If you’re wondering why we are doing a post on this subject please read our post on why it is soooo important to correctly torque the balancer bolt on these engines.
The tool I have made suits a ‘99 model Challenger with the 3.0 24 valve engine however with a simple modification it should suit any model Mitsubishi V6. The Challenger has two holes in the balancer that aren’t threaded so it was necessary to weld the two bolts on the tool, however the earlier model Pajero’s and the like have threaded holes I believe so it won’t be necessary to weld the bolts, just use the correct bolt and screw them into the balancer to achieve the same result.
The tool is made from a flat length of steel, two bolts of different length ( to allow for the thickness of the steel ), and a bolt,nut and spring washer. Without being rude, this is what my tool looks like and it’s dimensions should you want to make one like mine!
The two bolts had to be welded in place for the Challenger as the balancers holes aren’t threaded, however check to see if your balancer has threaded holes or not before doing any welding.
The arm of the tool passes under the A/C compressor and rests of the chassis rail and holds well even with 180Nm of torque on the bolt.
Craig
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7 Users Responded in " Balancer locking tool for the Mitsubishi V6 "
Thanks – excellent article, works a treat.
I built one similar – You need to use 10mm high tensile bolts. I used 10mm x 50mm bolts and didn’t weld them. just locked them off with a nut. Use a couple of washers under one of the bolts to get them both the same length and your done.
That’s great Robert, glad it worked well for you.
Craig
Craig,
Your articles are fantastic as it is refreshing to get an honest and simple explanation on matters mechanical.
I have a ‘knocking’ sound coming from the front end of the engine in my Pajero 91 SWB, which is quite audible at low revs however the sound tends to lessen as the rev’s pick up.
Took it to several mechanics for an opinion but this ranged from ‘replace the timing chain – water pump – pully replacement – damaged sprockets – etc, etc..
No one was willing to pull it apart for a closer inspection – lack on interest in the job I would expect.
I don’t have much mechanical experience so I am wanting to get a sense for how difficult it maybe to inspect the balancer? Don’t happen to know any good mechanics in the Melbourne area, do you?
Cheers.
David
hi , i was told not to put any loctite on , in fact i had a mechanic tell me that the cranshaft bolt broke because of this can you give your thoughts, i have 2 challengers and both after getting cambelts done have dropped balancer twice each , i can only assume mechanic is noyt torqueing these cvorrectly
Hi Grant,
In my opinion, I cannot see how the use of Loctite is capable of breaking what is a hardened steel bolt of around 14mm in diameter. The fact that these size bolts are relatively easily undone even when Loctite is applied to the thread makes me think that the Loctite cannot be the cause of a broken balancer bolt, it simply doesn’t have that much of a hold on the bolt.
We have carried out more than a dozen timing belt/waterpump changes on Challenger’s, Pajero’s etc using the locking tool in the article, applying Loctite to the thread and torqueing the bolt to around 180Nm and gladly haven’t had any balancers fall off to date (That I’ve been told of anyway, but I’m sure I’d be the first person to find out!)
There may be some truth to what your mechanic is saying, however from my experiences when using Loctite, the locking tool and the correct torque setting this problem has been avoided.
Hi Craig,
Thanks for your input on this forum, it is always good to find good advised when need it. My ‘95/’96 Pajero V6 3500 GLX Escape experienced the same problem after replacing the water pump and timing belt in Aug ‘07. I was driving to work one morning when a rumbling noise starting in the engine compartment. thinking the noise was caused by a low oil level I was not concerned at all. after topping the oil level up, I’ve noticed there was a bit of belt screeching noise which I though it would be a low power steering fluid. after discarding any other reasons I noticed it was the crankshaft pulley that was wobbly when spinning. then I realised it was the bolt that was loose. after many tries tighting up the bolt and it getting loose again, I found your article here. I bought a new bolt and just finished putting the car together but i’ve noticed the crankshaft pulley wobbling a bit. is the crankshaft pulley the same as the harmonic balancer? is it posible that a bigger damage could have been caused by driving the car while the pulley was getting loose?
thanks for your advise.
Danny form Perth.
will this tool work on a 3000gt dohc non turbo???? i need to know
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