1998 Subaru Legacy with ej22

 

I was changing my timing belt and front seals on 1998 Legacy with ej22 . When I took the crank pulley off I noticed that the key way in crank crankshaft was sheared off even with the crank sprocket. It must have put some torque on the crank sprocket because the crank sprocket doesn't  want to come off.

 

Should I try s to force the crank sprocket off, try to drill out the key way, or just put it back together torque crank bolt back to 170 ft pounds and keep driving it. The crank seal is not leaking.

Correction: I'm correcting and re posting my original post because I was calling the (woodruff key) the key way.   

 

1998 Subaru Legacy with ej22

 

I was changing my timing belt and front seals on 1998 Legacy with ej22 . When I took the crank pulley off I noticed that the (woodruff key) in crank crankshaft was sheared off even with the crank sprocket. It must have put some torque on the crank sprocket because the crank sprocket doesn't  want to come off.

 

Should I try s to force the crank sprocket off, try to drill out the key way, or just put it back together torque crank bolt back to 170 ft pounds and keep driving it. The crank seal is not leaking.

I had the same thing happen to me, except mine had had a good amount of wobble to the pulley. the woodruff key merely holds the crank pulley in place while you torque it on it serves no structural purpose, so if you can keep it in the correct position while you tighten then you are good to go. 25k and counting on mine. p.s. there is an 'edit' button so you don't have to double post.

Most of the time most wear is in the damper up front.  If you slide a couple of straight slot screwdrivers behind the crank gear (avoid the trigger teeth) you will most likely be able to slide it off.  Replace the key, replace the worn damper and torque to 125 ft lbs.

 

If it won't come off, you may get by with just torque.

My woodruff key sheared also when my crank bolt worked loose.

 

Below is the thread where I posted about it.

 

page 1 shows the key way and how it looked..

 

Page 2 shows how I had to pull the crank pulley off  ,  my crank was rusted .

 

Lots of good info here:

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/149417-harmonic-balancer-quit-spinning/?hl= harmonic  balancer

Edited January 14, 201511 yr by xdeadeye1

Generally some light prying and tapping mixed with a shot or two of PB, or your favorite rust penetrating oil, will get the crank sprocket moving.

 

Those oil pumps have screws that hold the backing plate on the pump, and the screws have a tendancy to loosen and back out. If you've got over 100k miles on the engine, now is a good time to pull the pump off and check those screws.