IndianRider Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 (edited) hey guys , as a few of u know , i helped a buddy change his timing belt and water pump 2 weeks ago and got the job done easily .. so my 96 pathy has 110,XXX miles and i got about changing it this weekend so confident that it would be easier this time around but i ran into a HUGE problem .. i just couldnt get the CRANK PULLEY also known as the harmonic balancer off the crankshaft .. For the life of me and my mechanic friend , we couldnt get the crank pulley off the crankshaft .. i used a 3 jaw 5 TON pulley extractor from auto zone and it wouldnt even budge and even chipped the edge of the pulley .. sprayed a lot of rust penetrant bet. the pulley and crank but didnt work.. we put full pressure on the extractor over night and after 24 hrs it wouldnt budge.. im surprised the pulley didnt break .. i hope it wasnt installed with locktite .. the rubber between the inner and outer rings of the pulley expands but the whole pulley wont slide off the crankshaft.. last week when we changed the t belt and w pump on my buddys 99 pathfidner, the pulley came off so easily with the auto zone tool in 30 seconds .. anyways, to prevent potential damage to the crankshaft/crank pulley, i put it all back together with only 1 new part.. the new thermostat and its running great again .. sanded off the rough chipped crank pulley edges and it looks like there is still some clearance for the drive belts so looks like the chipping wont cut the belts so soon.. except im so PISSED off that i could see the t belt and water pump in front of my eyes and couldnt get to change it .. worked 10-15 hrs to take it apart and put it all back together and didnt even get to do the t belt change .. is there another method of removing a stubborn harmonic balancer ( crank pulley) ? is there a special tool NISSAN makes like other manufacturers to remove the harmonic balancer ?? any suggestions and tips will be greatly appreciated.. thanks for the input in advance .. HELP !! also, how do u torque the crank bolt to the recommended 150 or 175 lb / square inch .. ??? Edited August 22, 2005 by IndianRider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 Tried a harmonic balancer puller? Looks something like a steering wheel puller... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisnc100 Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 (edited) Mine came off fairly easily with a harmonic balancer puller, just had to find the right size bolts to fit into the face of the pulley. Always heard jaw pullers will chip or bend the pulley. Here's the one I have: Sears Puller Then just had to buy 2 long M6 bolts. Edited August 22, 2005 by lewisnc100 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndianRider Posted August 22, 2005 Author Share Posted August 22, 2005 (edited) no i didnt rent the harmonic balancer puller coz i thought mine had only "1" hole in the pulley .. so the pulley has "2" threaded holes for the harmonic puller ?? how could i miss that ?? thats why i rented the 3 jaw pulley puller as it worked for my buddys pathfinder last week.. lemme go check .. so ill try it again with the harmonic balancer puller this weekend .. and since im not risking the old balancer with chipped edges i just called nissan and found out the new balancer is $215 .. feel like an idiot ... :furious: Edited August 22, 2005 by IndianRider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndianRider Posted August 22, 2005 Author Share Posted August 22, 2005 (edited) ur right guys .. just checked the harmonic balancer.. it has "2" small threaded holes to place the screws and use the puller .. the 2nd hole was kinda covered by rust but if i spent 30 extra seconds to locate more carefully, i would have been good to go without all this drama, but im ready to learn from my negligence.. thanks and im looking forward to changing the tb / wp this weekend .. am also definitely going to get a new harmonic balancer, coz a buddy told me if the rubber inbetween the balancer moved (pried out) out more than 1/2 inch when i was trying to extract it with a 3 jaw puller, its "crankshaft vibration" absorbing/balancing properties are screwed and a pulley rotating even with a slight "wobble" will definitely hurt the crankshaft in the long run .. so lewisinc100 ..did urs go tb/wp replacement go smoothly ?? also how did u guys torque the crank bolt ?? doesnt the whole crank turn after u get the bolt in tight .. ? i have an auto tranny ..so putting it in gear might not lock the crank from turning . . Edited August 22, 2005 by IndianRider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPath88 Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 *Cringles and bites tongue* Just had this same problem. Ruined one harmonic balancer pulley and the results were not pretty! But I am sure the reasons will not turn out the same Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dernt Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 (edited) Mine came off relatively easy with a harmonic balancer puller and two 6 x 60 mm bolts. I just posted a heads up over at AC about those bolts maybe a month ago. Too bad you missed that. I used an impact wrench to replace the crank bolt. I don't know what the torque spec on that bolt is, but maybe you can install one of the old drive belts, wedge a tool in it to keep it from turing and get enough torque. Then remove the old belt and put on a new one. That's not really my first choice for holding the motor from turning, but short of pulling the starter, I can't think of anything else. Maybe someone has a trick out there. Edited August 23, 2005 by dernt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndianRider Posted August 23, 2005 Author Share Posted August 23, 2005 *Cringles and bites tongue*Just had this same problem. Ruined one harmonic balancer pulley and the results were not pretty! But I am sure the reasons will not turn out the same so were u able to get the harmonic balancer out easily with the harmonic balancer puller? what happened ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisnc100 Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 My replacement went very smoothly, but I also used an impact wrench on the crank bolt so I didn't have to worry about it turning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 To keep the engine from turning, you can either remove the starter and jam a screwdriver into the flywheel to prevent it from turning, or try the old "stuff a long thin piece of rag into the #1 spark plug hole until the motor doesn't turn over anymore, then remove it" trick... