I Have A 96 Ranger With A 2.3 And Manual Trannie I Just Replaced The Water Pump And Thermostat And Every Thing Went Great But I Bought A Timing Belt And I Could Not Take Off The Crank Shaft Bolt Because It Kept On Turning My Crank Shaft I Was Turning Counter Clockwise If I Put My Truck In 5th Gear And Emergency Brake On Will That Hurt Or Bend My Manual Transmission While I Turn The Bolt Its Probaly Torqued To 130ftlb

There Is Two Holes In The Front Ege Of The Crank Shaft Pully Do I Need To By A "ford" Tool For The Holes To Hold It From Turning Does Any Body Have Any Other Sugestions Please Help Thanks For Your Imput

 

Try putting the truck in first gear, with the e-brake on. It shouldn't bend anything in the transmission while loosening the bolt. You may need a puller to remove the drive pulley, as they're usually keyed, and pressure fit on a tapered shaft.

 

Thank You For The Imput Its To Cold Right Now But Im Going To Do It Tomarrow Thanks Again

 

when i did my timing belt, putting the truck in gear did nothing for me. the best thing to do is put an impact wrench (one with a high torque rating) on the bolt and torque it out since they are on so tight. unfortunatly for me, i didnt have access to one big enough. i dont know what your crankshaft pulley hub looks like but mine was cast iron so i put a pipe wrench on it and use a breaker bar to free it (took two people). hope this helps.

 

A pipe wrench is simply not the right tool for the job. It may have been what you had, but there is a time to spend a dollar or two on either renting, or buying tools to do the job correctly. Pipe wrenches are made for pipes...period! Use the correct socket, a breaker bar, and a pipe extention as a snipe to loosen this sort of thing. Yes they are on tight, but they are for a reason, and need to be tourqued to spec when re-installed.

I do not mean to insult anyone...but I've seen to many posts already, where the BFH, or some alternative tool has come out in desperation, that is not properly designed for the job. A job done right, is done. A job done half a$$ed is just that, and will lead to future problems.(end rant)

If you've used an alternative backyard method...great, glad it worked for you. But let's keep the quality of this forum intact by not adding "alternative" methods with wrong tools, what-ever you had lying around worked fixes, and get the job done right! We're trying to fix these trucks, not destroy them!

 

RR4E,

well, in your mind, pipe wrenches may be for pipes only but ive worked around farm machinery that has some pretty oddball shaped componants that turn and they have no special tools made for them so a pipe wrench is the only thing that can turn them.
ive worked on several timing belts on the older rangers and putting the vehicle in gear and putting a breaker bar w/ pipe on it just does not cut it and others on this forum have had the same problem. i couldnt keep the thing from turning to save my soul (believe me, i tried everything) the crank hub on my truck is an odd shape so the pipe wrench was the only thing i could use to hold it.
ive seen many things on equipment that dont have special tools made for it.
as for the alternative backyard method, for this job, there is no set method for getting the crank bolt out.
and besides, using a breaker bar with a pipe on it isnt exactly the best tool in this situation. i mean, pipes werent meant to be used as leverage, pipes are made for carrying various materials through them...period. and what if your cranking on the pipe and it breaks...not the best thing to use.
like you said, "there is a time to spend a dollar or two on either renting, or buying tools to do the job correctly." so use an impact wrench that is the best choice. its a good method, but not THE method.
sometimes we have to improvise.
and if i wanted to destroy my truck, i wouldnt have bothered to change the timing belt or even join this forum. IMO, this is the best site on the internet and i would never post something that would destroy these trucks or the integrity of this forum.

so lets put this behind us and keep on truckin'.

 

I'll second that, you simply need a way to hold that crank, and a pipe wrench is the
only way I could do it. There is one spot on that hub that has an offset in it you can adjust the wrench to get a bite at that spot and you'll strain to see a jaw mark on it
when you get it off. Yes real auto/truck mechanic's do use pipe wrenches, did it for fifty years.

 

Why not use a strap wrench to keep things from moving? I'm not talking about the thing they sell at Sears, though. All you need is a large set of Vise Grips and an old ribbed v-belt. When changing belts, I always kept the old ones for just this purpose. You wrap the belt around the pulley and pinch it tight with the Vise-Grips. The top curved portion of the vise grips can be used as extra leverage to keep the belt tight. While holding the Vise-grips with one hand, you use a breaker bar to loosen the bolt. Works pretty well most of the time. Sometimes you got to get a assistant to hold the Vise-grips on really stubborn jobs. Best of all, it won't damage anything.

 

I'll second the impact wrench part. When I changed the timing belt on my '96 ranger 2.3 manual trans. (when it was still mine) I tried a breaker bar, a length of pipe on the end of the breaker bar, and ect and still could not get the bolt to break loose. What I did was rent a 1/2" drive pneumatic impact wrench. I put the impact on the bolt and in 5 seconds I was holding it in my hand. The hammering action does wonders to free a bound up bolt. Also, It did not move the crankshaft much when I did it.

 

Mizzelman, I don't think you really have any idea as to how tight that bolt gets. I know that on the long Snap On breaker bar I can pull 130 lbs of torque like nothing. It would be nice to use a strap wrench made up as you suggest but a Vice Grip plier is what !0''long you'll never hold it. I don't know it the washer behind that bolt rusts fast or what, I know I had a pipe wrench buried in the frame and a 3/4 inch drive sliding tee (reduced to the 1/2 drive impact socket and 3' of pipe on the tee. I wish I would have had a recording of the crack when it came loose.
My 1/2 impact would not do it. I believe a 3/4 impact would have.

 

Kotzy,
Actually, I do have an idea of how tight the things are. I used that procedure on a crank bolt on an Escort that I had that was torqued to 150 ft/lb. It took myself on a 1/2" breaker bar and another guy holding the vise grips to get it. I was thinkin' after I wrote the post that it may be kind of hard to visualize how to hold the vise grips. If I could get ya picture, it'd probably help.
Anyhow, I second the impact wrench. That's what I currently use and is really the proper tool for the job.

 

First Of All Thank You Every Body Second I Used A Impact Wrench With 1/2 Inch Drive And A Compresor It Dint Do The Job I Like The Strap V Belt Idea And The Pipe Wrench Idea But There Is Two Holes In The Front Of My Crank Shaft Pully There Abought A Inch Away From Each Other Im Thinking There Is A Tool That The Manufacture (ford) Uses The Diamiter Of The Holes Is Only 1/8 Of An Inch So I Dont Think Bolts Will NOT Work I Need 2 Hardend Steel Pins But Ill Probaly Just Use A Pipe Wrench Or The V Belt Strap Wrench But Thanks For All Your Imput 1 Question Can I Remove My Starter And Jam A Large Screwdriver In The Gears To Stop It From Turning Or Will That Hurt Something Heck!!!!! Ill Probaly Just Go Rent A Large Pipe Wrench Tomorrow Thanks Again! This Site Rocks

 

i have heard some say they pull the starter and block the flywheel, but ive never tried it. those flywheels are pretty strong so i dont think a screwdriver could hurt it. if you are planning on renting, then rent a BIG impact wrench w/ 3/4" drive to torque the bolt off. it would be a lot easier than the pipe wrench method.

 

If you rent the impact wrench, try to get one with 600 ft\lb reverse torque. That should do ya'.