help - removing crankshaft pulley w123

[pacco]

OK so I've bit the bullet following a blown head gasket and decided this is as good a time as any to strip the engine and give it an overhaul.

Brave as never done anything like this before. First problem - how do I remove the crankshaft pulley so I can remove the front of the block and reveal the timaing chain etc.

I don't want to go at this without insight so any help gratefully received.

 

[george shand]

Best advice I can give is ,buy or borrow a workshop manual for your particular car, find out what is involved in the the job you are contemplating .
Then if you have a suitable garage ,all the necessary tools and the skill to do the job, proceed with caution and good luck !

 

[SNAP ON]

OK so I've bit the bullet following a blown head gasket and decided this is as good a time as any to strip the engine and give it an overhaul.

Brave as never done anything like this before. First problem - how do I remove the crankshaft pulley so I can remove the front of the block and reveal the timaing chain etc.

I don't want to go at this without insight so any help gratefully received.

Well the best advice i could give you is dont attempt it,if you cant get the crankshaft pulley off there is a lot worse jobs to follow..

 

[paulcallender]

OK so I've bit the bullet following a blown head gasket and decided this is as good a time as any to strip the engine and give it an overhaul.

Brave as never done anything like this before. First problem - how do I remove the crankshaft pulley so I can remove the front of the block and reveal the timaing chain etc.

I don't want to go at this without insight so any help gratefully received.

You unhelpful bunch of old so and so's!!!! The guy is just asking for some help on a specific item, which its obvious you haven't done and don't know about!!!!!!

Hopefully the picture shows the item you are referring to. Its from my old W123 which was a spare parts donor, hence the missing parts, etc. As far as I'm aware, you don't need to remove this part for a head gasket change, but obviously you would for the full engine strip.

I think you need to remove this pulley to remove the engine from the car without having to cut away (o bend out the way) bodywork. It is secured with 6x female hex head bolts. I used an impact driver, but I chiselled off one of the front crossmembers, so I could get a decent swing on the hammer. One of them was stubborn, its head had rounded and wouldn't come off, so I had to grind the bolt head off in the end. Once it was ground off and I could remove the pulley, it was possible to unscrew the remainder of the bolt, by fingers. I guess the grinding process 'shook' it loose.

So, the tip here is to clean the bolt head thoroughly, make sure the tool fits and use an impact driver to initially loosen it. If not, be prepared to grind it off.

 

[996jimbo]

I had a similar problem of stuck bottom pulley bolts on a Fiat - one Allen bolt rounded. I drilled the head off (similar in effect to grinding off but didn't have a grinder). The thread bit is easy to unscrew once the bolt heads off as there is no longer any tension on the thread.

Just for info.

Good luck!

 

[george shand]

Paul,
I may be old but not without experience, and i don't think this is the sort of job anyone should contemplate without a workshop manual or a lot of experience working on engines. Pacco says he has not done anything like this before.

 

[george shand]

Don't know,have taken off lots of crank pulleys and couldn't tell you what size the bolts were on them either,just found the socket that fitted.That's not the point .
Maybe Pacco could tell us what stage he is at with the job .

 

[SNAP ON]

I've no desire to argue here. I am just offering model-specific help to Pacco, if he needs it. I can't really judge how competant he is, however, I'm all for someone without much skill, getting "stuck in" on an older/cheaper car and learning, cos its fun to learn how to dabble with the oily bits of a car. I'm sure once he has done the job and has a working car, he'll know 10 times more than he did at the outset!

I agree with you and would give the chap all the advice i knew,but it is a big job to undertake with no previous experiance.

Would he not be better to remove the large bolt that holds the complete pulley on.

 

[Impaler]

In some engines you can use a socket and a long wrench. You place the wrench on the floor and give it a flick on the starter motor. Since the engine turns clockwise (when facing it) the nut is undone.

 

[paulcallender]

I've not heard that one before! To undo the crankshaft nut, the usual method is to use a flywheel locking tool, then a socket on a long bar. Torque setting is 400-450 ft lbs.

 

[clive williams]

Paul,

I shouldn't use that engine if I was you the fan belts snapped!!!!

