harmonic balancer install help!

grngt50 · Mar 21, 2006

have a retarded question for ya'll....

How in the heck do you get the crank pulley bolts and balancer retainer nut off of the car? Everytime I try to loosen them the entire balancer wants to spin with the pulley and I'm not making any progress. And no I don't have air tools! Any help would be greatly appreciated!

-James
94GT Vert Aode

HGFireHazard · Mar 21, 2006

What worked for me was having my friend hold a breaker bar with a 15/16" socket onto the alternator nut and that helped keep the belt from moving, thus allowing me to loosen to the bolts without everything spinning. If you already took your belt off, put it back on and give it a shot.

urban96 · Mar 22, 2006

put the car in 5th gear

nm i see you have an AODE, crank shouldnt move when the car is in park

grngt50 · Mar 22, 2006

HGFireHazard said:
What worked for me was having my friend hold a breaker bar with a 15/16" socket onto the alternator nut and that helped keep the belt from moving, thus allowing me to loosen to the bolts without everything spinning. If you already took your belt off, put it back on and give it a shot.

thanks, that makes sense. I'll give that a shot. I too thought that since it was an auto that the balancer/crank wouldn't spin while in park.

James
94 GT Vert Aode
Cobra intake, BBK 70mm t/b, 3/8 spacer, Granatelli MAF, K&N with silencer removed, BBK pulleys, MSD 6, MSD wires, BBK O/R H, 2 chamber flows, 4.10's, subframe connectors, 190 pump in tank, shift kit with rebuilt auto, weight reduction

HGFireHazard · Mar 22, 2006

Sorry, didn't pay attention to that detail. Guess I was stuck in the 5 speed mode since that's what mine is.

Nagash01WS6 · Mar 22, 2006

You could just pop the flex plate cover off the trans, and but a breaker bar in the teeth of the flex plate and hold it still that way. Ive used a wrench before, worke great.

Green 94 5.0 · Mar 22, 2006

an aode car does not lock the converter when it is in park. the motor will turn freely. i think rob can answer this better. we changed the balancer on his car but i cant remember what we ended up doing to stop the motor from turning.

urban96 · Mar 22, 2006

i wonder if it would lock if you stuck the car in gear

you could stick some high strength rope down into one of the spark plug holes so that when the piston comes up it comes in contact with the rope and stops the engine from turning

MLC Stang · Mar 22, 2006

Just did my balancer a few weeks ago, and I have an AOD-E.

This is what works every time for me:

I take a small length of 1/4 inch rope and loop it through one of the slots in the OD of the balancer pulley. Then I loop the other end of the rope around the smog pump and bracket and tie a knot! As you wrench the bolts, the rope tightens up and stops the assembly from turning. Works great!

One tip. That rope will really tighten up on you. To get it loose, just turn the crank the other way AFTER the bolt is tightened to put some slack in the rope.

Nagash01WS6 · Mar 22, 2006

No it wont lock when you put it in gear.

Automatic transmissions run on hydraulic principals. The only thing to stop the car from moving is a little nub on the inside of the transmission. The torque converter will let the motor turn over by hand as long as you want no matter what gear.

I would just lock the flex plate into place, they actually make a tool just for this, I found it when I was pulling the crank pulley on the LS1. A wrench worked great with someone holding it to keep the crank from spinning.

I cant say Id tie rope around the pulleys to keep it from moving, you could wind up breaking something else.

grngt50 · Mar 22, 2006

MLC Stang said:
Just did my balancer a few weeks ago, and I have an AOD-E.

This is what works every time for me:

I take a small length of 1/4 inch rope and loop it through one of the slots in the OD of the balancer pulley. Then I loop the other end of the rope around the smog pump and bracket and tie a knot! As you wrench the bolts, the rope tightens up and stops the assembly from turning. Works great!

One tip. That rope will really tighten up on you. To get it loose, just turn the crank the other way AFTER the bolt is tightened to put some slack in the rope.

huh, that isn't a bad idea either....I'll give both suggested methods a try this Saturday and let you guys know the outcome. This sucks that for what seems to be such an easy swap for most is such a pain in the arse for me. Thanks for all the help

_james

HISSIN50 · Mar 22, 2006

James, are you using impact tools? The shock loading of an air-impact-gun might break it loose for you.

grngt50 · Mar 23, 2006

HISSIN50 said:
James, are you using impact tools? The shock loading of an air-impact-gun might break it loose for you.

unfortunately no, I don't have a compressor. But I am sure it would break loose the nuts and bolts in a heart beat. I guess I'll have to try the ghetto method with the ropes! Ha ha I'll let you guys know how it goes this Saturday.

-James

Zero Signal · Mar 23, 2006

Just superglue the socket and 1/2" ratchet with a 3' bar welded to the handle to the crank bolt and start the car. Works every time.

MLC Stang · Mar 23, 2006

Zero Signal said:
Just superglue the socket and 1/2" ratchet with a 3' bar welded to the handle to the crank bolt and start the car. Works every time.

OK... you really should have put somes smilies around this suggestion so some poor noob doesn't actually try this!

Yikes!!!

grngt50 · Mar 23, 2006

Zero Signal said:
Just superglue the socket and 1/2" ratchet with a 3' bar welded to the handle to the crank bolt and start the car. Works every time.

wow, I haven't had nearly enough to drink yet to even consider that one! Well, my dad is lending me his electric impact, so hopefully that will provide enough initial torque to pop those suckers off.

-James
94GT

HISSIN50 · Mar 23, 2006

James, if not mentioned yet, make sure you REMOVE the washer under the bolt once you get the bolt out, or you can break a removal tool pushing against the washer.

John's method is a (tongue-in-cheek, I hope) variant of one that I have seen people use (using a breaker and bumping the starter). I dont post that kind of stuff even though it's done, since someone could find themselves on a Darwin-award list if it goes wrong.

grngt50 · Mar 24, 2006

HISSIN50 said:
James, if not mentioned yet, make sure you REMOVE the washer under the bolt once you get the bolt out, or you can break a removal tool pushing against the washer.

John's method is a (tongue-in-cheek, I hope) variant of one that I have seen people use (using a breaker and bumping the starter). I dont post that kind of stuff even though it's done, since someone could find themselves on a Darwin-award list if it goes wrong.

good lookin out on the washer removal tip, I didn't even think about that.

-James
94GT

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