scottrod2

I want to fix a horrible oil leak at the front seal, but cannot get the balancer bolt out of the crank. I have even borrowed a 3/4 drive impact and it just wants to move the truck over the wheel while I have it blocked.

I have tried bars with extended leverage and even busted my breaker bar. I am about to give in. Has anyone successfully gotten this loose with heat? I have a torch available but dont want to ruin anything.

I have heard the theory of using the starter too. I really dont thing that will do it.. But maybe I should try?

Thanks Scott

yoterr

you could try the starter, it works for most people, you can try taking the valve cover off, and holding a breaker bar on the cam bolt, and use the impact on the crank bolt

toyospearo

I had the same troubles as you on y 93 and my 94. I used the starter method on both without any issue.

NMMarauder

So are you saying that you can't stop the motor from turning?

If so try this.... The magic rope trick will stop your engine from turning so you can break loose the crank bolt. You take the #1 plug out, rotate the engine around so that the #1 piston is at TDC and then you back the piston down about 2" from TDC and stuff the soft piece of rope into the cylinder through the spark plug hole. Rotate the engine so that the piston squashes the rope. Unless you are strong enough to pop the cylinder head off, the engine will not turn. Break loose the bolt with a high quality 1/2 drive 6pt 19mm impact socket ($8.50 craftsman), a high quality 1/2 drive breaker bar (mines about 24" long). I had a piece of pipe to extend my breaker bar another 18" or so. Break the bolt loose and then you can pull the rope out. My dad uses this trick when he works on his Ford 8n tractor.

I hope that helps. I just used this trick this weekend. I'm quite sure I could have put more than 500ft-lbs of torque on that bolt if I needed to. If you are saying that you don't have a problem with the engine turning and you just can't generate enough torque to break it loose then I'm not sure what to say. Maybe get a better breaker bar and a longer piece of pipe.

abecedarian

+1 on trying the starter. If you do the bar on the cam bolt, good luck getting the cam bolt out later.

yoterr

that didint really cross my mind

abecedarian

That part about the truck climbing the blocks just caught my eye. Are you sure you're turning the bolt counter-clockwise?

scottrod2

Thanks for all the advise everyone. I have the truck at a friends shop and he said he tried the soft rope trick last night and the motor stuck but the bolt did not budge wit the 3/4 impact. He was afraid the big impact would possibly break of the bolt head, then I would be SOL big time!

We will keep getting our asses kicked until something breaks loose or breaks!

Anyone try heat? Bad idea?

ayoung101

+1 again here for the starter trick. i was nervous as hell about trying it too, but when i finally did it worked great and then i was like "THAT was it? why was i nervous about it?"

scottrod2

OK, OK, I'll do the started trick! Can I please get a brief explanation on this concept? ayoung101, what was your procedure? If I get outta work on time I might give it a shot tonight. Thanks Scott.

NMMarauder

Basically you are going to use your engine as a giant impact wrench. You wedge your breaker bar against the frame (or something that won't move) and you bump the starter like you are going to start the truck. (Wire off the coil so it doesn't start of course).

I'm not a fan of this solution because it is very brute force. When you turn that key, whatever is going to happen is going to happen. You have no control over it. Maybe 98 times out of 100 the bolt will break loose and all is good. But 2 times out of a 100 something is going to go wrong. With all the torque that your starter can produce amplified by the really low gearing it has with the flywheel, when things go wrong they are going to go REALLY wrong. You will shear the head off the bolt, or sheer the breaker bar and send it flying, or who knows what else. I hate to gamble so this option would be the last one I would choose even with a 98% chance of success.

I'd try all the traditional methods. I'd smack the head of that bolt a couple of times with a hammer, I'd try gently heating it and maybe even quenching it with ice after that. (you want to thermally cycle that bolt) I'd try to shock it loose by tapping the end of the breaker bar with a hammer. I'd make sure I have a really good socket, breaker bar and a piece of pipe. Don't even think about breaking loose something that important and stuck with crappy tools.

