Crank Pulley Bolt is stuck!

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bcman

Senior Member
I'm working on replacing the timing belt on my D16Z6 and I'm stuck on step 1: remove the crank pulley bolt. I borrowed a friend's air compressor and 3/8" impact wrench, that couldn't do it. Tried a propane blowtorch, tried penetrating oil, nothing. Took it to Big O, they couldn't get it off with any of their 3 impact wrenches. Is there something I'm doing wrong? Is there a chance this thing is left-hand thread? I've seen a youtube video where a guy heats the bolt with an acetylene torch - he says propane isn't hot enough. Anyone think this is a good/bad idea?
 
might destroy the oil pump seal..
but ive had problems..take the starter of..jam something in the flywheel teeth..get a big breaker bar and a heavy duty socket and have a strong person pry on it..
 
When I took mine off it took a 1000 lb impact wrench. My friend took it into his shop and tried three other wrenches before he used the biggest one they had.
 
If the crank hole is hexagon shaped like mine....there is a special tool you can buy for around $20-30or you can buy a $3 bolt big enough to fit the opening and a good size pipe wrench. You can hold the crank still like this and then have a friend get on that bolt with a socket and breaker bar. Socket will go through that big bolt's hole. It will come off.
 
If the crank hole is hexagon shaped like mine....there is a special tool you can buy for around $20-30or you can buy a $3 bolt big enough to fit the opening and a good size pipe wrench. You can hold the crank still like this and then have a friend get on that bolt with a socket and breaker bar. Socket will go through that big bolt's hole. It will come off.
I tried that with mine and it was on there too tight. It might work for you though.
 
Well we are both 200+ pound guys getting on that bitch. I was pissed off when a 80lb 1/2" impact didn't touch it.....then going out to buy the 'special' tool (to find out it was for older Hondas an was a size smaller) and finally buying a $3 nut that I ground down on a table grinder to fit in the crank case perfectly. It came off pretty easy b/c I was DONE and pissed off by then. That bolt was my Bitch!!

Edit OP You live pretty close to me. If you want PM me and let me know if your crank is shaped like mine and I will let you borrow my bolt (all you'll need is a big wrench or a big boy adj pipe wrench)
 
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okay i know you have the d16z6 but i see so many hondas i cant recall engine families and there parts. i'm a dealer certified tech and we go by year,make and model. sometimes vin number too. now that pulley might have that hex shape in the opening on the pulley around the pulley bolt and i'd bet it does. youre going to need that pulley socket whish is a special tool. autozone may have one you can rent for free or you may have to buy one from a tool truck like mac tools or matco like i did. for the bolt i have a 1/2 inch impact wrench made by mac tools. it puts out 625 ft. lbs of torque in reverse and it has never gotten beat by those crank bolts. now if you dont have a cool impact like mine you cango to my old primitive method. you will still need the special pulley socket though. put that pulley socket on a 1/2 inch breaker bar and turn the engine counter clockwise causing the breaker bar to jamb up in the bottom of the car. it usually does so against the lower control arm. now get your 19mm 6-point deep well impact socket (usually black in color) and put it on a 12 inch or 10 inch 1/2 inch extension. now put another extension an that extension that is equall in length. now put on your 1/2 inch breaker bar. you will now need a jackstand to place under the extension near the breaker bar connection. point the breaker bar handle toward the front of the car about the 10 o-clock position from the pulley bolt. now get some jack handles or another steel pipe to be used as a cheater bar on the breaker bar handle. the longer you get the pipe the more force you can apply to the bolt. the jackstand will give you leverage on the extension. you should hear a loud "SNAP" when the bolt breaks loose. good luck
 
guys i know this thread is almost a month old, but i have to put this out there, they is a helluva lot easier way to break that bolt loose with no $ spent, using a 3ft breaker bar and 18mm heavy duty socket. just put the socket and breaker bar on the crank bolt, and adjust it til it rests against the car or the ground, then take out all the spark plug wires from their places and lay them aside, not removing them from the dizzy. then simply get in the car and hit the key, rotating the motor and breaking loose the crank bolt! i found this pretty easy after 6 long hours of trying with a a/c and wimpy impact gun. bolt broke loose in 3 seconds, no harm no foul lol good luck
 
It's true, it worked. I did have to heat it up, though. I had my ~200-lb boss standing on the end of a 4-foot cheater bar, and it wouldn't budge. Heated it to a dull red glow with an acetylene torch, and then it moved.
 
Long-term follow up:

Several months ago, I noticed I was losing power steering, and low battery light came on. I opened the hood and tightened up the accessory belts and continued driving, only to hear nasty noises a few miles later. I looked again, and the crank pulley was waay loose. The crank pulley bolt had slowly backed out sometime in the last two years. However, I was unable to tighten or loosen it on the side of the road, so I drove it to my mechanic. He pulled it apart, and found that the rattling pulley had chipped the edge of the keyway in the crankshaft. A new pulley, new key, some JB weld, and 24 hours later, I was back on the road, but that's the last time that engine gets opened up from that side.

If you have to go through what I did to get that bolt off, the bolt is cursed. throw it away and buy a new one from the dealer!
 
i had that bolt back out a few times in my mirage, ended up eating the threads in the crankshaft, ultimately it was the demise of my strong, 345K motor :(
 
I usually throw a dab of thread locker on those bolts any time i have them off...
 
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