Could I ask for advice on the March multi-groove pulley kit?

[robroy]

Good afternoon Jamie and Robert, thanks for replying!

The laser looks like a new and exciting exercise in frustration

HA! You could be right.

Here's one of the gizmos we use at work: http://www.accushim.com/productDetail.a ... uctID_E_79

That is a very cool product! I like its name too: Belt Hog. That would be a nice tool to rent if one were available around here.

For yours you need to align and hold the laser line on the ridge of the crank pulley perpenducluar to the axis of the two pulleys being compared and then compare it to the water pump pulley. Same deal, crank to alternator, the water pump to alternator from the top. Fun eh?

Fun indeed! Although this is tedious, having it strapped to the tripod at least holds it in any peculiar attitude while I scope things out.

A straight edge against the back edge of the alt and water pump pulleys will suffice at this point.

That's a good idea to put them on the back of the pulleys; I'm not sure why I didn't think of that! I'll have to see if their aft sides have a uniform depth or not.

$1950.00?

Yes that does seem expensive! Yet I can imagine that these might be a limited production item of very high quality. If they were used every day in some kind of shop they'd probably be worth it!

Update: I called March today and described the bolt issue. The gentleman on the phone said that they have a 6" version of the same bolt, and he offered to send it to me absolutely free of charge! I took him up on that. He added that it's a plated, grade eight bolt.

March has been very generous, patient, and helpful towards me every time I've called!

While I had the guy on the phone, I also asked where their stuff's made. The guy said that all the brackets and pulleys are made in Florida, but he wasn't certain about the bolts. He said that the majority of their bolt sources are USA-made, but he couldn't say for sure that 100% of them are.

Since the answer to that wasn't an input required to complete a pending decision, I let it go at that.

Meanwhile, some parts arrived today from McMaster, including their black-oxide 6" bolt. To get this thing rolling I'll put it all together using the McMaster bolt for now, and swap that out for the March bolt when it arrives. I'm not using thread lock there so it should be very easy and quick to swap it out!

Jamie and Robert, thank you again for your quality replies!
Robroy

[FreakysFords]

Nice move on the shims

I really only see one more problem keeping the install for being exactly on notch.........................

and that is.................

It aint my truck!

Frank

[robroy]

Good afternoon Frank, thanks for replying!

Nice move on the shims

Thanks! They seemed to work out pretty well.

I really only see one more problem keeping the install for being exactly on notch.........................

and that is.................

It aint my truck!

HA! Perhaps that's best said very quietly; it could make your truck jealous!

Today the 6", plated bolt arrived from March, free of charge!





While it's very nice of them to mail me this bolt for free, I was a little surprised to see that it's a used bolt. I'd think that most people spending the money on a March kit would be the types of folks who get really nuts about pristine looks, and this bolt's head has seen better days. At least the plating on the rest of the bolt is perfect!

Since the McMaster bolt I installed in its place has a perfect-looking head and is all put together, I think I'll leave it in there until some day when I swap out the alternator for some reason. In the meanwhile this new-to-me March bolt can enjoy a well-earned rest on my shelf!

Frank, thanks again for your excellent reply!
Robroy

[Hawkrod]

I am sorry I did not read this thread sooner or I may have saved you at least a little frustration. I usually don't get too involved in aftermarket threads so I read this when it was first posted and never came back. Today I read all the pages and realized I could have helped a little. First off, the balancer you have is a ProProducts balancer. That is why your buddy had the spacers. If he builds Fords he uses these and unless it is going into a 68 and newer Ford he does not use the spacers (heck, half of the guys who use these balancers don't even understand why the spacer is in there!). When this balancer was designed it was made as a direct replacement balancer for a 427 Ford. That being said, it was recognized that the 427 balancer with a fixed pulley limited use on later performance applications so instead of making the balancer with a permanent pulley, it was designed to be removable. If you have a 67 and older Ford you can use the balancer as it comes out of the box and simply bolt your accessory pulleys right to the three exposed bolt holes. Unfortunately if you have a 68 or newer Ford, there were problems as the pulley system had been redesigned. In order to accommodate as many customers as possible, this balancer was designed with a removable pulley and shipped with a spacer. To use this on a 68 or newer setup, all you do is remove the existing pulley and install the spacer and your 68 and newer pulleys and it all bolts together and lines up perfectly as you have seen. If you look closely you will actually see that there are two bolt patterns in the face of the balancer. This is due to the fact that Ford used one bolt pattern with three bolts for 67 and older accessory pulleys and then when they changed in 68, they altered the pattern so that the wrong pulleys could not be mistakenly used as they would not line up if you did. I am glad you got it resolved and my bad for not following along. Hawkrod

[robroy]

Good evening Hawkrod, thanks for your excellent reply!

Your explanation regarding the spacer is very interesting! I did notice that it had three extra holes on it, but didn't put much thought in to that.

Thanks for taking the time to explain what was going on there! And I can understand not being super interested in aftermarket threads; this is a 1967-1972 Ford truck Web site, after all.

Thanks again Hawkrod!
Robroy