Pulling engine, When do I loosen the crankshaft pulley? (1 Viewer)

[Azca]

Getting very close to pulling the motor and thinking it through. My biggest question at the moment is the crankshaft pulley and when to remove/loosen it.

I am not pulling the transmission so I will have to use the crankshaft pulley to turn the flywheel to pull the torque converter clutch mounting bolts between the trans and engine.

That seems strait forward enough but then, I won't be able to use the starter trick to loosen the crankshaft nut. Am I stuck getting an impact wrench to pull it? The crankshaft nut just laughs at my 500 lb impact gun...

 

[blkprj80]

I'd suggest the 3/4 breakover bar and starter method while you still have battery and starter.

Then, I can almost guarantee you won't ever get it as tight as it was when you use it to rotate the crank to loosen the torque converter bolts. You should be able to loosen it with a decent hammer whack on your breakover bar at that time.

Make sure you push that torque converter back as far as it will go once you have all the bolts out of it. Mine bound up and stuck in the end of the crankshaft. The last thing you need is a torque converter following your engine out of the engine bay. Trust me. What a mess...

 

[slow95z]

you would be shocked at how much easier it is to pull the engine with everything on it rather than to leave the trans and t case in the truck. goes back in so much easier, ask me how i know...

 

[aljollano]

I don't like to use the "bump the starter method" too much risk of breaking something, an impact gun will loose the bolt.
My 0.2

 

[Azca]

you would be shocked at how much easier it is to pull the engine with everything on it rather than to leave the trans and t case in the truck. goes back in so much easier, ask me how i know...

I will have a 2 ton hoist but it will probably be fully extended. I would think the weight of the engine would far exceed the hoist rating at that point. I really don't want this tipping over or folding while pulling it out! IIRC the engine, fully dressed is about 575 lbs give or take. The trans has to be a buck and half on top of that doesn't it?

That said, how much harder/easier is it to pull as a unit???

 

[sbman]

I have a 2 ton hoist and it was scaring me at the fully extended setting (1000 lbs). So I pulled the bumper and other stuff in the way to get it closer, moved the hoist to it's 1.5 ton setting. Worked good.

 

[half k cruiser]

Pulling separately requires you to overcome only two major obstacles. The two bolts on the top of the transmission (doable) and the connectors from the wiring harness to the trans (also doable). Loosen the crankshaft first using a 14mm socket on one of the flywheel bolts. Then, using the crankshaft bolt, rotate the flywheel around until you have removed all 6 flywheel bolts. Later when you have the engine on the stand you impact gun will take the crankshaft bolt off no problem since you have already pre loosened it.

 

[Kfire01]

Here's what I did. Broke the crank pulley nut loose with the starter, but left it on so I could turn the motor. Pulled engine, tranny and transfer together, using a 2 ton hoist on the next to last setting. Never felt like it was too much for the hoist. Ive never pulled just the motor, put I can't see how it could be much simpler than pulling it all at once.

 

[sbman]

My impact gun would not remove the crankshaft bolt. Neither would the one at the machine shop, the impact socket broke instead. A second impact socket broke. The third one did the trick. The shop wasn't excited about breaking two sockets on that bolt.

 

[Azca]

Thank you all, I will break it loose while still in the vehicle.

I originally was going to yank the trans and engine but again, the weight bothers me. If I leave the trans in the truck I don't have to mess with the shift linkage etc. Do you still think it is easier as a unit???

 

[Kfire01]

The shift linkage wasn't a big deal. Seems like there was a tiny cotter pin to undo, (be careful, it's easy to drop and lose) then slide the linkage off. Do that from inside the cab, just pull the shifter console to gain access. If I recall, in order to reach the top two bellhousing bolts in order to pull just the motor, you have to lower the tranny to gain access. If you do that, you might as well pull em together. Ive never done it both ways, so I can't compare the two methods, but if you have the room, and not working on an incline, pulling all components isn't as bad as it may seem. I did it by myself. If I would have had some help it would have been pretty simple. I simply sat the drivetrain on a couple of furniture dollies, unbolted the engine, and I was able to roll the tranny and tcase over to a corner till I mated it back up. With that being done, you can take care of any drivetrain PM or problems you may have. hope this helps.

 

[RockJock82]

Drop the t-case. Disconnect shifters. Pull the ih1 and ih2 connectors behind the glove box. Disconnect your grounds ect. Pull the radiator and ac condenser. Pull the motor and trans with all wiring out the front. (A few steps I'm missing also ) I've pulled them ever single way that can be done and this is the fastest

 

[Azca]

Drop the t-case. Disconnect shifters. Pull the ih1 and ih2 connectors behind the glove box. Disconnect your grounds ect. Pull the radiator and ac condenser. Pull the motor and trans with all wiring out the front. (A few steps I'm missing also ) I've pulled them ever single way that can be done and this is the fastest

Ok, may go ahead and do this then. Any issues with a 2 ton hoist or that biting off more than it can handle. Oh, if you are up this way you could also lend a hand! In reality I would have liked to have you do an LS swap for me but the cruiser needs other goodies first...

 

[Hornd]

I just removed the crank bolt. You need 4 Things. 3/4 Socket Set from Harbor Freight, I returned mine so no cost. 3/4 Breaker Bar $25 on sale (Use 20% off coupon). Bungee Cord.
Fit the correct socket on crank shaft bolt (31MM??) then adjust so wrench is on frame rail and bungee. Remove top connector on distributor and touch key. Works slick.
14MM 6 Point Impact Deep Well Socket if you want to tighten back up. Get a piece of pipe to fit over 3/4 breaker Bar about 30" Long. With this long of a lever it's easy to put enough torque on the bolt. If your paranoid and anal, get a torque wrench and get it right to the pound so you can tell all your buddies you did it like a certified mechanic. If you break that bolt off, sell the truck for parts.

 

[sbman]

I used a come-along with the t-case attached, it went really easy, I'm on a slight tilt to the drivers side and it was still fairly easy. I did have a helper. Removing the core support and and front bumper makes it so you don't have to lift it very high and they are pretty easy to remove.

First used a jack to support the trans and t-case while I pulled it out a ways.

2 ton hoist. No problem, used the 1 ton setting. Bumper removal allows you to choke up on it pretty good.

Then when it was a ways out, attached a come along to the t-case/tranny to support it with the stand. Worked great.

With it out, you can scrub it down, clean and service all the electrical connectors, etc...

 

[Azca]

Damn, that thing is looooong! Do you think it can be pulled while in a garage with a 10' ceiling?

 

[Kfire01]

That's what she said. And yes.

 

[sbman]

Damn, that thing is looooong! Do you think it can be pulled while in a garage with a 10' ceiling?

The lift amount shown in my pic is almost as high as it had to go, another 8-12" up for the oil pan to clear the frame. If you leave the core support in place (radiator cross-bar) you'll have to go much, much higher.

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

You can remove the engine and if you have a good enough impact you should be able to zip it off without an issue outside the rig. I used my 1/2 drive Campbell hausfeld rated for 450 lb-ft reverse torque and it worked great. Took some hammering with it before it broke loose. My brother has an Ingersoll rand 1/2 drive and that thing wouldn't have even skipped a beat taking the crank bolt out.

 

[half k cruiser]

You guys have me thinking I might try pulling the whole thing next time. I hate discharging my AC after I spent $60 getting it filled.