Howdy folks,
Newbie here. I need to inspect my timing belt---suspected jumped a tooth... see earlier posts by me in the last couple of days if you're interested in the full saga.
I removed radiator, accessory belts already. Last step before removing timing belt cover is the crankshaft pulley, and I don't know how to get it off.
I began following this tutorial by MercedesDieselGuy on youtube
He advocates a bit of a redneck method for loosening the crankshaft pulley bolt (bracing a breaker bar against the body and cranking the motor for a split-second). I applied WD-40 beforehand and followed his advice; it loosened up with no problem. (It was only later that I came across this thread where user Alias20035 said (s)he doesn't like that technique, but as far as I can tell I didn't bork it).
I can remove the crankshaft pulley bolt entirely, and the pulley itself stays in place. It rotates just fine (I'm using an old leather belt & vice-grips), but I can't for the life of me figure out how to get it to slide out.
MercedesDieselGuy, in the youtube link above, recommends turning the pulley clockwise to align the hash mark with the "0" reading stamped on the timing belt cover. (Later in the vid he seems to change his mind; thinks that step may be unnecessary). In any case, I did that (using a white paint mark I found on the front face & grooves of the pulley) and it doesn't seem to help with yanking the pulley.
The timing belt cover seems to be plastic---so there was nothing solid to brace against when I tried wiggling a prybar gently.
Other notes: the grooves at the back of my pulley are banged up, a couple of chips, making me think previous owner &/or a sloppy mechanic had the same trouble I am having, and tried brute force. Finally, I used a small mirror and my headlamp to get a good look at the pulley's center hole. I can see a notch at the back of the pulley on one side; hard to tell if it's part of pulley or another component/bushing behind it. But if I slowly turn the pulley with my belt wrench while watching with the mirror, I can see the notch rotates with the pulley. Is that back notch the "crank key" referred to in the thread I linked above?
Any advice on how to get this dang thing off? Is there a trick to it?
Thank you!