Good luck. Let us know what worked for you. Even if you sheer the head of the bolt off, you could still drill out the remaining bolt. Not pretty but not the end of the world.

Kiroshu

Crank bolts rarely ever break. Somethings going to win either you or the bolt. You put the tranny in high gear and turned? Tried beating on the bolt a bit with a hammer to jar it alil. Get a good impact wrench... elcheapo's don't work to well.... i've always gotten 22r crank bolts off with a big breaker bar and a chain wrench on the pulley with a rag..... done it once with high gear... you should not be having this much trouble unless its been taken off by someone else before and they put it back on and super tourqed it beyond OEM specs..... but all else fails.... use the starter.....

theAuthority

go ahead and use the cam, here's some research photos for you.

eugenedbrooksiii

Taking a chance on breaking the cam, taking a chance on breaking something in the transmission, or having a breaker bar slinging around out of control via the starter seems like a foolish idea.

You can make a very robust tool for this task with two pieces of 1/4 inch thick, three inch wide and 36 inch long steel stock from the weldable metal bin at the local hardware store. Use the fan pulley to center mark and drill two holes for the same diameter bolts used to attach the pulley, and then center mark and drill a clearance hole (with a hole saw) for the socket used on the crank bolt between them. This end bolts to the balancer with bolts a bit longer than the ones used to attach the balancer. Two holes and bolts on the other end attach the second piece as a "cheater," 3 feet just isn't long enough. A similar length of pipe as a cheater on a quality 1/2 inch drive breaker bar finishes the tool. You can make this tool carefully with a hand drill, that is how I did mine before I bought a drill press. Sometimes it takes two people working the breaker bar against the tool you have made, but the bolt will come off and you won't be risking damage to your vehicle. If the 1/2 breaker bar fails, you should have been using a Craftsman... A six point impact socket is also a good idea...

The important part is the assembly. Skip the impact wrench and use proper torque with a torque wrench. It wont be so hard next time around, although the tool you have just made will come in just as handy. With proper assembly torque it will only take one person to get the bolt out the next time around.

Eugene

TOYOTA 1

the tranny will not break, and the starter trick works great.

though i agree using the cam bolt is a bad idea, and so is using the cam gear.

Jay351

An impact gun worked like a hot damn for me...

92 TOY

Hey, I just noticed those are pictures of MY MESS LOL!!!!

Ater struggling with my bolt, I tied it off with webbing over a piece of padding used to keep carpes from slipping (keeps the pulley from turning) bought a 6 point 19mm craftsman impact socket, an 18'' breaker bar and a 3 foot black metal pipe and got it right off with little struggle.

I broke 2 wrenches, cam sprocket and 1 bit prior to doing it the right way.

92 TOY

the webbing trick

[IMG][/IMG]

92 TOY

as far as those upper pictures go, I wouldn't do that. Not without a helmet. When that gear broke it shot past my face and put a nice little hole in the wall. Again those are pics from my mess so I know 1st hand what NOT to do. That gear is not strong enough or at least mine was not.

I had terrible fears and quetions about using the starter and basically wanted to Maguiver myself an easier way.......the webbing was wrapped arout 2 maybe 3 times to get a good grip and once it holds steady enough it's not turning any more. the amount of effort to get the bolt off from that point was essentially negligable....meaning it wasn't nearly as much effort as I thought it would be once I had all the proper tools and techniques in place.

there were plenty of alternate ways (building a special tool, rope in the cylinder, tapping the starter) but each either surpassed my capabilities or just intimidated me.

good luck, any questions, post them. I JUST did this about 2 weeks ago. and oh, yeah......start looking around for a new bolt, if you've damaged your's the way I did to mine before getting it off, you should get a new one.

flyingbrass

I got mine out with the truck in 5th gear and a friend stepping on the brake pedal. Flex handle with cheater pipe.