I have a 3VZE. I was parked when this happened so I didnt get very far and the engine wasnt under much load. I'm not even sure what kind of question I need to ask here but I just wanna know how screwed am I cause it made a pretty horrible sound afterwards and it sounded a little funny before but I couldn't find the issue until that happened. I quickly shut off the engine but what should I be checking now that this happened? Does this affect the timing underneath as well? Sorry if this is a little scattered I'm not great with mechanics and frankly just spent a ˟˟˟˟ ton of time replacing all of the coolant hoses so I'm a little upset that this has happened lol

 

First thing is to remove the harmonic balancer (crank pulley) and determine if there is any damage to it, the woodruff key, and the crank snout from running with the bolt loose.

 

I believe the woodruff key has disintegrated i cant really spot any sign of it except for the metal dust inside the groove of harmonic balancer. Apart from that everything looks undamaged. I believe the previous owner didn't torque the bolt to spec and that caused this. Would i be able to put this back together without the part of the key that goes into the harmonic balancer and just getting the bolt to the max spec?

 

I had a Honda Civic that used to chuck the harmonic balancer off, once most memorably in the middle of the Bay Bridge going from Oakland to SF in traffic. The bolt wasn’t torqued to spec and it would back out, wobble and break off. I replaced the bolt a couple times but it would happen again until i took it to a shop who could torque it to spec.

You have to replace the woodruff key. I’ve seen them in hardware store drawers but don’t know if those are the right dimensions for your engine.

 

You need a new woodruff key. At minimum. Well a new crankshaft bolt too. They are still available to order new. Before you do that though, I’d tear it down and verify timing and throughly inspect for any damage anywhere else. Maybe just do the timing belt and water pump while there.

 

You definitely need a new woodruff key.