crank shaft problems

[V6cious]

maybe it is not the crankshaft that is causing the problems but I noticed that my harmonic balancer has a little play in it I'm not sure of how this would affect performance or everyday driving but I have replaced the key way a couple of times and also the harmonic balancer but they still tend to get slack after a few miles I think the slot on the harmonic balancer is worn out a little, so do I have to replace the whole crank or is their something I can do to make it stiffen up

 

[cool 84]

Is the slack there if you twist it or push it back and forth? The key should fit tight in the crank if not, assuming you have the right key, the keyway in the crank could be worn. Even so, if the bolt is tight there should be no play regardless of if the key is worn. Mine has a very small amount of play without the bolt tight, I think it's normal. It could probably affect your timing by a couple degrees, not sure if it moves enough to matter. The crank bolt needs to be very tight, I don't remember the exact specs but it's somewhere around 200lbs.