Crank pulley bolt removal

[Jimbo]

I popped the head off the engine and my dumbass dropped a bolt down inside the lower timing belt cover in the process.
I know to get the bottom cover off you have to take the main pulley off, but with so much stuff taken off the engine and the timing belt just dangling, is it ok to just stick a 19mm socket with a breaker bar and crank it?
With so many connections removed, will it even crank?
Please help as I do not wanna get the engine back together and start it up with that bolt in there.

 

[OneJArpus]

Please help as I do not wanna get the engine back together and start it up with that bolt in there.

That would be stupid, use an impact gun, electric impact, or something of that nature to pop it off. or you can try to get a magnetic pickup tool to squeeze in there and fish it out.

 

[destrux]

It's not that stupid. Even though I torque my crank bolt to spec every time, the damn thing never comes out with the impact gun. I have a Snap-On 1/2" gun rated at 575ft-lbs running on a 100 gallon compressor with full 1/2"ID high flow disconnects. Bastard gets TIGHT somehow.

I stick a 3/4" drive breaker bar on the crank and turn it so that it's resting on the frame rail and have an assistant tap the starter (after the ECM fuse is pulled so it won't fire). Works every time, and I've yet to break anything doing this.

 

[S.A. supra]

I had my engine out and used a braker bar and a 4ft pipe. I used one hand to hold the engine and the other to push down on the pipe and it came right off. I was amazed because my torque wrench didn't do Jack!

 

[te72]

I would try the fish magnet first, THEN go about removing the covers if that's a no-go. If you start your engine without taking that bolt out, knowing full-well that it is in there, you deserve the consequences.

 

[Dan_Gyoba]

The starter is pretty much independant of the rest of the system, but if the engine is still in the car, is the transmission connected? If so, any decent clutch should be able to hold enough torque applied at the crank bolt. (I suppose this is moot if your car is an auto).

If the transmission is out, (Mine was) then a steel bar across a couple of flywheel bolts will hold it nicely.

Use a breaker bar, don't use a torque wrench to remove stuff.

If you're going to remove the lower timing cover, you should probably replace the front main seal and the timing belt while you're in there.

 

[MightyAl]

I would try the fish magnet first, THEN go about removing the covers if that's a no-go. If you start your engine without taking that bolt out, knowing full-well that it is in there, you deserve the consequences.

+1...Not too many places for a bolt to go in there. I would try to fish it out before disassembling the whole front half of the engine.

 

[Jimbo]

Yes the block is still in the car with the auto attached to it.
I tried a magnet but its one of those retractable ones and it kept getting pushed back in and attached to other metal parts before I managed to really feed it in there. Im going to try and cut the magnet off and fasten it to a sturdier rod.
I dont have an impact gun, and even then I dont think it would fit in there.
But if all else fails...
3/4 socket with the breaker bar resting on the ground and tap the starter??

 

[S.A. supra]

What about the timing belt?

 

[mkiiichip]

3/4 socket with the breaker bar resting on the ground and tap the starter??

With a bolt floating around in the lower cover? I wouldn't.
Then again I dont use the starter for that at all, but thats besides the point.

 

[S.A. supra]

That's what I was thinking. Chew up the belt. Or worst break something.

 

[Quin]

When I'm replacing the timing belt I always use the starter trick to break it loose. With a bolt in there, you're probably better off doing it by hand. Stick a bar or something into the teeth on the flywheel to hold the motor. The torque spec for that bolt is something like 195ft lbs... Good luck lol

 

[te72]

If you can't get to it with an impact, I would suggest the biggest breaker bar you can get your hands on, and utilize a pipe to gain leverage on the bolt. However, your engine is going to want to rotate... therefore you must be QUICK, and deliver enough torque on that bar, WITHOUT giving the motor a chance to spin. If need be, you *might* be able to begin spinning the motor clockwise, then hit the bar hard and fast.

Either way, what are you going to do to get the bolt back ON? Nobody has mentioned that yet... but while you're in there, might as well do the front main seal, and now would be a good time to update the timing belt if that is anywhere close to being due.

 

[Jimbo]

If you can't get to it with an impact, I would suggest the biggest breaker bar you can get your hands on, and utilize a pipe to gain leverage on the bolt. However, your engine is going to want to rotate... therefore you must be QUICK, and deliver enough torque on that bar, WITHOUT giving the motor a chance to spin. If need be, you *might* be able to begin spinning the motor clockwise, then hit the bar hard and fast.

Either way, what are you going to do to get the bolt back ON? Nobody has mentioned that yet... but while you're in there, might as well do the front main seal, and now would be a good time to update the timing belt if that is anywhere close to being due.

Word for word exactly what I was thinking the other day.
How do you guys torque that bolt back on when the engine spins?
Im going to try to fish it out again a different way but if I end up taking the cover off, Im definitely changing the belt and seal.

 

[Dan_Gyoba]

To torque the bolt you MUST prevent the engine from spinning.

For a manual transmission, this is pretty easy. Put it in gear (4th or 5th probably best) and set the e-brake.

For an auto, you'll need something else. A pry bar in the starter hole, or rope in a combustion chamber. (remove spark plug, rotate engine so that #1 is at BDC, feed in rope through the spark plug hole until there is more than can allow the engine to rotate to TDC.) And hey, this also works for getting the thing off. Go figure.

 

[ebondragon87]

Chain wrench and not a little one, like an 18-24 in one and a 1/2in breaker bar. I use a piece of and old timing belt in between the chain wrench and crank pulley so it doesn't damage the crank pulley. I've seen the starter trick put a breaker bar through a radiator.

 

[CATarga]

Just go buy a counter holding bar, or find someone to make you one. The bar will bolt to the pulley and all you to accsess the crank pulley bolt. You will need something like it to torque the pulley bolt when you put iot back together, so you might as well and buy it to take it off.

 

[te72]

I'll just leave this here...

http://flyinmiata.com/index.php?deptid=5681&parentid=0&stocknumber=35-61000 PRETTY

Not an exact fit obviously, but these guys think of everything.