how do i get a crankshaft pulley off?

315

Asked by Alex Jun 25, 2008 at 06:42 PM about the 1995 Toyota Camry DX

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

the bolt on the crankshaft pulley refuses to come off. tried a torque wrench and everything. and advice?

thanks

29 Answers

1,920

your going to need an impact gun and i dont mean a wall mart special you need one with at least 500 ft pounds of torque...that bolt is on there good also you need the impact gun to put the bolt back on thats the last bolt you want to fall out while driving down the road

21 people found this helpful.
1,275

i would get a 1/2" impact gun, cause a 3/8's is gonna cut it taking the bolt off, and get a desceant puller, autozone has a tool rental program, and you can get a pulley puller there for a reasonable price, or if its something you think you will want, you can go to sears and get a nice one, are you going after the front seal?

6 people found this helpful.
315

going after the water pump. and i really to clean off the pulley from the time my radiator exploded.

3 people found this helpful.

just change the WP,no need to go throught the problem of pulling it off you may damae front seal if it is not leaking,besides you are takeing a chance of knocking it out of time.

3 people found this helpful.
225

Everyone is sayin impact guns, impact guns, impact guns man, id get a 3/4 inch Breaker Bar, with a socket to fit the pulley 's bolt diameter. those are usually bolted down to atleast 120 ft-lbs of torque. so if needed find a 4 foot piece of iron pipe to put on the end of the breaker bar for increased leverage. the thing about impact guns, some and most do not have enough torque to break loose a bolt like that.

13 people found this helpful.
27,655

I'd have to agree with Kyle. I bought a 4 ft piece of steel pipe years ago and have used it countless times to break things loose when NOTHING else would work. It's an invaluable piece of equipment for the do-it-yourselfer.

8 people found this helpful.
100

I would also half to agree with Kyle, and the CarGuru, a breaker bar and a steel pipe has always done the trick for me. Even a standard ratchet and the handle to your floor jack would do if in a pinch. Also if you dont need to take of the pulley on the driveshaft, I wouldnt touch it. Opening a can of worms like some of the other posts have said.

6 people found this helpful.
1,275

everyones saying impact gun on this yes, because have you taken off a crankshaft pulley bolt with a breaker bar, i have the motor moves, with a impact gun it takes it right off with ease, and its a cramped spot on a camry to fit a breaker bar in on it especially with a steel pipe to break it with unless you have access to a lift and than yes that will work.

4 people found this helpful.
16,745

I agree with the above, if it ain't broke then don't fix it. If you're going to though I say breaker bar. Impact guns just beat the hell out of things to vibrate them loose. If there is damage to a bolt it's a sure fire way to break it. If it's damaged odds aren't much better with a breaker bar, but I've always had better luck with a breaker bar.

6 people found this helpful.
605

you can try holding it with a chain wrench and then using a breaker bar and pipe from the top or you can put a breaker bar on it and wedge it against the ground or motor mount then tap the key so the engine cranking will break the bolt loose, make sure you have the breaker bar against something on the corect side or it will wip around and break something

9 people found this helpful.
275

first sensible comment being posted about the use of a breaker bar however if the bolt still doesn't losen this can be very dangerous as the shock could throw your car of the jack/lift, being a toyota mechanic for 4 years now i wouldn't swap my impact gun for anything, never broken a crank bolt yet and iv taken my fair share off! good luck whichever route you take

2 people found this helpful.
360

impact gun, but take the belt off first

5 people found this helpful.
1,045

make sure the engine is not turning over. i know it sounds stupid but that might be the problem.

4 people found this helpful.
150

The two holes beside the center bolt can be used to immobilize the pulley for easier removal. You can built a rig from a few bolts and some sturdy scrap metal.

15 people found this helpful.
70

That might work if its been taken off before. If not it will bend or most likly snap the bolt rite off in the holes. I know that from experinse and its a pain to get them back out. Try hiting it with a hammer a couple of times to loosen and then a cheater bar.

7 people found this helpful.
720

You need to see this video looks like this will do the trick! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iY2XuD1edio

72 people found this helpful.
260

Similar to the Toyota SST and the link provided by JDF99 above, I made a pulley/balancer immobiliser using 5mm x 25mm x 700mm flat steel bar and a galvanised steel floor flange. Of the various sized available, I used the 1.5 inch diameter for the 2003 camry V6 pulley/balancer; 1.25 inch floor flange will work also. Bits you will need are: one 1.5in steel floor flange; one length of flat steel approx 900mm long, 5mm deep and 25mm wide; two 35mm M8 bolts, washer and nuts; two 40mm M8 bolts; drill and M8 bit. 1. Drill two M8 holes 66mm apart on centre in the floor flange: these will be just each side of the threaded collar on the flange, 33mm from the absolute centre of the flange. Its good to get these accurately drilled at 66mm apart. When fastened to the balancer/pulley holes using M8 x 40mm (10.9 strength = approx. grade 8 SAE), the bolts will enter the balancer at 90 degrees. This minimizes the risk of thread damage or bolt shear (as warned by MLR00 above) when the rotational torque is transferred from crank bolt during removal. 2. To mount the the flat steel bar to the flange, put the flange on the balancer with the threadeed collar inside, toward the engine. Insert the M8 x 40mm bolts through the two newly drilled holes into the balancer holes. Don't tighten, this stage is jsut to get things lined up properly. 3. Now you will figure out the best place to put the brace bar. Line it up so the flat steel is over two holes in the floor flange and the other end is on the ground on the edge is resting or close to an immovable part. You may need rotate the crank a little to find a place where the flat steel will rest against the frame, chassis or ground, and line up with the holes in the flange. When you've determined the length needed to brace the flange, mark the flat steel where the original flange holes are. The marks are where you will drill the flat steel. 4. Drill two holes in the flat steel to mount it with 10.9 strength nut and M8 x 35mm bolt to the flange. Put the heads of the bolts on the collar side of the flange, through the original flange holes and the nut and washer on the flat steel side. Fasten securely! 5. Now mount the flange and brace to the pulley with the end of the brace and edge in the place where oit will lock up when torque is applied to the cranbk bolt. Fasten the flange so there is no movement or play in the pulley to flange: do not overtighten. 6. I recommend use an impact wrench. Search for 8 Amp Electric Impact Wrench fromj a well known supplier of tools. About a $100 for 350 ft-lb/s/s. I tried nearly 4 feet of breaker bar and pipe, and i'm not frail. It had never been out and was not coming out. The risk of damage to fender, crank bolt, wrist, etc. is just not worth it. It is certainly possible with that much leverage to take the car off its stands... 7. Engage the impact wrnech and watch it work. I let it hammer a bit, then zip.,..out it came. The large washer also catches nicely on the flange collar and drifts the blancer pulley of the crank as the bolt is extracted. As long as the balancer/pulley keeps coming off the crank end whilke the bolt is turned, the large washer on the bolt is pushing the pulley off. This is an easy and sure way to get the thing apart, without risking damage to components or limb. Note you could offset the flange from the balancer/pulley by using pipe, inserted on the balancer/pulley side). You will need commensurately longer flange to pulley M8 mount bolts.The longfer they are... the greater the risk of shear... Best of luck! Enjoy the work! KenH

