Tuesday, April 15, 2014
How to Loosen the Harmonic Balancer Pulley Bolt
An engine is like lightning in a bottle, controlled chaos at its best. In addition to expanding gases, the engines combustion events produce a number of undesirable side effects. Exploding gasoline creates a shockwave that we experience as sound, but which the engine experiences as minute vibrations that work their way down through the pistons, rods and crankshaft. When combined with combustion events that are slightly out of sync, these vibrations can cause the crankshaft to resonate, deform and snap. The harmonic balancer absorbs these vibrations using a rubber ring surrounded by another heavy metal ring. The bolt that secures it can be difficult to remove, but not if you know a few tricks before going in.
Instructions
- 1
Raise the front of the car using a floor jack and secure it with a couple of jack stands. Start the engine and warm it to its highest operating temperature, or until the cooling fans kick on. Turn the engine off. Youll need to move fairly quickly from here on out, so make sure that you plan ahead and have the appropriate tools on hand. Have the appropriately-sized sockets fitted to several ratchets beforehand so you dont have to waste time hunting for the correct-size sockets.
2Remove all of the belts that connect the crankshaft pulley to the engine accessories. If you have an older V-belt setup, loosen the alternator bolts, rotate the alternator downward and pull the belts off. If you have a serpentine belt, fit a socket or wrench to the belt tensioner and apply clockwise pressure to loosen the belt. You dont necessarily need to remove it, but it might make the job easier.
3Fit the breaker bar over the end of your 1/2-inch drive ratchet, which youve already fitted with a three-inch extension and a socket sized to the balancer bolt. Hold a spray-can of keyboard dust remover upside down, and put the tip of the spray-tube right over the bolt head. Press the trigger on the can and spray the bolt head for about 20 seconds. The propellant in the can will act as a rigerant, causing the bolt to frost over. As the bolt cools, its metal will contract and will pull away from the hot crankshaft.
4Fit the socket, ratchet and breaker bar to the bolt-head and give it a sharp yank. If the bolt does not come loose or the crankshaft turns, then quickly lift the breaker bar up to the bottom of the frame and secure it there with some duct tape. Make sure its not sitting on anything that will break or bend.
5Crawl out from under the car and have an assistant turn the ignition key to bump the starter. Do not start the car, and do not lie under the car while your assistant bumps the starter. If the ratchet comes loose or something goes wrong, you could be seriously injured. If all goes according to plan, the ratchet will brace the bolt while the starter turns the crankshaft around it.
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