Removing Harmonic Balancer

[Meerkat]

Whats the best/easiest way to remove a harmonic blancer in a vp Commodore (automatic). and no i do not have a rattle gun.

[Matt_vp]

the easiest way i have found is to find out which way the pully rotates and put a large breaker bar with the right size socket on the bolt and put the other end on the ground (i think it is to the passanger side but best to check cause i havent done it in a couple of years and u could do some damage if it is on the wrong side) and crank the engine for a second. DONT LET IT START then use a pully puller to get the pully off.
MATT

[defa]

if you have a manual it is easy. put it in gear.. if you have an auto try jamning the pulley's some how. then hitting your breaker bar with a hammer to shock it.. i was told the other day that from new they have lock-tite on the thread.. if ya can't get it off go and borrow a rattle gun from someone..

[Doctor Bob]

try this
crankshaft bolt?

[immortality]

if you have a manual it is easy. put it in gear.. if you have an auto try jamning the pulley's some how. then hitting your breaker bar with a hammer to shock it.. i was told the other day that from new they have lock-tite on the thread.. if ya can't get it off go and borrow a rattle gun from someone..

they do have lock-tite em' on and the easiest way to break lock-tite is to heat it above 200degrees C. nice idea with the belt and A/c pulley but how good can it be to put that much load on that pulley. iwas thinking about this the other night, what if you took the main cable off the starter so that it can't run the starter but then energised the starter solenoid so that the pinion engadges the ringgear without turning over the motor. would this lock the motor enough to undo this stubborn bolt? i'd possibly suggest getting a lenght of wire and a spade connector and a switch wired direct to the battery so that you can hook the starter solenoid up and switch it from under the bonnet without needing someone to hold the key. i'd also suggest that you don't leave the solenoid energised to long otherwise you may burn it out maybe.

[Doctor Bob]

they do have lock-tite em' on and the easiest way to break lock-tite is to heat it above 200degrees C. nice idea with the belt and A/c pulley but how good can it be to put that much load on that pulley. iwas thinking about this the other night, what if you took the main cable off the starter so that it can't run the starter but then energised the starter solenoid so that the pinion engadges the ringgear without turning over the motor. would this lock the motor enough to undo this stubborn bolt? i'd possibly suggest getting a lenght of wire and a spade connector and a switch wired direct to the battery so that you can hook the starter solenoid up and switch it from under the bonnet without needing someone to hold the key. i'd also suggest that you don't leave the solenoid energised to long otherwise you may burn it out maybe.

i have been doing it this way since early production days, never had a problem.
i have had to repair heaps with damage from using the starter & not to mention the danger to anyone in the area if the breaker bar slips etc.
heating it is not an option unless you are planning to replace the balance & seal, & maybe the bolt if it is heated too much.
the starter wont hold it.
just do the belt wrap trick, it works every time

Rob

[holden#1]

i have been doing it this way since early production days, never had a problem.
i have had to repair heaps with damage from using the starter & not to mention the danger to anyone in the area if the breaker bar slips etc.
heating it is not an option unless you are planning to replace the balance & seal, & maybe the bolt if it is heated too much.
the starter wont hold it.
just do the belt wrap trick, it works every time

Rob

agreed! starter motor is dangerous to use in this fashion... I hurt myself badly doing this, to top it off, my starter motor wasn't powerful enough to crack it anyway!

[defa]

there is no way in hell i would be doing the starter idea

[Meerkat]

Ive removed the big 24mm bolt but whats the best wa to get the thing to slide off? is there a cheap way to do ti without buying the pulley?

[pandaman]

Ive removed the big 24mm bolt but whats the best wa to get the thing to slide off? is there a cheap way to do ti without buying the pulley?

I'd reccomend getting a puller from supercrap, they're not expensive and make the job easy. For future reference, the textbook way of removing the bolt is to remove the starter motor and the exhaust manifold on that side so you have room to work and jam the ring gear with a piece of flat metal. Makes it a piece of cake to remove the bolt, but putting the starter and exhaust manifold back on can be a fiddly bastard.

[Meerkat]

hmmmm are all pulleys the same? is it easy to buy the wrong one?

[pandaman]

hmmmm are all pulleys the same? is it easy to buy the wrong one?

There are different types, what you want is a harmonic balancer puller/gear puller, basically the idea is that there is a threaded rod that pushes up against the snout of the crank, There is a nut on the threaded rod which has two or more "claws" attached to it that hook behind the balancer. You turn the rod so that the nut moves towards the front of the vehicle pulling the claws tight against the balancer, keep going till it pulls the bugger off the crank, crappy mspaint picture is attached below. I attached a proper picture as well because I remembered that google is my friend.

You just need to make sure that the puller you get has a long enough rod so that the claws don't foul on the balancer lip before the end of the rod reaches the crank and the claws need to be big enough to fit around the balancer. So basically, look for a puller like in the pictures (preferrably a three claw though coz, they're more stable) but no midget tools mmkay.

Happy hunting bro.

[Lost_Pete]

Some hints and tips in this thread;

Harmonic Balancer Problems

[Meerkat]

How does it come off? my HB has slid off the crank about 1-2cm using the pulley but i cant get it to go anymore i have plenty of thread left on the pulley bolt and the claws arnt hitting the lip or the HB or anything wtf?

it just wont turn anymore?

[Lost_Pete]

How big is your puller bolt? The one I had was so large it fouled against the balancer hole. If that is the case then try;

Undo the crankshaft bolt about 10mm and fit the puller so it pulls on the outside of the harmonic balancer and the pulling bolt bears on the head of the crankshaft bolt.

Tighten the pulling bolt and pull the harmonic balancer off the shaft. You may have to undo the crankshaft bolt some more. Eventually remove the crankshaft bolt, washer and harmonic balancer.

regards
Pete

[Meerkat]

Yep i did that and it has come off. but now im worried the puller bolt may have threaded the crankshaft thread... it was in there pretty tight.... is my crank shaft thread ganna be ok? or is it ganna be screwed?

[Lost_Pete]

Cross your fingers and try screwing the bolt back in. (No doubt you have already tried this.)

[pandaman]

Yep i did that and it has come off. but now im worried the puller bolt may have threaded the crankshaft thread... it was in there pretty tight.... is my crank shaft thread ganna be ok? or is it ganna be screwed?

Even if the top of the thread is a little squashed, if you can get the bolt to bite it should straighten out the thread in the crank. (Here's hoping anyway)