Harmonic Balance Bolt BROKE!!!

[88t]

Hey guys,

I used the starter method to get the harmonic balancer bolt off and guess what, it broke, lol. so, my question is has anyone experenced this before? Whats the best possible outcome? tips, tricks, tools needed to extract that bolt?

 

[IBoughtASupra]

Drill a hole in the crank and then get a stud extractor and use it.

You can also get someone who has a welder to weld the bolt back on. Gas or tig welding will be best there. Then soak the bolt with WD-40 and try to get it loose with the car in gear and a 1/2 breaker bar.

 

[GrimJack]

Yes, we've seen this before. It's no fun getting that out without pulling the crank, but it can be done.

Problem is, that bolt is hardened steel, so drilling it isn't going to be fun. And chances are it's going to be stuck in there good enough to break any extractor you try. Some good thread penetrating oil is highly recommended, and let it sit for a day or two, you might get lucky.

Worst case, you can have a snout machined that fit precisely over the end of the crank, with exactly the right size hole in the center, use that as a guide to drill out the bolt. That's what we used when Duane's engine decided to weld the stock damper to the end of the crank... it took forever, but it worked.

 

[88t]

Thanks for the replys. I didnt think that bolt was hardened steel, that makes it even more difficult! Im wondering if i can heat it up with my propane torch? Would it hurt anything? I sprayed it with penetrating oil and its been on it for about 11 hrs or so.

GrimJack- Do you still have that tool that i can borrow?

 

[radiod]

Heating the bolt would make it more difficult to come out. Heat makes things expand and the bolt is INSIDE what you're trying to extract from. Typically you'd want to head the outside of what you're trying to get the bolt out of to make that expand a bit, and then thus easier to thread out. I wouldn't be heading the crank up to those temperatures though....just seems like a bad idea to me. Someone else can chime in if it's not a problem.

 

[sous]

weld a nut at the end of the bolt its the best

 

[GrimJack]

GrimJack- Do you still have that tool that i can borrow?

I didn't have it to begin with... that was Duane's car, and the tool came from a friend of his that works in a machine shop. I suspect that borrowing it for a weekend is significantly easier than shipping it internationally!

 

[88t]

ok guys i got the damn thing out! after breaking 4 ratchets, buying a extractor set (which didnt work) i ended up having a stud extractor that fit. I hooked it up with my 4 foot breaker bar with my wife holding the brakes and it came out! I did heat it up for about 30 mins with my little propane torch.

Threads were all mauled, so with that said, anyone know what size tap i need for the crank shaft?

thanks for everything guys!

 

[88t]

heres my extractor with my bolt

 

[CyFi6]

Wow nice job! Didn't think this one was coming out...

 

[suprarich]

Better change your front crank seal after using heat on the crank.

 

[88t]

Better change your front crank seal after using heat on the crank.

That was the purpose of the job, that and the oil pump drive shaft seal.

 

[suprarich]

Ahh yes, fun job! But my post was halfway aimed at others who would read this thread and may not have the goal of changing seals, but to just remove the pulley. Then would find a horrid leak later from a half melted front seal.