26 people found this helpful.
2,235

ive seen people put a breaker bar on it and crank the engine over, pops it right off...

12 people found this helpful.
90

I was able to get the bolt out of my crankshaft pulley on my 1996 Toyota Camry with just my 1/2" socket driver braced against a 2x4 block and then cranking the engine. No problem.

6 people found this helpful.
6,835

Take out starter Lock up flywheel Big screwdriver Take it off it will come off someone put Lock tight red on one the one way.

1 people found this helpful.
40

Use a breaker bar with a 3/4 socket and lay it against the frame and then tap the starter to loosen the bolt. If possible have some one hold the bar with a 2 x 4 against the frame. work 99% of the time

4 people found this helpful.
45

25-30 inch breaker bar and impact socket. After you remove the fender well protector, put the socket on the bolt and brace it under the control arm--as close as you can get it. Make sure battery is fully charged. Thump the starter, and the bolt will break loose. If it doesn't work on first or second try, add a booster battery.

2 people found this helpful.
10

I have the same problem I been trying everything I even went out and got an impact wrench and it still won't budge. I'm getting so pissed at this car. I can't get the dam thing off

1 people found this helpful.
45

I finally got off a very tight one on my '95 Avalon that hadn't been removed in 14 years, using the method I described just above. It helps to use an impact socket, charge up the battery fully, and add a booster battery if it doesn't work after a couple of tries. Also spray the tight bolt with a loosener. The starter motor is more powerful than almost any impact wrench. This will work if you do it right. You'll be happily surprised when it comes loose.

2 people found this helpful.
25

With the 95 Toyota Camry purchased a 250 ft lb 3.5 cfm 1/2 inch Impact wrench at Walmart around $25. Requires a compressor with an 8 gal or larger air tank. Tried using it with a 3.5 gal compressor. That didn't have enough capacity. Bought a 7 gal portable air tank (also at Walmart $25). Connected the portable tank to the compressor for a combined air capacity of 10.5 gal. This gave me plenty of air for the Impact driver. Using a 19 mm impact socket the crank pulley bolt came out like butter. Don't use the Starter Bump Method to try and loosen the bolt. You run the risk of breaking your tools, Breaking something on the car, or stripping the bolt head. Use an Impact Socket 1/2 inch drive. You'll probably break a standard socket. Use the 19mm for the Toyota Camry.

2 people found this helpful.
10

I needed to get the crankshaft pulley off as part of replacing the water pump on my 99 Camry, and had trouble immobilizing the crankshaft via the 'jam the flywheel' method in order to get the bolt off. I built KenH_DC's immobilizer, and it did the trick: crankshaft locked against the ground, and the bolt popped right off.

1 people found this helpful.
130

Just a 'safety note' for those that see this and want to try the 'starter bump' method. 1. Find a fuse that when removed turns the engine over but it doesn't start. I don't know which one to pull, but the ECU-IG, IG1, EFI, AM2, etc. may work in the fuse compartment under the hood. TEST IT 1st to ensure engine doesn't start. 2. If you can't find a fuse, Make 100% sure you ONLY turn the key to start for an instant! DO NOT HOLD IT in the START position!! 3. This is used on lots of different cars' crank bolts and has worked for years. DO SO @ YOUR OWN RISK, but read up, look for pics, etc, if unclear on How To.

20

My step son fought and fought with the harmonic balancer bolt for about 2 hours. Even went and got a higher torque impact gun. No dice. Wouldn't budge. I finally remembered seeing a YouTube video where the guy suggested putting a socket on the bolt and bumping the engine over to break the bolt loose. By golly, it worked like a champ. Only a little bump and ready to shut it down if it was to start. It actually took two little bumps. He was ecstatic! Bolt came out with finger power. Bottom line...forget the impact guns and long breaker bars. BUMP THE ENGINE WITH A 22mm socket on a 1/2 inch ratchet and a pipe to stabilize it against the concrete floor. You're welcome!

2 people found this helpful.

2000 Camry LE. DeWalt DCF891B impact wrench (600+ lb/ft) with a 19mm impact socket wouldn't break it loose. Bought a Lisle 77080 19 mm harmonic balancer socket on Amazon, put it on the DeWalt and broke it loose in about 5 seconds. Now to figure out how to lock it down to torque it to 80 lb/ft.

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