Crank Pulley/Belt Cover-last things in my way to completion!!

[rruddfan21]

i have posted a lot on here the last few days. anyway, the last things that are preventing me from taking the belt off and head off is the crank pulley and timing cover.

CRANK PULLEY---how in the hell do you keep the thing from turning so you can loosen the bolts????

TIMING COVER---there are some bolts to this that i cannot even locate. some are in the tiniest spots. how the hell do you get them off???

i've put in many many hours trying to disassemble so i can get the head off and find out what's wrong with the damn thing. i am so close but i am getting exhausted with this thing. i don't wanna take it to a mechanic but i am getting aggravated with this. any help again??

[Crvett69]

if you put tranny in gear and put brake on you can usually break the bolts to crank loose, they are only 10mm heads, one bolt is behind water pump pulley and there are 2 behind crank pulley, i find that 1/4" drive deep socket and ratchet will get to all the bolts with no problems

[IAN442]

This is where im stuck at...

So youre saying if i put the car in gear with the brakes on...my HAYNES manual says with a chain wrench and a rag holding the pulley i should be able to remove the crank and take the pulley off...

I REALLY NEED TO FIX THAT CRANK SEAL....im adding so much oil weekly now its not funny.

[Crvett69]

another thing you can try is put socket on crank bolt with a breaker bar, brace bar against frame and use starter motor to bump engine over, that will usually break it loose. if you have fuel lines off though you will want to plug the one or put it in a container cause it will come on for a sec when you turn key on

[tude123]

I do this task with a strap wrench that I bought at Sears. The rubber strap on this wrench grips tightly onto the crank pulley and then you can get onto those crank pulley bolts with your 1/4 in socket. Don't get frustrated...you're almost there. And the first time is always the most difficult!

[tude123]

Oh, and one more thing. You can get at the crank pulley a lot easier by carefully loosening the two front motor mount bolts. Do not allow them to come completely off however. If you loosen them an inch or so, this will allow you to get at the pulley via the passenger side wheel well straight on.

[IAN442]

i'll have to find that rubber strap wrench...what about the middle bolt if i break the smaller 4 ones first ?

[tude123]

If I'm not mistaken, the big middle bolt does not have to be taken out to remove the pulley or the timing belt cover.

[Crvett69]

big bolt only has to be removed to take the crank gear off and replace seal behind it. thats the one i was talking about using the starter to break loose