Tightening The Crankshaft Bolt

[SECURITY]

so most of us know how to get the crankshaft bolt off (by levering a breaker bar and 'cranking' the ignition), but its getting it back on and tight that is a problem, especially those of us who do it at home without a rattle gun.

has anyone tried this;

my pics are crap but you kind of get the idea, the red part is a chain that you wrap around or bolt to the chassis to stop the crank from turning while you torque up the crank bolt.

has anyone tried it?

[zebra]

Put it in gear with the handbrake on

[phatlavish]

those little bolts are heaps small and will probably bend easy or sheer off, do like zebra^

[zebra]

Yeah 6mm bolts wont hold that force.

[blind_elk]

Put it in gear with the handbrake on

And BOTH feet on the brake pedal!

[SECURITY]

my car is an auto, it doesnt lock into gear unless there is pressure in the system (i.e. car is on).

[enilyks33r]

If you remove the 2 braces between the engine and gearbox the dustshield can be removed.

You now have access to the flexplate (flywheel).

Jam a large flatblade screwdriver into the ringear.

One side to undo the crankbolt, other side when tighening.

[Beer Baron]

most people find a way to stop the crank turning at the other end. jam a bar or screwdriver in the flywheel somewhere to stop it spinning. in your car maybe something jammed against the ring geear will stop it? your idea is sound but like the guys say the bolts may bend or break off.

[Beer Baron]

edit: d'oh. posted while I was posting. but yeah screwdriver in the ring gear is the usual method.

[The Dan]

ABW make a tool for this. It's called a Power Bar.

If you put your car in gear with the handbrake on and tighten it that way then you deserve what you get if you pop a gear. I've said it a million times before but one more for those that are new. I have seen it happen with my own eyes. Do it at your own risk. The powerbar can apply over 600ft/lb of torque to the bolt and it won't damage anything in the process.

I will happily lend it if it means I can save a transmission

[warps]

DO NOT USE A RATTLE GUN TO TIGHTEN A CRITICAL BOLT. EVER

Now I have your attention, do not use a rattle gun to tighten a critical bolt. Ever.

rattle guns are about the least accurate tightening tool there is. They have 2 settings: loose and overtight. Nothing in between.

They are great for undoing tight bolts, and are good for quickly nipping up bolts, but any bolt that matters should be final tightened by hand with a torque wrench or better.

As for stopping the crank from spinning, well that's pretty much been covered above.

[SECURITY]

thanks for that guys, ill try shoving something into the ring gear and see where that gets me.

[rob82]

I've never seen a clutch hold enough torque to do up the crank bolt - to factory spec anyway! Would highly advise locking the crank via removing the starter motor.

[The Dan]

thanks for that guys, ill try shoving something into the ring gear and see where that gets me.

Yeah locking ring gear is the other accepted method

[zebra]

I've never seen a clutch hold enough torque to do up the crank bolt - to factory spec anyway! Would highly advise locking the crank via removing the starter motor.

What clutches have you been using?

[Adriano]

The clutch may hold on an rb25, but the rb26 torque spec is double the rb25 spec.

[zebra]

Ahk yes this is true, completely forgot about that

[kyle785]

i used this method on my sisters supra (very tight balancer bolt) i made the bar up as its very similar to the oem removal tool just make sure you tighten the bar tight to the balancer havent tried it on the tho

[SECURITY]

I ended up using a stubby philips head screw driver in the ring gear which held up against the bracket. I got a 1.5m breaker bar and tightened it up till the bar was on a pretty ugly bend. She'll be right!

[r33_racer]

why not just use a torque wrench?