Asking for trouble (crankshaft pulley removal)

[Mark]

I just got in from an attempt at removing the crankshaft pulley on my '81 tercel. My idea was to replace the crankshaft seal since it's leaking pretty bad. I usually budget 2 days to remove the pulley, so 2 hours so far isn't too bad. I used the string in the cylinder trick to hold the crankshaft still. Hopefully I didn't destroy anything. I was throwing my (admittedly unimpressive) weight into the pipe-extended wrench during one try and there was a pop and the engine started turning freely suddenly. I fed more string into the hole and rotated it some more and it seemed to hold still again ok. I guess I'll find out if there's damage when I try and start it up again eventually. I only had 3/8 drive 19mm sockets so I had to use an adapter/extension to use my bigger breaker bar. Of course the adapter sheared so I tried using 3/8 ratcheting socket drivers. I destroyed 3 in a row. 2 of them bent and the ratcheting mechanisms broke. The last one actually shattered at the head and the ratcheting bits fell out. Anyway, I'm now out of tools to keep trying today. I don't remember the bolt being this hard to remove on the other cars I've done this job on. I let it soak beforehand with penetrating oil. It's hard to believe I'm not doing damage to the bearings with the force that's being applied.

[xirdneh]

i have not tried the rope thing
i use length of 2 x 2 x 1/8" steel angle that has two holes to match holes in pulley (also some notching for socket insertion)
the angle wedges under the frame so its abt 30" long
i would not use 3/8 drive for this
1/2 only

[dlb]

that's a great idea on the angle iron, rob. i've only used the rope technique once and it worked fine but it was a pain to get enough rope in there, and i'm always worried about messing something up and putting all that pressure on an open valve. it's pretty straightforward but dumber things have happened.

mark, you can borrow my tools if you need.

[Petros]

Have made similar tools out of some aluminum channel I had laying around, works good. I have used the cordage in the cylinder, if you get enough it inside it seems to work well (verify you are at top dead center or you could bend a valve). I doubt you can harm anything internal, that crank is really beefy for such a small engine. I could be possible to damage the piston top, but that seems very unlikely since there is a wrist pin right under the crown.

Some have removed the starter and used a pry bar on the flywheel teeth, a bit of work but that should be fairly safe since the leverage on the flywheel rim is fairly large.

Go get yourself an 1/2" bearer bar, they are only about $12 at harbor freight, less if it is on sale. adding some heat to the bolt head before you put the socket on it should help too if there is old oil or rust deposited gummed up in there.

I never had the problem using 1/2" drive, I recently bought an inexpensive 3/4" drive to get the front pulley bolt off a honda civic (it goes on with 180 ft-lbs!). It was cheaper than breaking a lot of 1/2" stuff, and figured I could use it on the axle nuts several times a year without risk of breaking something.

[atoyta]

I have always used a 1/2" breaker bar against the frame & utilized the starter to crank it loose.

[Petros]

here is my Harbor Freight 3/4" breaker bar after the successful removal of the 19 mm pulley bolt on the civic (broke several 1/2" drive extensions and sockets before I bought the wrench-saved time too). You have to use a long extension to reach the front pulley from the wheel well (I hate transverse engine installations). I had to rent a tool they make for holding the honda front pulley, it has my half inch breaker bar on it with a rusty pipe cheater extension you can see in the picture. That is one big wrench, hopefully I will never break another wrench again!

099.jpg

[ARCHINSTL]

Take a look at the Special Tools Section of the FSM and you will get an idea of what xirdneh and Petros are talking about.
Also check out the puller that xirdneh made at viewtopic.php?f=10&t=9008
You should be able to rent a socket from AZ or ADV.
Tom M.

[Mark]

I went out and bought a 1/2" drive 19mm, 6-point socket and used my 1/2" drive breaker bar with a 2.5' steel pipe as an extension. After a bit of jerking while hauling on it like crazy the bolt came loose. Now my chore tomorrow is getting the pulley off. I want to try not using a puller and leave the radiator pushed a bit to the side with the hoses still attached (so I don't have to drain it), but it would probably save time in the long run to just use a puller.

[Mark]

I made a few half-hearted attempts at getting the pulley off by hand/hammer, but gave up pretty quick and went straight to a puller. It turns out the front crankshaft seal wasn't leaking oil. There was some thick oily gunk collected under it, but no fresh oil. The leak was coming from the camshaft seal. I replaced both anyway. The timing belt looked perfect, but I changed it as well since I had everything apart. I marked the old belt/gears with a paint marker, removed the old belt and matched up the belt teeth with the new belt and marked the new belt. Then I just put the new belt on the gears, matching up the paint marks so the new belt was in exactly the same position as the old one. That way I didn't have to work about timing afterwards. It was dark by the time I finished so I just started it up (it started and idled fine). Today I'll have a better look for leaks and take it for a drive.
This is one of those jobs that seems so easy when you think about it beforehand, but every other step seems to have frustration built into it (bolt removal/pulley removal/seal removal).

[dlb]

This is one of those jobs that seems so easy when you think about it beforehand, but every other step seems to have frustration built into it (bolt removal/pulley removal/seal removal).

i think that almost every job is like this. the more steps involved in a job, the more potential for irritating complications that add more steps. i'm used to it now and just allot way, way more time to stuff than it should ideally take, just like you did with this. basically my motto for working on cars is "nothing goes smoothly."

[marlinh]

If you don't have air tools, invest in an electric impact wrench. Save you lots of headache and you will use it everywhere. Make your life so much easier.

[Mark]

After driving around a bit, there's still a decent oil leak coming from the timing belt cover area. I stuffed a wad of shop towel under the oil pressure transmitter (I think that's what it is) and after a short drive, it was completely saturated with oil. I think that was my main leak all along. It is as simple as unscrewing it and replacing an o-ring? Has anyone done this?

[marlinh]

You have to replace the whole thing. Oil leaks through it. It has a tapered pipe thread that screws into the block. It usually doesn't leak there unless it is loose.

[dlb]

the oil pressure sender is supposed to require a weird special socket (a large, deep, six-sided one with little bites in the corners -- super weird) but i have just used a large crescent wrench on each one i have replaced. they're cheap, like $6 or something.

[Mark]

Thanks. I saw the senders are on Rockauto for as little as $1-something. That's less than a pack of gum. Of course the shipping will probably be $60 and only take 3 weeks. I'll try my luck at the local parts places tomorrow. By the way, DLB. -Just to get off topic: I was driving by Mitchells auto wreckers in the Mill Bay area a couple of times in the last few weeks and there was a 4WD (I think) Tercel wagon out front every time. It was a silver/grey/light blue colour. I don't think it was for parts since it was parked by itself in front of the building. Maybe it's an employees? It isn't one of your 2 most recent ones is it?