Crank bolt. Cambelt change.

[Anders T]

Have been looking on the Youtube instruction. No way to get the it off. The last idea was to let the starter motor do the job.
Is this realy the way to do it? Let me know please. Will go for it tomorrow Thuesday.

Anders

[Brit-Car-Nut]

Anders: If you have exhausted options like having someone sit in the car and hold the brake pedal as hard as possible while you use a long breaker bar to undo the bolt, then using a strong breaker bar with enough length to smack the floor as the starter spins the engine usually works. There is a LOT of torque in the starter and flywheel and that should work.

I would suggest you do it with the car sitting on all 4 wheels and attaching the socket/breaker bar so it is as high off the ground as possible so the starter can get a bit of energy built up. If you can't reach everything with the car on the ground, you could jack it up and put some blocks under the tires. Most DIY jack stands are flimsy and you don't want to be supporting the car with them and have the car fall off.

I have used concrete blocks to raise a car for a few engine crank bolts over the years but my impact gun does a really good job, so I haven't needed to use that method in a long time.

Please be careful...

[Steve A]

viewtopic.php?f=79&t=18679&start=40

You could always make a plate just like mine, it locked the crank perfectly

[HJ2]

I tried your plate the first time, but the (tiny) bolts Just sheered off! What did i do wrong back then?
Now I use a Hazet 1440NM air hammer that still has some trouble, but up to now always succeeded!

[Steve A]

I tried your plate the first time, but the (tiny) bolts Just sheered off! What did i do wrong back then?
Now I use a Hazet 1440NM air hammer that still has some trouble, but up to now always succeeded!

I ran a tap down each hole to make sure the thread was clean and used good quality bolts
that would bolt the plate tight against the pulley face NOT leaving the plate loose in any way.

[John_W]

I agree with Steve about using the plate method. I’ve used it a couple of times.
Have you seen this thread?
viewtopic.php?t=12307
Or this one: viewtopic.php?f=33&t=10822

Using the starter sounds a bit brutal.

[alan e]

I used the youtube method and it worked very well but don't hold the key on for to long and disconnect the spark plugs you don't want the car to start, and take extra care tie the bar onto something or you may find its now part of the garage wall.

[CalElan]

I started the car - tripped the inertia switch and waited for the car to stall.
Took the spark plugs out, put a socket and breaker bar on the nut. Pulled on the breaker until it was against the floor - I didn't want to accelerate the whole lot into the ground as I figured it was more likely to fly off..
Gave the ignition the shortest / fastest turn and ping - nut came straight off

As others have said - be careful - Starter motor has a ton of torque!

[ElanBRG]

I was worried about how hard it would be for me to get the crank bolt off when I was doing my first cam belt change last month. But then I remembered I have something that has Earthquake in the name, and that bolt ended up being the easiest part of the job. Impact wrenches have come a long way since the first one I bought many years ago. These things have some serious power now, and that's why you should cringe every time you see the mechanics using them to put on your wheels at the tire shops.

[Anders T]

Thank you all.
Piece of cake. Sequred and tighted the leaver. Spark pluggs out to make it easier to turn over. 1/2 second on starter. No drama. This was nice. Will start with the cambelt tomorrow.

Thanks

Anders

[CalElan]

get your swear box ready!

[alan e]

get your swear box ready!

And the box of plasters.

[HJ2]

And alcohol! (to drink dummie)

[Giniw]

Strange the starter trick didn't work on mine a few years ago.
Next time I will use my impact wrench too — I didn't have it the first time.
I hope it will be enough!

Good luck with the cam belt change, it's not that bad ... when it's done! ^^

[CalElan]

I didn't find it that difficult as I just packed it in when I'd had enough..
Much better than having to push on through as you need it to get to work in the morning!

[ElanBRG]

I didn't find it that difficult as I just packed it in when I'd had enough..
Much better than having to push on through as you need it to get to work in the morning!

That makes all the difference in the world when it comes to enjoyment working on cars!

[Simon_P]

That makes all the difference in the world when it comes to enjoyment working on cars!

Yes, there's nothing quite like having to finish a job late on Sunday evening outside in the rain.
I found that having a garage also added to the enjoyment.

Using the starter has high potential for doing expensive damage. There isn't a substitute for doing it with a suitable bar onto the ground.

[ElanBRG]

That makes all the difference in the world when it comes to enjoyment working on cars!

Yes, there's nothing quite like having to finish a job late on Sunday evening outside in the rain.
I found that having a garage also added to the enjoyment.

Using the starter has high potential for doing expensive damage. There isn't a substitute for doing it with a suitable bar onto the ground.

Well...there is a substitute. See "Earthquake" above.

[Simon_P]

That's just for undoing the bolt, the bar is for stopping the pulley rotating. Unless yours was tightened by a girl guide you'll be rattling all day.

Unless you lock the pulley you are transferring all of the torque in the wrong direction through the crank gearbox and drive. Ie the expensive bits.

[Giniw]

An impact wrench doesn't cause much torque reaction actually. I suppose it's because of the inertia of the parts being unbolted?
(for instance when unbolting a wheel, the brakes don't have to be applied to prevent them from rotating)