Posted by Don in Missouri on Wednesday, December 29, 2004 at 7:00PM :
In Reply to: Re: So are you gonna balance it? posted by Dana on Wednesday, December 29, 2004 at 4:34PM :
If you consider the rugged nature of your M you might think it is no more deserving of a balance than the passenger car it came out of. On the other hand, I bet you'll be making that little motor scream with low gears and high RPMs in the mud pits. For that reason, I would balance it.
Have you ever heard Butch Polzin wind up his dual-carbed six banger? He said he balanced his, and contributes it's unnatural longevity to the balanced crank. That is what convinced me to have mine balanced.
As for turning the crank, my machine shop always wants to turn, and bore everything. I have to be pretty assertive if I want them to leave anything a little sloppy. The hardest thing is to know where to stop. I'd like to say I always default to the cheapest route, but sometimes I give in. I look at it this way, if it is a little loose and doesn't run for another 100,000 miles, I'll rebuild it again. The next time I can bore it or grind it if I have to, but I can't put that metal back in, so I might as well get as much mileage out of it the first time.
You also avoid the overheating problems of a tightly assembled motor.