I recently replaced my worn harmonic dampener on my 351m. In the process i found a new, perhaps easier way to remove and replace it? This process does not require getting under the truck or locking the flywheel to stop engine rotation.

To remove the belt pulley, i put set of locking pliers on the edge of the largest pully outer edge. I used a rag to reduce the chance of gouging the pulley surfaces. (When installing the pulley i found a small flat piece of sheet metal worked just as good and also prevented surface gouging.)

I used a 3 foot piece of 1in diam gas pipe as a lever stop. One end of the pipe is placed under the locking pliers and the other end is secured on my concrete driveway. As I loosen each of the five pulley bolts the pulley tries to rotate counterclockwise. The locking pliers stop the pulley from rotating as it is stopped by the pipe wedged between it and the ground.

(When torquing the pulley back on, just put the locking pliers and the pipe stop on the right side of the motor, and torque as per the manual specs.)







Now the really cool part for me. I did not have a TDC stop tool and could not find one to borrow or rent locally. I found that by putting that 3 foot long gas pipe in front of the balancer that each end was resting on the truck frame. Then I found some grade 8 bolts that slid into some holes on the balancer. I did not thread the bolts, just slid them into the holes. The bolts need to be as big as possible to handle the torque, and long enough to extend over the gas pipe. **Be warned that these bolts will likely bend some during the untorquing and retorquing. Just throw them out when you're done. They only cost a few cents each anyway. (**please ignore the blown a/c hose in the pic below. it's on my to-do list.)





Here's a closer pic before untorquing the crank bolt. Notice the cheater pipe i've got on my 1/2inch ratchet. Also notice the location of the bolts, as the rotation will be counterclockwise to remove the crank bolt.




Another angle showing the pipe end resting on the truck frame.


After getting the crank bolt out i used the loaner dampener pulley tool to remove and replace the dampeners. No pics of that process to add to this.

When torquing the crank bolt back on, just put the pipe on the frame and this time put the grade 8 bolts on opposite sides of the pipe, as the rotation will want to be clockwise.

**Note; you may have to rotate the dampener/engine to get the dampener holes to line up for the grade 8 bolts to rest on the gas pipe.
***Note: do not use any outer holes on the dampener for the grade 8 bolts. The inner metal part is the sold metal piece that saw the torque force. The outer ring is sandwiched with the rubber dampener material.


I hope this helps someone else. It sure helped save me time and frustration. Feedback/questions/comments welcome.

 

I have used a "monkey wrench" to do this before. I call it a monkey wrench because it looks like a pipe wrench but adjusts like a crescent wrench and the head is 90 deg angle with no teeth to gouge the pulley. Works great!

 

I use an impact

 

I do too but when there is no air, what do you do?
Some vehicles dont have the room for even a 3/8" drive which even the strongest doesnt have the ***** top bust a nut.

 

yea, I always use an impact......for EVERYTHING I can!! Saves tons of time. But I used to do everything with hand tools. I would just put the ratchet on the crank bolt and strike with the biggest hammer I could find. I don't like taking alot of tools out, and complicating things...unless I absolutly have to, then I would do something like you have! haha

 

I always just reverse the spark plug wires so it will run backwards, then crank it up and put the impact on it to tighten it. Very tricky to not get your hand in the fan this way.

I usually use the impact, if there isn't room for one your idea will come in pretty handy next time.

 

thats why i have 3 compressors ive been wrenching for many years, and i dont think ive encountered one you cant get an impact on. you just usually have to lower or raise the engine a little.

 

There are tons of cars/trucks a impact wont even fit between the crank pulley and frame/crossmember/fan shroud/ radiator etc. etc. etc. Ive seen people destroy radiators using an air gun to break that bolt loose.

 

Ya, if i could have fit my impact gun and socket in that space i would have used it. There just wasn't room. And that's with the stock mechanical fan gone and a slimline electric in it's place.

 

maybe im just that good then out of the many cars and trucks ive worked on, i dont recall ever having a problem. sometimes a swivel is needed.

 

I work as a mechanic at a Toyota dealership, and some vehicles don`t have enough room to get my 1/2" air gun in to loosen the damper bolt, so I use my trusty Snap On 3' long chain wrench. It slips around the crank pulley, and has enough grip to hold the crank in position so a long breaker bar can be used to break the crank bolt free. On some of the older V8 Tundra & Tacoma, and 4 runners, as well as some V6`s, there isn`t enough room to get a gun in there with the radiator in place, plus often the crank bolt is too tight for a 1/2" gun anyhow. That chain wrench is a handy tool!

 

Rory so your saying Toyotas do go in for repairs?

I had to change a serp. belt on one of them damn tundra things.

I remember when guys would blowtorch a FWD car (like a tempo/topaz or escort) to get to the crank pulley (right through the unibody)

 

The last harmonic balancer i replaced was on a '92 Tempo. It was actually a little easier and less time consuming than the 351m i just did.

 

Well, a timing belt is more of a maintenance item than an actual "repair".
I hear ya on the serpentine belts, take a peek at a late model V6 Rav4 sometime if you get a chance. Or spark plugs on the same Rav4 or a V6 late model Sienna van, or Highlander. Good thing that they are iridium!!
Oh yeah, I hope that you don`t have to replace the starter in that Tundra, assuming it`s a V8. Its between the cylinder heads, under the intake manifold!!!

 

All you guys sounds like a bunch of old ladies....lol There are crap jobs, and easy jobs no matter what your working on. They put the starter under the intake on other V-8s, like the Northstar for instance. Actually easier to change I think than the starter in a mid 90's 4-runner.....sometimes life as a mechanic is easy, sometimes a little harder. There are many ways to do almost anything. I perfer an impact... for everything! some perfer to make what little tools they have work for them. As long as it gets done it's all the same to me!

The chain visegrips are pretty clutch sometimes! I use them for driveshafts too.