Harmonic Balancer Bolt - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

TruBlu351 · 10-21-2004, 09:26

could somebody please tell me if the bolt comes off in the normal anti-clockwise direction. Been a while and I don't fancy sitting here for and hour making it tighter!

mach1mike · 10-21-2004, 10:19

Yep its a normal right hand thread (undo anti-clockwise) use a puller to remove the harmonic balancer but don't pull it from the outer edge as this will damage the bond with the rubber damper.
I had to use an airwrench to undo mine last week as it was mega tight

silicon · 10-21-2004, 15:24

A good trick to get a very tight crank / balacncer out is to put socket and breaker bar on it and sit it against chassis. A piece of pipe can be used if needed over the breaker bar.
Make sure if doesn't want to fall off and then crank over the motor a little with the starter motor. It works a charm.

TTNOS8 · 10-21-2004, 15:46

silicon,
that does work but not a very good idea.

TruBlu351,
Yes it is right hand thread. You know how to get them off. Also just remeber when using the puller to leave the balancer bolt in the crank but loose.

This saves the thread in the crank and also the balancer won't come flying off in a hurry.

A rattle gun/air ratchet is also not the best way off doing it as a tight thread, binding thread, etc will be torn off.

One of the best ways I've found is put the car in gear and undo with a breaker bar.

Hope this helps

JG33PY · 10-21-2004, 17:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by TTNOS8

silicon,
that does work but not a very good idea.

TruBlu351,
Yes it is right hand thread. You know how to get them off. Also just remeber when using the puller to leave the balancer bolt in the crank but loose.

This saves the thread in the crank and also the balancer won't come flying off in a hurry.

A rattle gun/air ratchet is also not the best way off doing it as a tight thread, binding thread, etc will be torn off.

One of the best ways I've found is put the car in gear and undo with a breaker bar.

Hope this helps

i had the same prob a couple of weeks back. in gear, hand brake on and a 2 foot length of pipe, still couldn't move it. got the breaker bar with some rubber hose over the end and put it hard up against the water pump housing. bumped the starter motor 3 or 4 times with the rotor removed and loosened the bolt enough to get the ratchet on it. too easy.

TTNOS8 · 10-21-2004, 17:47

Another little tip, hit the head of the bolt with a hammer before trying to undo with a hammer to shock it.

Bursons, Repco, etc also sell a tool for the job now which we use here in the workshop a lot. Its around $100 and requires no removal of anything, and just uses a hammer to strike the end of the bar and its undone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nak302

i had the same prob a couple of weeks back. in gear, hand brake on and a 2 foot length of pipe, still couldn't move it. got the breaker bar with some rubber hose over the end and put it hard up against the water pump housing. bumped the starter motor 3 or 4 times with the rotor removed and loosened the bolt enough to get the ratchet on it. too easy.

I'm not saying it doesn't work, obviously it does, I've even done it myself. Just not a good habit to fall into at all. Have seen and heard of big mishaps from trying to do it this way.

Another way which puts less strain on the starter, flexplate/flywheel, crank, etc is too remove the 4-bolts that hold the front crank pulley on, put 2 or 3 or all the bolts back in and lever with a bar while undoing the crank bolt.

p.s. The Breaker bars I was talking about are 3 foot long plus the 3 foot piece of pipe I use.

silicon · 10-21-2004, 19:00

I agree it is not the best practice; but when all else fails it always works. It does have a danger factor attached as with most things.

JG33PY · 10-21-2004, 19:21

i don't see how there would be any problems doing it with the starter. you only need to shock the bolt to loosen it a bit. not as if your going to sit there winding the whole thing off (oops hadn't thought of the dick head factor

)

TruBlu351 · 10-21-2004, 19:53

Thanks guys.

I used the starter and breaker bar trick a few years back on an old car.........balancer bolt 1, breaker bar 0. Bent it into the letter C...........dodgy taiwanese tools!

New breaker bar, 4 foot of pipe, me hanging off it and 8 weetbix did the trick

TTNOS8 · 10-21-2004, 20:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by TruBlu351

Thanks guys.

I used the starter and breaker bar trick a few years back on an old car.........balancer bolt 1, breaker bar 0. Bent it into the letter C...........dodgy taiwanese tools!

New breaker bar, 4 foot of pipe, me hanging off it and 8 weetbix did the trick

Thats just because you loosened it the first time! lol

Quote:

i don't see how there would be any problems doing it with the starter. you only need to shock the bolt to loosen it a bit. not as if your going to sit there winding the whole thing off (oops hadn't thought of the dick head factor )

If you've got no problems with it, then just keep on doing it that way