needayota

hey all.

i cant get the flywheel bolts off at all!
the motor is out of the truck completely and i have used an electric impact wrench on them and they arent even budging! we used a breaker bar and are finding it difficult to keep the flywheel from spinning.

any suggestions?

MTL_4runner

Worst case you can rent a compressor and a 3/4" gun and they should come off.
They probably have loctitie on the threads (make sure to put some on when you retighten them again).

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Electric impact ain't got the gumption to do that kinda stuff...get a real impact and that should do it...and yeah, they are probably loc-tited on there....good luck!

kyle_22r

here's a trick that makes it a piece of cake. get the #1 cylinder about 20* or so BTDC or ATDC(depending on which direction you go, it'll become clear) on the compression stroke. pull the spark plug and feed a bunch of nylon rope in there(make sure you have enough left to pull it back out!). this will lock the engine so you can use a breaker bar on it. i did this to remove the old flywheel bolts from my engine for installing new ones, as well as installing the crank pulley.

TechWrench

There is a tool called a flywheel wrench that locks into the ring gear teeth to hold the flywheel from turning while using a breaker bar. What also sometimes works is if there are bolt holes in the flywheel near the outer edge, a philips screwdriver through one to lock the flywheel to the engine so it doesn't turn.

GTE4runner

Another thing you can try with a breaker bar: turn the engine to a point where compression is building, and put the socket on one of the bolts that is on the right side of the crankshaft as you look at it. Press as hard on the breaker bar as you can without turning the engine, and while you are doing that hit the end of the breaker bar as hard as you can with a hammer. It's basically a manual impact wrench I guess you could say. It has worked for me on many occasions. Good luck!

dwh91102

put a little heat on the bolts, and the impact will rattle them right out

needayota

sweet! thanks all.
now i have another fairly large impedement...

a while back i asked how to go about loosening the crankshaft bolt... well i got the tip (only tip that would work with standard hand tools) to lay the breaker bar over the drivers side frame rail..... well the motor was already half way out by then (so it wouldnt start and i wasnt goin back) so now the motor is fully out, sitting on an engine stand..... so how would i go about removing that damn thing short of taking it to a machine shop and having them do it.....


thanks all!.... again

MTL_4runner

Breaker bar and a chain wrench (use an old piece of tire to protect the crank pulley from damage).

p5150

i like that tire idea, MTL -


To break the torque try some type of striking force - hammer, hammer, hammer on a long bar while you put pressure on it. Its torqued to ~190ft/lbs so you might need a fat bastard.

wrenchmonster

NO, not here. Heat can work wonders on certain applications, but you definately don't want to heat up the bolts that go on the end of your crank. Heat can change a metals core composition.

Best thing is to use an impact. Kyle's suggestion will work well too, just make sure you don't bend any valves, also, this method does put strain on the connecting rod below.

Get a flywheel holder/wrench. Snap-on by far makes the best one. Or you may also be able to use a pry bar against the frame and put the end into the teeth of the flywheel.

Still, IMO, if you're going to get into the hobby, invest in a decent compressor and get yourself some air tools. My 2 cents.

-Wrench

MTL_4runner

I agree, don't use heat there or you can damage all sorts of stuff (warp flywheel, damage seals, etc).
I use a 24" chain wrench and a 36" breaker bar and have never had a problem.
If you really need more leverage you can slide a 4-5' pipe on the end of each.
There is a crazy amount of torque when you do that so make sure the socket is well engaged on the bolt.

needayota

well the flywheel came off... so thats good. no damage there.
but when my dad tried to do the crank shaft bolt, this is what he did:

he put a small extension rod in one of the holes of the cam sproket to stop the engine from turning while he torqued the crank shaft bolt loose. but instead of loosening it he broke the timing chain....
is there any damage that was caused here?

also MTL can you elaborate on your method of removal?


thanks man
edit: i was also wondering what size the chain needs to be and where i could get a good sized chain wrench?

thanks guys

p5150

Take off the oil pan and wedge a piece of wood between the crank and the block. That will keep it from turning.

TechWrench

Now that you got the fly wheel off, you can put it back on with the bolts just tight enough to hold it in place, and use a pin or screwdriver through one of the holes in it to lock it to the engine. You can also use some extra long bolts the same thread size as the original flywheel bolts and use them to brace a long bar through. This will secure the crank, and all you need is a good breaker bar with a long pipe extension and a good stout socket (I use sockets rated for air wrench use). You will also have to figure out how to keep the engine in place now that it is removed. Be careful with the chain wrench on the front pulley method, I have seen and had some pulleys get damaged in this process.

needayota

hmmm what method is safer .....

the flywheel one or the ply wood one (wouldnt that scratch something?)

MTL_4runner

If you use an old piece of tire you won't damage anything, if you don't you may leave some small marks on pulley but nothing major (I highly suggest using something to protect it though).

There is nothing that complex about the removal process. Rent a 24" chain wrench or strap wrench (if you get a strap wrench make sure it is the heavy duty type like below....I prefer a chain wrench though). Then cut the tire into a strip of rubber (an old bike tire works really well too) and wrap it around the pulley so it fits tightly (you can secure it with a piece duck tape to allow you to put the chain wrench over it). Then put the chain wrench on over the bike tire and that should give you excellent leverage to get the most difficult crank bolt off. Make sure to use the chain wrench in the proper orientation because it slides one way and grips the other. If the bolt is on there so tight you can't get it off with 24" of leverage, you can get an iron pipe to fit over the handle for even more leverage. I used a 4' pipe on the breaker and chain wrench one time and I could have loosened the bolt with my pinky. Hope this helps.

Chain wrench:


Strap wrench:


Best tools if you want to buy one:
http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/Chain-St...ches/index.htm

TechWrench

The method of cushioning the chain wrench from MTL_4runner is a good idea. One thing I am wondering here, on some engines, the crank pulley bolt is reverse threaded to keep it from backing out because of engine rotation direction. I don't know off hand what direction the Toyota uses. Could that be part of the problem here?

superjoe83

the 22r/re engines use a regular right hand thread on the crank bolt

MTL_4runner

The 3.4L and 3.0L are both right hand threads also.