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndianRider Posted August 23, 2005 Author Share Posted August 23, 2005 thanks for the input guys .. just got the h.balancer from nissan.. will get the job done this weekend .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dernt Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 or try the old "stuff a long thin piece of rag into the #1 spark plug hole until the motor doesn't turn over anymore, then remove it" trick... but if you are at or near TDC because you are changing the timing belt, wouldn't you want to choose a cylinder that is at the beginning of its compression stroke rather than at the end such as #1 would be at TDC. I've never tried this rag method, but if you do it at TDC in #1, seems you would have to crank a full rotation before you could stop the crank from turning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPath88 Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 (edited) so were u able to get the harmonic balancer out easily with the harmonic balancer puller? what happened ? I was able to get the crankshaft pulley off, but by no means was it easy It was a royal PITA in fact, as mentioned I ruined one of the two pullers that I had. Although the cause of it is as of yet, undetermined. You can read my thread "Path's not well" for more information about my problem. Again, it should be a safe bet that your problem os not like mine. EDIT:Now that you have a proper puller, it should come off easily. This is the first time I have seen something like this. Perhaps it just started weak key's and progressed from there Scott Edited August 24, 2005 by RedPath88 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndianRider Posted August 26, 2005 Author Share Posted August 26, 2005 ok guys, got everything out of the way and packed up for the night..will work on the stubborn h.balancer tomorrow.. i bought a harmonic balancer puller from NAPA .. couldnt get any M6 60mm ( 1.0 thread) screws anywhere .. so i just got 2 screws that fit the threaded holes in the harmonic balancer .. i test-screwed them on the NEW harmonic balancer and they fit .. the threaded holes in the old h. balancer are rusted bad and the screws barely screw in, so i sprayed a rust remover and am going to let it work over night .. might need to get a wire brush and clean up the holes with a rotary tool .. got 2 questions .. ive never replaced seals before.. 1st question: are the crankshaft and camshaft seals easy to get off ?? dont have a seal puller so would a small screwdriver be good ? 2nd question ? how much do u drive in the cam shaft seals ?? all the way in ?? do BOTH the right and left cam seals need to driven in the same amount ? as for the crank seal do i drive it until it stops going in ?? just needed some tips ..and i JUST FREAKING hope the stubborn old harmonic balancer will come off tomorrow with the puller .. thanks in advance .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snosnk Posted August 26, 2005 Share Posted August 26, 2005 when i did my '96, i had a problem like this. The puller i had woulnt reach the end of the crank. I had to put the bolt part way back in to give the puller something to push against. Just a thought Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndianRider Posted August 27, 2005 Author Share Posted August 27, 2005 (edited) UPDATE: WISH i had a digital cam to compose a detailed T.belt replacement write up but i dont // good news ! got the harmonic balancer off with the h.balancer puller ..took me a while and a lot of pressure but it finally gave in .. noticed some sealant kind of stuff on the crank and the inner hub of the crank pulley ( must be lock tite ???) .. am happy i got that SOB out of the way .. noticed the white lines on the timing belt were one tooth off , but all the marks on the cams and crank matched up with the marks on the rear timing belt cover and the block so thats nothing to worry about .. got both the cam sprockets off .. there was a LOT of grime build up and leak from the Passenger side camshaft seal ... my water pump used to leak a little on and off, and the weep holes at the bottom of the water pump were wet with coolant .. got the WP out of the way .. the timing belt looked in great shape for 110 k miles but was a bit greasy at the outer edges .. also looked like there was a little bit of coolant from the water pump leak .. looks like this was the perfect time for this service.. am going to take my time and work on the camshaft seals first thing in the morning .. then attack the crank seal .. and put all the new parts back together .. thanks for all the tips .. Edited August 27, 2005 by IndianRider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndianRider Posted August 30, 2005 Author Share Posted August 30, 2005 hey all .. finally got it all done saturday .. had a scare when the tranny didnt want to engage immediately .. found out when i changed the tranny filter, and refilled the fluid, i was 1 1/2 quart too low ..shifts smooth as silk now .. so remember after replacing tranny fluid, run it for a while and keep checking the fluid after warming the pathy up .. check level for the next 2 days to be on the safe side.. thanks for all the tips.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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