November 12, 200421 yr Alright, I am a idiot. I can't get the crank bolt off. I have this heavy duty strap wrench & no go. I tried putting the car in 5th but there is not enough throw to break the bolt loose. I can't seem to get anything into the flywheel ring gear unless I remove the intake manifold. There just does not seem to be enough room. Any ideas? This is my only car & I need to get this solved soon. Thanks.
November 12, 200421 yr I just did mine a few days ago and it was very easy indeed, using the starter. I put a 22mm socket on a half inch drive to which I added a 2' extension pipe which rested on the driver's side area ahead of the battery -IIRC. Just 2 short bursts did it! My car is a bit different from yours, but I am sure you'll find a solid place for the pipe to rest before cranking. However to tighten it back to 130 ft/lbs, you'll need to know ahead of time what you'll be using. In my case, a home made pry bar in a flywheel tooth did the job. Good luck! P.S. Don't forget to disconnect the spark plugs first. You don't actually want the engine to start!
November 12, 200421 yr Author I just got the bolt loose by getting a angled brake adjusting tool into the flywheel. Thanks for the help.
November 13, 200421 yr I used a Vice-Grip chain wrench on the pulley with a breaker bar on the bolt and had no problems. Those Vice-Grip chain wrenches are worth their weight in gold.
November 13, 200421 yr I put a 22mm impact socket on a long breaker bar and rested the breaker bar on a piece of wood coming up from the ground yet under the hood. Like previously mentioned...2 short bursts and it was free. MAke sure you tighten it up very well when you are done by removing the rubber plug behind the throttle body and insering a large screw driver and then tightening the crank bolt with said breaker bar and socket. I learned the hard way...My pulley came off the other day! That sucked. Never left the vehicle just backed out enought to make me angry.
November 13, 200421 yr I used a Vice-Grip chain wrench on the pulley with a breaker bar on the bolt and had no problems. Those Vice-Grip chain wrenches are worth their weight in gold. I used that also last belt change. The beaty of this little Vice-Grip chain wrench (i used it also on the cam pulleys when i replaced the seals) is that you can always - the moment it's set - find something immovable to wedge the short handle on. That leaves both your hands free to work. Use a piece of belt on the pulleys to protect them of course.
November 13, 200421 yr Author Thanks all. It is all back together. All I have to do is double check my crank pulley torque.
November 14, 200421 yr I used a chain wrench I bought from Northern tool for <> $20. Use some fabric strapping or thick leather to keep knicks from teeth of wrench from damaging pulley. I was able to grind them out with the pulley in hand but added the protection when reassembling. This made it easy for me alone to torque it during reassemably
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now