and time also the application, high HP and high revving you can justify the expense but for a city vehicle that hardly hits the freeway not so much

[@davidlong1786]

Hundreds of thousands of rebuilt engines have lasted just as long or better than original mileage. Unless you are racing, it's not worth the time and money.

[@garagesociety9907]

I like this video. Thanks.

[@rogjackson]

This is God's work. These men are heroes. Definitely going to Heaven someday. Bravo!!!

[@onecalled]

After all this skill and attention to detail...will we still get 180° out? It's a staple now I think.

[@alotl1kevegas860]

I'm a mechanic. I love building engines. Would be awesome to work for the Perfit outfit.

[@roba379]

Don't get that Bob Weight mixed up. I accidentally used Tom Waits on mine and now my engine sounds all raspy and haggard. Some people dig that tho! 🤷‍♂️

[@tomdamon7208]

Try balancing a turbine for a jet engine or a prop blade for a helo . One false move and people die .

[@The.First.Object]

Какой уровень молодец !

[@andrewstoffel1170]

Davin, young folk don’t want to do this kind of work where you get your hands dirty. They all want to be KZbin stars , no offense.

[@juanyanez9589]

Son los mejores 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@rogermason5833]

Davin, would it have been possible to get this crank into balance by completely welding up the original counterweight factory drillings at each end? I could not tell from the video how much of the factory counterweight drillings got filled by welding. Could you have lightened the pistons somewhat by material removal on the underside of the piston top? Just curious what your options were. Great videos showing the practical aspects of engine building.

[@eneapasquali2941]

The drillings aren't at the same angle as where the weight is needed.

[@rogermason5833]

@@eneapasquali2941 Good point, I did not consider the angles required for the added weights. Thx

[@ShamWerks]

Hmmmm.... On VW Aircooled engines, we only balance the crankshaft internally without any bob weights around. I'm wondering if we're not missing something here...

[@pboyd4278]

Magic . FM.

[@moparedtn]

*DAVIN!* I've apparently lost track of the "Snowball" '37 race car with the *440* engine (last seen on #94). What happened to that project?? - Ed on the Ridge

[@markbremmer8642]

They are still waiting for parts, per Davin.

[@moparedtn]

@@markbremmer8642 Thank you sir.

[@wingman5985]

There's just something about making a motor better than it was from the factory.

[@woof3598]

interesting, would have like to have seen more. do the Bob weights have rod bearings, do they have to point in a certain direction ? is that a stock crank ?

[@user-ir6fn6mq9l]

Блин, до сих пор не пойму что у шатунов внутри меряют, если овальность то у нас ручные приборы

[@bryanprindle]

I would think welding on the crank would heat it up and warp it

[@hugieflhr03]

Why not grind on the piston skirts to lighten them up ?

[@asarand]

I'm not really experienced with these things, so I have a question. If you have to add 140 g to the crank, is that a 140 g on each end, or 140 g total? Also, since you had to drill out a hole to put that Mallory in, does that mean you also have to account for the amount of weight that you took out drilling the hole?

[@REUBEN522]

Why did he weld the crank without protecting the throws.

[@skiphill9]

You should have done this episode a year ago and I could have sent you a set of TRW .030 pistons with a 12.5 compression ratio for your 283. I ended up scraping them. I also scraped a couple of forged 283 cranks as well. No one in the DFW area was interested.

[@johnherdener6801]

That is truly sad.

[@carlinshowalter1806]

Damn,I live west of Ft.Worth and have been looking for 283 parts for months. Day late and a dollar short I guess.

[@one7decimal2eight]

How do they determine the weight to be added? Once you drill out the hole you remove weight. How do you know how many grams you are removing when making room for that tungsten slug?

[@JCWren]

It's the volume of a cylinder times the density of the material. A 1" diameter hole in a 1" thick lobe would be 3.14159 cubic inches. Cast iron is 425lbs to 487lbs per cubic foot. 3.14159 cubic inches is 0.001818049769 cubic feet, so assuming 456lbs as a median, that's about 0.829 pounds. Converting to grams, that's about 376 grams (or 350 grams on the lower end to 401 grams on the high end). There's a way to work backwards from knowing how much weight you need to the hole size, but that's too much for a Monday morning (even if it is Memorial Day) :)

[@markbremmer8642]

@@JCWren 🤯🤯😵😵 my head hurts from to much math. And it's a Monday at that.😆

[@scottdoubleyou563]

@@JCWren Thanks for the lesson in Syrian Aramaic. I'm gonna go take 2 motrin for the migraine I have now. 🤣🤣🤣

[@TML34]

@@JCWren or you just weight the material you removed, smart guy.

[@mattlimberg5763]

Do you normally having guarding over the crankshaft while rotating? Seems like a safety concern, I know it's not very fast, but with all the weights, you have plenty of chances for something to fly off. I do think it's appropriate for filming to without it, just curious. Awesome video!

[@EchoSixMike]

Nah, just stand out of the way. It's only 500-600 rpm and you don't want to be there since it flings oil off anyways and makes a mess.

[@davidgalea6113]

why would you not cover the journals when you weld on the crank..