I need a  trick. My engine is out on the floor and I've got a bar with a hole in it bolted to the flywheel against the lower trans. case bolts. I broke my 22mm impact socket ( Harbor Freight WTF) with my air impact wrench on this and went to a 7/8 socket because that's all I have now. Standing on a 1/2 breaker bar with a 1' extension. I'm 180#. Won't come loose. If no one comes up with a good idea I'm going to try heating the bolt with my torch to see if that will work.

get a better 6 point impact socket, try popping it in the TIGHTEN direction for as fast as you can get your finger on and off the trigger - then try removing it ?

 

 

Use a 3 to 4 foot cheater bar and may consider moving up to a 3/4 inch socket/breaker bar. 

Some muppet probably used locktite or similar compound on that bolt.

It's right hand thread too - just to be sure you're applying force in the correct direction. 

All the best with it's removal in one piece!

Cheers

Bennie

What John said - You need 3-4 feet of pipe or breaker bar.  The right size metal pipe slides right over the handle of a socket and works perfect like butter.  Take you 7 seconds.  a 1 foot breaker bar is basically a joke except for the simplest of home type mechanics - you're beyond that if you're playing with an engine out and on the floor.  a 1 foot bar is like trying to be a butcher with a butter knife or change a tire with a screw driver or paint an entire house with a fine point art brush or plow 10 acres with a hoe...etc, that will work....sometimes...with enough luck and effort. 

Had the harbor freight socket not failed, you may not have ever gotten it off with the air tools either if they're not heavy duty enough.  a 1,000 ft-lb 3/4" air gun with upgraded high flow milton fittings won't budge some nasty axle nuts for some reason.

Edited July 9, 20187 yr by idosubaru

I would not get a it past normal operating temperature,  190 degrees F.

That's working against the problem anyway.

3/4" drive socket from McMastercarr.com or mscdirect.com and a breaker bar.  And a pipe. 

first time i ever removed it i used a long breakerbar and bumped the starter, other times i would use a breaker bar and a nice slam with a sledge hammer, it's not too difficult, try standing on a longer breaker bar with an old pipe for more leverage and bounce on it a few times..

Amazingly tight from the factory after a lot of years, you'd swear they torqued up too much.

 

The real grip is not the threads but between the back of that washer built in behind the head and front face of pulley.

 

A sharp whack with BFH on the head a few times once anti stick CRC556 applied to near back of bolt head, overnight spray soak with rag stuffed around it to stop run off - might work

I have a 3/4 drive socket but it's standard so I've ordered a 3/4 drive 22mm socket in lue of continuing using the 7/8 " socket though it's only a squeak bigger than the 22mm. . Now the problem is to stabilize the engine when I put the 3/4 drive breaker bar and a 4' cheater bar on it. I've got a backhoe and I'm thinking about lowering the bucket down on the right side of the engine to keep it from lifting up while I'm standing on the bar. I'll let you know what happens when it all comes together or apart.

Edited July 10, 20187 yr by 3crows
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That should hold it, just feather those valves carefully...

And, DaveT, the heat causes things to expand slightly, thereby helping to break the bond. It has to get pretty hot to do that. The bolt can get very hot, which is what you want. The crank will be absorbing some of that heat but by its mass, not as fast as the bolt. Then let it cool down. But this will be last resort if all else fails. You know this, right?

Yes, but the heat will expand the bolt, more than the hole in the crank, making it tighter.  While making the bolt weaker.  When I've most often used the torch method successfully, it's when heating the "nut" side of things.  In this situation,  the nut expands more than the bolt, making a looser fit.

 

Not identical to this situation - I have found that especially when dealing with steel bolts in an aluminum block, getting the engine up to normal operating temperature before trying to loosen the bolts helps a LOT.  I've gotten many out that would have snapped if attempted at room temperature.   If the engine can run, that's the quickest way, but a few times, I used a space heater and a heat gun, while watching a thermometer in contact with the area near the bolt.

the heat is a last resort but not a deal breaker. One trick I learned from the forums, after heating a connection, squirt penetrating fluid on it (50:50 acetone/ATF, Kroil, PB Blaster w'ever - avoid fumes and fire!) and as the joint cools, the fluid may be 'pulled in'.

 

But if you think the rubber lamination in the pulley and the pulley bolt were compromised, get a new bolt and a Perrin lightweight pulley to replace them.

"Yes, but the heat will expand the bolt, more than the hole in the crank, making it tighter.  While making the bolt weaker.  When I've most often used the torch method successfully, it's when heating the "nut" side of things.  In this situation,  the nut expands more than the bolt, making a looser fit. "

 

Not entirely true. The bolt and the part it is in will both expand, albeit at different rates, but it does create the desired effect and the metallurgical change to the bolt is negligible unless you go totally gung-ho. I have used the smoke hatchet many times over the years to remove locked down bolts and have never had on break or fail. Yes, it is a last resort.

lol - note to self, try to alternate "smoke hatchet" with "blue wrench" in future conversations about heating stubborn connections with a torch!

That is how I removed my Honda crank bolt:

 

 

Got the 22mm 3/4 drive socket today. Piece of cake ! Didn't even have to use the backhoe. Proper tool for the proper job. That's what I always say. Thanks for all the replies.