crankshaft damper removal

[papason]

this is a 91 century with a 3.3 6 cyl. looks like I need to replace the crankshaft damper. This looks pretty simple, but is it? what is simple and works good to keep the flywheel from movieng? and do you need a special tool to pull it off.?

[GTP Dad]

To pull the crankshaft damper you don't need to worry about the flywheel moving. The puller will pull in a direct line with the crankshaft and should not twist a large amount. Normally with the transmission in park that should be sufficient to keep everything from moving not to mention the compression from the engine.

[papason]

cant turn the nut to remove it cause I cant keep the fly wheel from moving

[GTP Dad]

Try using an impact wrench to turn it rather than a ratchet. If you don't have one you can rent an electric one for a few dollars. If that fails remove the dust cover from the transmission and put a block of wood against the teeth of the flywheel so that it holds the flywheel from turning. This will not hurt the flywheel. Then attempt to turn the bolt in the crankshaft. If this does not work they make a wrench designed to hold the flywheel from turning but I don't know where to get one or even how much it would cost. I'm sorry I misunderstood your first post.

[papason]

I got the bolt out useing the pliers. That part was easy, now the pully wont come off.I am thinking this is a hub. It has the rubber on the inside and has pulley on it. Ony one bolt in the middle. there is no place for a puller to attatch. Have tapped it pulled it, wiggled it and used a pry bar. There must be something else.

[GTP Dad]

The bolt in the middle is the bolt that is actually holding the balancer to the crank. This bolt needs to be removed before you will be able to pull the harmonic balancer off the crank to change it. You will need a large breaker bar or rachet and a socket of the proper size to take this loose. Once you remove the bolt there should be holes to attach the puller to in order to remove the balancer. I am not certain but once this bolt is loose you may not need to use a puller the whole assembly may come right off. There are so many different engines out there and they are designed so differently it is difficult to say which one works anymore.

[papason]

Thanks GTP. What I meant in the last one was I did get the bolt out. The big one in the middle. But the damper wont come off.
There are no holes on this to attatch a puller to. Not that I have found yet.

[pcv]

On the crank pulley, there are three tiny holes with threads on them. You can use a steering wheel puller with three long screws about 3" long with washers, I think the screws are 3/16".
Good Luck.

[Buick owner]

I just took off the dampner over the weekend to get at replacing the crankshaft sensor.

You'll need two guys. First, take off a plastic cover underneath the car to reveal the flywheel. You won't need to remove the cover, just take out the 3 screws holding it in, and push aside. You'll need to have the car jacked up on the drivers side.

One person uses a big slotted screwdriver and use to hold the flywheel from turning by jamming it up against the teeth. You'll need some muscle. The crankshaft bolt is torqued over 100ft/lbs. The screwdriver I used was about 14in length.

The other person uses a socket, a breaker bar, and we used a piece of pipe on that for more leverage. Then, try to loosen. It's really on tight.

After breaking the bolt free, take the passenger wheel off, take off the black plastic cover behind the strut, and you'll see directly at the dampner. Theres a woodruff key on the shaft, it should stay on the crankshaft. Then, pull with your hands on the dampner. It should come off. I tried prying it from above, but you really need to pull straight out. Remember, behind the dampner is some sheetmetal circular pieces for the crankshaft sensor, so dont damage them by prying.

Good luck.

[papason]

Thanks everyone. Getting the bolt out it was the easy part. It took a while to finaly see the threaded holes inside (cause I needed a puller to get it off). Finaly got that and the puller on it b ut one bolt was hard going in and much worse coming out. but with some effort and more help I was able to get the puller off of it and damper out. Now I am hopeing the the guy at the junk yard is right that he has an aftermarket one, and it fits. Maybe I should replace the sensor while I am in there.

[ctwright]

I believe the user at that point already had the center bolt out. But I did want to reply to this for anyone else needing to do the same but has not yet removed the center bolt. Most manuals will tell you that you need a helper. One person with a screwdriver against the flywheel teeth and one person with a breaker bar to remove the bolt. If you are by yourself and are unable to get help and can't wait just clamp vise grips to the flywheel, I've done this several times and works fine, just be careful not to damage the teeth.