Td5 harmonic balancer weirdness

[Disco Muppet]

Howdy
Today I removed the harmonic balancer on my Td5 disco to remove and replace the timing cover. I made a tool to bolt to the balancer and sit underneath the chassis rail, whacked my 30" half inch drive breaker bar on it and gave it a heave and much to my surprise it undid. Very easily. I was quite shocked. When I removed it I noticed this odd plastic bit on the bolt, almost like the bolt has gone into a plastic bushing or something. Any ideas?
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2016/12/40.jpg

On another note I have some odd damage to the top of number two piston that doesn't look live valve marks...
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2016/12/41.jpg

[rangieman]

That is locktite on the bolt my friend;)

[Disco Muppet]

You sure? It seems for all the world like solid plastic

[rangieman]

You sure? It seems for all the world like solid plastic

Well i have seen it like that many a time but then again what would i know as my car never breaks down:p

[Disco Muppet]

Didn't break down ;) preemptive surgery before the viscous fan bearing fails and the plastic timing guides disintegrate

[Blknight.aus]

You sure? It seems for all the world like solid plastic

IT looks a lot like loctite to me, but the wrong type for the application If someone has used one of the mild bearing mount loctites (about the right colour) thats how they form up and come out. The bearing mount loctites have good resistance to compression type loads and hold extremely well when they setup correctly (very fine tolerances with smooth surfaces) they dont work so well in threads as a locking goop. If you have a worn thread they will work as a form a thread and provide better purchase than a typical thread locking loctite. (but still wont give you any massive advantage in bolt retention)

Its possible that someone has used a filler or mounting agent to do a temp fix on the crank or the balancer (I know guys who use the bearing mounts to locate woodruff keys) but have been sloppy in the application and its gotten onto the bolt.

[Disco Muppet]

I know the vehicle has had a new Harmonic balancer just before I purchased it but everything I find on the car seems to indicate they weren't up to speed on working on land rovers. This amount was the only bit that came out, and was maybe 1/3rd of the way along the bolt. I suppose the only thing to do is stick the new bolt in and see what happens

[rangieman]

Didn't break down ;) preemptive surgery before the viscous fan bearing fails and the plastic timing guides disintegrate

Yes i am up to speed on your preemptive concerns :p

[Pedro_The_Swift]

Yes i am up to speed on your preemptive concerns :p
I've lost interest now the rebuild has lost a cylinder:(

[rangieman]

I've lost interest now the rebuild has lost a cylinder:(

I feel your concern is 3 cylinder,s short and 2.1 cubic inch,s missing:angel:

[Pedro_The_Swift]

I wouldve been happy if he had kept hold of them both and installed this,, 😆

[Blknight.aus]

I know the vehicle has had a new Harmonic balancer just before I purchased it but everything I find on the car seems to indicate they weren't up to speed on working on land rovers. This amount was the only bit that came out, and was maybe 1/3rd of the way along the bolt. I suppose the only thing to do is stick the new bolt in and see what happens

get in there with a bent edge scribe or pick first and make sure the threads are ok.

if you have a new bolt it might pay to slot the old bolt its whole length and very carfully use it as a thread cleaner to make sure there are no nasties in there.

If you can get your hands on an endoscope with a mirror so you can eyeball it from inside Id do that too.

[Disco Muppet]

Best I can do for now :)
I do have a new bolt, I'll clean it up as best I can.
New timing case went on today so it's officially turned the corner from disassembly to reassembly, with new timing chain guides going on. Old ones looked okay apart from a small chip on the adjustable guide, but good practice anyway. Just need to give the block a last tidy up and the head can go back on [emoji41]


https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2016/12/7.jpg