I am in the process of disassembling my engine but I am stuck.

How does one remove the lock bolt(the one that attaches the main pulley
boss to the eccentric shaft).
According to the FSM, it is torqued on there with 240-270 Nm(180-200ft-lbs).

I have a make shift bar on the flywheel to keep from turning. I broke a Craftsman 1/2" to 3/4" adapter while using a pipe extension on the wrench. I also used lots of WD-40.

Is an impact wrench the only way to get this off?

TIA,
Ed

 

Impact or a 1/2" drive 4' breaker bar would do the trick.

 

This is a make-shift flywheel stopper that I improvised

 

This is a picture of the set up that I was using to try to get that damn bolt off.

From left to right: breaker bar(white), Husky 1/2" wrench, adpter, 19mm socket with the broken adapter part stuck in the hole.

 

Damn! The images are not working. Stupid Lycos.

I guess I will have to resort to a 4' breaker bar.

 

Ingersoll Rand "thunder gun" does the trick!

 

I am about to give up on this.

As it turns out, many on the RX7 List have tried and failed to get this bolt off.

I tried what was recommended short of using an impact gun.

I tried heating it with a torch which in retrospect was a bad idea: It's a bolt and not a nut that I was heating up and would have made it increase in size thus making it more difficult to remove.

I used a 4 foot pipe on a breaker bar but the thing would not budge.

People tell me that an impact gun is not going to take it off either.

Apparently this is more difficult to take off that the flywheel nut.

 

Alright, this might not work, but it's better than nothing. If you can't get to an impact wrench then try doing this. Don't use a breaker bar with a 4' cheater pipe. Use an actual 4' breaker bar. It'll be a bit pricey if you can't borrow one, but you can "tap" on it with a hammer to help break it loose.

 

When my front oil seal went out on my FD, me and Dragon had a HELL of a time getting it off. We used an impact gun, then a Craftsman impact gun, then BIG BERTHA the impact gun.

In the process, big bertha eventually stripped the top of the bolt.


Dragon ended up just cutting the damn pulley off with a grinder, then using a hammer and chisel, slowly(did I mention SLOWLY)hacking away at the bolt.

He eventually hit it enough times with a 5 lb. hammer and chisel to get the bolt to move. Then we replaced the bolt and the pulley's with a used set that he had.

It should have been an hour job(disconnecting the IC, and moving the battery/intakes away for big bertha)....and it took 7 HOURS of work to get that sucker off...

 

all i can say is that ive done this and u sure as hell aint gonna get it off with a bar. i first used a 150psi compressor and gun and the friggin thing wouldnt even budge. i went to my dads friends shop and a 180psi compressor wouldnt do it. i was about to give up when a friend of mine said that he just got a new compressor and i should try it. it was a 200psi compressor and i had to push it to 210psi before it came off like cake. good luck

 

Well, you were lucky. It seems that the consensus, on the RX7 list anyway, is that even with an impact wrench, it's very difficult, if not impossible.

But I'll try the impact gun route tomorow.

Ed

 

Try it with the impact gun first. PRAY that it comes off. When you install it, put it back on with the same impact gun.

 

The following is Rob Golden's advice. As most of you know, he is the owner of Pineapple Racing.

"Ed, remember that the front nut is torqued to
200ft.lb. The bolt is also locktited. That is the
biggest problem. I use a torch to heat the bolt up. It
needs to get very hot and stay that way long enough
for the threaded portion of the bolt to get to
350-400* so the lock tight will loosen up. It will
still take a lot of torque to loosen the bolt. I
usually have to use a 3' long Snap-On breaker bar w/ a
4' piece of heavy wall tubing."

It's already been 4 days since I tried to get the damn bolt off. I guess I'll try heating it up again

 

Do NOT USE THE IMPACT GUN!!!!! IT will never WORK on the LOCK Bolt if it is the first time taking it off!!!
AND NEVER! Never! Never! put heat on it becuase it will melt the rubber o-rings on the lock bolt and may damage the small spring in the process.


What you have to do is get a chian clamp to hold the engine shaft from moving. The key is to have a good 1/2"rachet (I broke mine the first time I tryed) and a long 4-5' breaker bar made fit over the handle of the rachet. Pull slow but firm to loosen Lock bolt and it will come off easy.
When need to put it back on then you can use the Impact gun.

Hope that Helps!