Seriously though, how the hell can you do any rebuild without a workshop manual????? You need to know the torque settings for all the bolts at least. Mind you I know one or two supposed mechanics who do it without any manuals (there's a joke in there somewhere)

If Pacco's going to do it by taking the pulley nut off then he will have to stop the engine turning by say locking up the flywheel. I use a beefy extra large screwdriver through the starter motor hole in the bell housing, locking one of the teeth.

Clive

500E
320CDIT210

 

[Impaler]

I've not heard that one before! To undo the crankshaft nut, the usual method is to use a flywheel locking tool, then a socket on a long bar. Torque setting is 400-450 ft lbs.

I've never tried it but I've been told it works.

 

[tom7035]

Yes, this is an old dodge, very effective it used to be!

 

[190D]

OK so I've bit the bullet following a blown head gasket and decided this is as good a time as any to strip the engine and give it an overhaul.

Brave as never done anything like this before. First problem - how do I remove the crankshaft pulley so I can remove the front of the block and reveal the timaing chain etc.

I don't want to go at this without insight so any help gratefully received.

If you have a problem removing the crankshaft pulley then stop right there because the job will only get worse for now on. Get someone to do the job for you. Do you know what you will be looking for once you have stripped the engine down?

 

[tom7035]

Engine 'overhaul' by a novice?

I'm sorry to say it but even many modern-day workshop 'technicians' would be very hard pushed to even strip and rebuild an engine correctly, let alone know how and what to 'overhaul'. It's all 'remove unit & refit replacement' and 'test by substitution' etc. these days.
This engine isn't the simplest to cut your teeth on so I tend to agree with 'SNAP ON', if you're struggling with removing a crankshaft pulley then er............ Replacement engine parts are not cheap so you could be on a very expensive learning curve.
However if you do go ahead good luck and I hope you make us eat our words! I'm sure our members will be prepared to help with any problems.

 

[No Good Mechanic]

Crankshaft Pulley Removal

OK so I've bit the bullet following a blown head gasket and decided this is as good a time as any to strip the engine and give it an overhaul.

Brave as never done anything like this before. First problem - how do I remove the crankshaft pulley so I can remove the front of the block and reveal the timaing chain etc.

I don't want to go at this without insight so any help gratefully received.

Crankshaft 6 BOLT Removal:

I am doing mine right now, 1981 280ce, I used a 27mm socket and pry bar. To remove the 6 bolt that holds the pulleys for the accessories, use a 10mm socket and place the 27 mm on the large bolt with the pry bar, let it go against the ground then start lo6sening the 6 bolts.

CRANKSHAFT BOLT Removal:

u need to make a "crankshaft bolt remover tool or holder, get a 4" x 20" x 1/4" thick metal, drill a large hole that will fit the 27 mm socket to pass thru, now, then drill 6 holes, follow the pattern of the 6 bolts from the pulley,

NOTE: buy 6 bolt from the hardware store, never use the original ones, It' about 45 cents each, if you use the original ones and mess it up, that is expensive. the pattern is metric i think its a m10 x 1.25 or m10 x 1.50.

place the metal plate, screw in the 6 bolts u bought, screw it tight make sure it is flushed with the pulley, then lay the other end of the plate against the ground,

use the tool u just made, bolt down the steel plate u made, let lay on the ground, insert the 27 mm socket using the pry bar, then loosen it.

MAKE SURE: u heat up the bolt by using a torch.

Now the fun part:

Removal of the Pulley that holds the crankshaft itself:

use a 3 jaw pulley 6" is way better, get a rounded steel that will insert from the 27mm bolt hole . the hole is deep about 2 inch and the end of the 3 jaw puller is not long enough it will hit the thread inside. use the rounded steel to press the screw from the 3 jaw puller.

to avoid from it moving around, hopefully at this stage u have not removed the heads or touched the cams, insert a screw driver thru the cam gears and let it go against the wall, this will stop the engine from turning while removing the the pulley.

hope these helps.

excuse the typo. lol

 

[whitenemesis]

Welcome to the forum.

Nice write-up, even if the thread is nearly 6 years old.