I am in the process of changing the timing belt on my 1990 Ranger 2.3L. I have everything off except the crank pulley. I got the center bolt out and was hoping a little bit of prying with a prybar that it would pop right off, but no such luck. Would a small gear puller be able to get this off? Thanks for the help

 

I had exactly the same problem last weekend.
The pulley is supposed to just pop right off, but mine wouldn't budge.
The pulley puller would not stay on. Perhaps if you could find one about seven or eight inches, otherwise the arms rest against the pulley and it pops off every time.

To get mine off, I crawled under the truck with a punch and a ball peen hammer. There is just enough room on the bottom of the pulley to tap on it from the back. Just turn the engine over every few taps and you can get it to wiggle right off.

remember when you put the new belt on, that the dimples on the crank and idler pulleys arent the timing marks. The actuall timing marks are tiny triangles that are very hard to see.

 

If it is a maintenance change on the belt, you don't have to worry about timing marks if you do this:

Before removing the old belt, make two marks on each sprocket and belt at the same places with a light colored marker. Alter the spacing so you don't get the positions mixed up.

Remove the old belt, and lay the new belt on top of it lining up the teeth inside the belts.

Mark the new belt in the same positions you marked on the old belt.

Install the new belt lining up the belt marks with the marks on the sprockets.

jd