Getting the crank pulley off

[Plays_with_Toys]

Ok, I'm fixing a leak thats around the timing belt area. So I need to get the crank pulley off. The thing is, I have it in fifth gear, parking brake all the way up, and the pulley is still rotating backwards. It does so rather freely for a few degrees and then gets tough, but still rotates backwards. I'm afraid of pushing further and doing internal damage by rotating the engine the way its not supposed to. Is this normal, and I just have to suck it up and pull the lever and break that nut loose, or should I invest in a chain wrench (even after seeing what a chain wrench did to Reason's(?) pulley)

[SHOfast]

There is slop in the drive train, that is what makes the crank pulley turn as it loads up. Keep cranking on it and eventually it will break loose. The easiest way to get it is with an impact wrench. I have done a few the old fashioned way and the only thing that broke were a few tools.

[legacy92ej22t]

Get a long breaker bar and get it so that the bar is resting on the frame by the battery. Then crank the engine to bust the nut loose.

[Plays_with_Toys]

I'm replacing the timing belt and I drained the oil out of the motor so that I can take off the oil pump, so cranking the motor over is a no no. I bought a lifetime warranty breaker bar and put the handle of my 3 ton jack on the end of that. But I heard a metal clank when it started going backwards and got real scared. I'll do it tomorrow then. Daylight is fading here.

[Huffer]

There's a point in the back of the engine where you can insert a flat-bladed screwdriver to prevent the cams from turning - a buddy and I did this on mine - then he used a big cheater bar and broke the crank loose.

[legacy92ej22t]

There's a point in the back of the engine where you can insert a flat-bladed screwdriver to prevent the cams from turning - a buddy and I did this on mine - then he used a big cheater bar and broke the crank loose.

Yeah, I can do that to lock my flywheel in place (not the cams though) and break the crank pulley bolt. Because of my turbo setup I can only do it with either the turbo removed or the coolant drained and remove a coolant hardline that feeds the heater core though. So pretty much I only use that method when I pull the engine.

On a N/A it's probably accessible easy though, huh?

[legacy92ej22t]

Oh, and one other thing (tip). If you have to remove a cam sprocket to do a cam seal or anything, bust the cam sprocket bolts loose BEFORE removing the timing belt. It's easy as pie before and a real bitch after.

[belladonna]

Get a long breaker bar and get it so that the bar is resting on the frame by the battery. Then crank the engine to bust the nut loose.

matt, that's my trick! :wink:

[ivwarrior]

I'm replacing the timing belt and I drained the oil out of the motor so that I can take off the oil pump, so cranking the motor over is a no no. I bought a lifetime warranty breaker bar and put the handle of my 3 ton jack on the end of that. But I heard a metal clank when it started going backwards and got real scared. I'll do it tomorrow then. Daylight is fading here.

It really is the easiest way. You don't want to crank the engine over, just "bump" the starter once or twice. Disable your ignition so the engine won't start on ya.

[Plays_with_Toys]

Yeah. No question, cranking is the way. I put the old oil back in, with the old filter (I was paranoid even with a small crank that it'd seize), I disabled the coil pack before doing so, and just quick "tink!" and it popped loose. That's when I discovered my front timing cover had a hole in it where the crank pulley had been rubbing for some time, I broke one of the side covers, because the previous tech tightened the bolts WAYYY too much. and I had just popped both cam bolts loose when it started raining. I'll pick it up tomorrow.

[SHOfast]

Get a long breaker bar and get it so that the bar is resting on the frame by the battery. Then crank the engine to bust the nut loose.

This trick worked most of the time, but it cost me a starter the last time I tried it. It has been a few years now and I will not do it again.

[Reason]

Get a long breaker bar and get it so that the bar is resting on the frame by the battery. Then crank the engine to bust the nut loose.

That's how I seen it done. No to a chain wrench! It wasn't mine that was eating up, it was Gator GT.

[Plays_with_Toys]

I placed the breaker bar with an extension (needed two more inches) on the ground, so it wouldn't fling anywhere inside/above the car. I just talked to a guy who might trade me some of my RC car stuff for a perrin pulley... Should have talked to him sooner. Oh well. :lol:

[Reason]

The perring pulley is sweet!

[Plays_with_Toys]

Well, I think I'll get the same effect when I get my engine together (tomorrow, waiting for parts) because the pulley should no longer be rubbing on the front timing belt cover. There was a huge hole and melted plastic fused to the current pulley where it had been rubbing for some time. A while ago (maybe 4 months back), the car suddenly felt less powerful, and I'm hoping this was why. When I get the pulley, it'll be icing on the slow 2.2 liter cake.

[SHOfast]

Don't expect much from the timing covers no longer rubbing. There is no way those plastic covers would reduce power more than an un-noticable amount.

[ivwarrior]

Don't expect much from the timing covers no longer rubbing. There is no way those plastic covers would reduce power more than an un-noticable amount.

While this is true, if it was rubbing, the pulley likely was wobbling. That can't be good. Plays_With_Toys, make sure that the key in the crank (little "half-moon" shaped piece) is there and in good shape, it keeps the pulley from turning on the crank nose. It also keeps the crank timing belt sprocket in place. I had one on a 1.8 that somehow the pulley started wobbling, and it chewed up the keyway in the pulley and the key. Getting the key out was a PITA because half of it is in the timing sprocket, and I couldn't get the sprocket to easily slide off past the messed up portion of the key.......