Advice needed on lossening Crank Pulley Bolt

mcc1979ian · Post by **mcc1979ian** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 8:33 pm

ok so im rebuilding the 4.6 gems before i fit it in the 90 and have 99% of the engine stripped but just cant get past this crankshaft pulley bolt.

as its a project i dont have all the parts yet, so dont have a flywheel to help me stop the crank turning.

i really cant think of a way to stop it.

all advice greatfully received.........

topcatcustom · Post by **topcatcustom** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 8:36 pm

Drill a couple of holes in a big piece of angle or flat bar and bolt it to the flywheel holes in the end of the crank, can usually rig something up like that, or just wait until you fit the flywheel!

mcc1979ian · Post by **mcc1979ian** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 8:43 pm

Ah never thought of that, will give it a try in the morning and see how it goes. Im guessing the bolts gona be mega tight?

DaveEFI · Post by **DaveEFI** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 10:25 pm

I have a 12v impact wrench bought from Maplin for about 30 quid. It's quite large - about the size of an old mains electric drill. Sold as a wheel nut remover. It spins up to speed, then whacks the nut in a rotary way. Made light work of my crank pulley bolt, without trying to lock the engine. I also used it to undo the head bolts. Says it produces 250 ft.lb of torque.

Think you can get them on Ebay.

mcc1979ian · Post by **mcc1979ian** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 10:59 pm

Iv got a pretty good air one and a large cordless clarke which is pretty powerful but today they wouldnt shift the bolt.

I was thinking maybe i could remove the sump and wedge a piece of 4x2 between the crank an block to stop the crank turning. Would this be ok?

The engine is on the floor so isnt the easiest of things to work with.

ian.stewart · Post by **ian.stewart** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 11:50 pm

timber wedged in the crank is ok, but make sure you are not resting against a rod.
Before you give it a hard time with a windy, A good heavy, sharp blow on the bolt head, then, get a BIG breaker bar, and tighten the bolt!!!, then try to undo it, you may be surprised

topcatcustom · Post by **topcatcustom** » Thu Jul 26, 2012 9:14 am

Sorry I thought you were trying to tighten in on a new build, (tiny phone screen last night).

Impact is normally the best way to undo as it cracks them off without spinning up whatever they're attached to!

mcc1979ian · Post by **mcc1979ian** » Thu Jul 26, 2012 2:09 pm

Ok so got the job sorted, removed the sump and placed a bit 2x2 box section between the crank and block right at the very front and using a half inch breaker bar the bolt moved very easily

DaveEFI · Post by **DaveEFI** » Thu Jul 26, 2012 2:39 pm

If that's the case, a decent impact driver would have shifted it too. They are not all the same. 250 ft.lb is a pretty hard pull even with a breaker bar.

mcc1979ian · Post by **mcc1979ian** » Thu Jul 26, 2012 5:31 pm

its maybe the rattler that loosened it, but i killed both batteries before resorting to taking the sump off and as the engines in a different garage to the compressor i couldnt use the air rattler.

bodger · Post by **bodger** » Fri Jul 27, 2012 10:17 am

first job before removing the engine ( if its in there to start with ) is too put a breaker bar on the nut and crank the starter ...
does the job a treat

even if the engine is out fit a starter motor and hold the nut ...its becasue the starter ring gives you a really LOW gear ratio compared to the pulley nut