Puller on Harmonic balancer!! Please help

[benl1981]

Ok - I have undone the centre bolt (wasnt that hard). But now I have to remove the harmonic balancer. I have loosened the bolt about 75mm or so and fitted the puller. It requires a fair bit of effort when doing up the centre bolt on the puller. Is this normal - I really don't want to break the harmonice balancer!!

Any ideas?? Is this normal...should I keep going or should it not be this hard to screw up the puller bolt..

[wrxhoon]

They can be very tight . You dont need to undo the big bolt more than 10-20mm . Are you sure you undid it 75 mm .

At worse the little 6mm bolts will snap not the pulley .

[Duncan]

yeah looks like you are on the right track just take it nice and slow and smooth to keep the bolts and balancer treads in one piece

[benl1981]

Why it was so tough was because the puller from supercheap auto is supercrap . I havent really used the tool before but when doing it by hand the thread didn't feel good. Turns out the more you screw it in the worse it gets.

Borrowing a friends tomorrow., The pulley is almost off. I don't think I meant 75mm..maybe 7.5mm or a bit more. Sorry.

Thanks for the help!

[wrxhoon]

The puller you have there should do the job . If you have a heat gun heat it up a little while you have tension on and it should come .

[benl1981]

The thread inside is buggered. I took it off and put it in a vice to try and undo it. You could feel the heat from the cutting of the thread!!

[wrxhoon]

Did you get the pulley off ? You must have a realy cheap gear puller !!

Where in Sydney are you ?

[benl1981]

I think I paid $25. I'm at work now. Borrowed one from a friend today so will try it tonight. This one seems a lot better, atleast the thread isn't stripped...The pulley is almost off anyway

I'm on the northern beaches. How hard is it to put the pulley back on. Do you have to tap itwith a hammer with a bit of wood over it or something?

[wrxhoon]

If the pulley is almost off as you say ( if it moved a little you should be able to pull it off by hand ) . its off .

When you are ready to put it back you just sit it there and do the big bolt back on .

If its rb 26 you will need heaps of torque ( 446-544 ntm ) rb20 + rb25 142-152 .

I'm a little to far otherwise i would give you a hand to pull it off and put it back on .

Do you have a workshop manual ? If you dont make sure you know how to time the belt and ajust the timing belt tension !!

[benl1981]

Thanks mate for the offer. Yes northern beaces is far from most. I tried to pull it off by hand the rest of the way but still needs a bit of pulling

[wrxhoon]

Did you pull the big bolt out ? if not its not going to come out . You only use the gear puller to pull a few mm then it should just come out but after it cracks loose you must pull the big bolt out !

Yea i'm in the hills area.

[benl1981]

I loosened the bolt several turns then I put the puller on so that the centre bolt on the puller is pushing against the harmonic balancer big bolt that has been loosened. The crank pulley has moved about 10-15mm or so outwards but still it is not that loose that you can just pull it off with your hands.

I think I pulled the big bolt out and then tried to pull it off, but it didnt work. I know that the pulley is not hard up against the bolt anyway. I know to loosen the bolt as the pulley starts to come off..

[wrxhoon]

Usualy they just come off once they come out that far , just pull the big bolt out and woble it off .

[Duncan]

Usualy they just come off once they come out that far , just pull the big bolt out and woble it off .

yeah...normally, but mine was a real pain last time I had to pull it off too, had to wind it out a fair way with the puller....

[benl1981]

Hi,

Thanks for the advice, got it off easy with the new puller. Before I was fighting the cross thread. The rubber bit on the balancer looks slightly cracked. I guess this is maybe normal...hard to see in the photos. I didn't wind the 6mm bolts in too far I don't think - only about 5-7mm

The bearings seem a bit worn. The idler bearing makes a bit of noise (No play though) and the tensioner bearing has a little movement but no noise. I'm going to replace both. The idler doesn't make noise when it is new does it?

However the waterpump has no play at all feels like new. Feels tight, no signs of leaks. I'm wondering if anyone can tell if has been replaced from the photos. It has a little W22 on the front of it On the right hand side (when looking from the front)

Thanks for the help everyone!

[wrxhoon]

Very hard to tell anything from pics , as a rule i replace both the tensioner and idler bearings ( i press them out and replace just bearings when possible , or if its very expensive to buy a complete assembly ) .

The bearings should be quiet , if noisy replace . Check the bolt that holds the tensioner as well , if unsure replace cause they are known to break if overtighten , make sure you do it with a torque wrench . I would check the cam and crank seals as well , replace if the slightest sign of oil leak or sippage , they are very cheap .

Water pumps , i usualy replace unless it looks like new , hard to tell form the pic .

[benl1981]

Thanks mate. Yes I am definately doing the 2 bearings - under $100 for the 2 assmeblies so I'm not going to bother pressing out old ones etc.

I can not see any oil around the cams and crank seals. I can't seem to slip the bottom timing gear off though. It won't come over the key. They key doesn't want to come out either, maybe I need to lever with screwdriver but being careful also. I don't reallu y need to take it off - I was just going to have a look at the seal if its behind there.

Water pump - not sure if new - but no play at all, feels like a new one. If they are like this do they usually last another 80-100k?

[wrxhoon]

You wont see any oil around the seals if you do it would pour out and run on the ground .

If they dont leak they should be dry and maybe some dirt caked on .

Same with the crank seal , up to you if you want to replace them or not , just remember to replace crank seal you will have to do the same amount of work as you are doing now . Cam seals i can replace very easy with just taking the top cover off and the cam gears .

Water pump is very easy to but you can only judge how old it is , from the pic it looks old but i cant tell . no one can tell how long a water pump will last , you may put it back and a couple weeks down the track starts leaking .

To remove the crank gear you only havr to take the outer keyway out not the inner but you may need a gear puller ( 3 claw ). Dont be temtwd to hit with a hammer you will break the teeth .

[Cubes]

CAPS BECAUSE IT IS VERY IMPORTANT.

REPLACE THE IDLER AND TENSIONER BOLT/STUDS.

ALSO TORQUE IT UP TO SPECS WHEN REPLACING THE TENSIONER/IDLERS.

The Studs are worth stuff all. If they break you will be replacing a motor, it is common for them to break. Especially if they are done up by the old' Yep that feels tight enough'.

Grab a torque wrench.

Also while your there spend the little extra and grab your self a R32 GTR N1 water pump, if they are out of your budget pick up a VL Commodore Aftermarket waterpump for around $75-$80.

ALWAYS replace the water pump, the bearings will be fine, generally thats not what goes on them, there is a little hole above and or below the shaft, that generally leaks due to corrosion before the bearings crap them selves.

[benl1981]

Where do you get the studs and bolts? How easy does the stud come out in order to replace?

The stud that has the supports one end of the spring would be ok right? Just the one that you mount the tensioner on is worth replacing?

There is no sign of weeping at all. But you think it is worth replacing it anyway?