Starter to remove Honda crankshaft bolt

[willbur]

Getting ready to do TB replacement on Honda 3.5 V6. Need to remove a very tight crankshaft bolt. Don't have an impact wrench to spin it off.

Has anyone used the starter and a breaker bar wedged against the floor or suspension component to loosen this bolt without damaging anything?

 

[mk378]

Check which way the engine turns. It will not work on the many Hondas that turn counterclockwise.

 

[talest]

If you have the money, get an Ingersoll Rand W7150. Pricey, but will make short work of that bolt.

Do not lose the small key piece on that part.

Here is a demonstration.

 

[eljefino]

Not on a honda but it works great on saturns.

 

[AVB]

I have done that once a long time ago on a 4 cylinder Honda. We used to get someone with a service truck and a 3/4" impact to come break them loose. Back then the top of the line 1/2" impacts were rated around 600 and that usually wasn't enough on those old Hondas.

 

[talest]

A chain around the engine mount to stop the spin will solve that. Going around the crank pulley too, of course.

OP, no impact socket? Get extension outward so your breaker bar can get past the wheel well, get about two feet or more of extension for leverage, and put muscle into it. It will take some doing but it will come loose.

 

[kschachn]

I have yet to come across a bolt that doesn’t yield to an inexpensive 3/4” breaker bar and socket from Harbor Freight. A short piece of pipe on the handle helps too. It’s probably a 19mm, all the Hondas I’ve worked on are.

I’m very anti-starter method, use the proper tool for the job so you don’t ruin something else.

 

[ctechbob]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
I have yet to come across a bolt that doesn’t yield to an inexpensive 3/4” breaker bar and socket from Harbor Freight. A short piece of pipe on the handle helps too. It’s probably a 19mm, all the Hondas I’ve worked on are.

I’m very anti-starter method, use the proper tool for the job so you don’t ruin something else.


You haven't done a J-Series timing belt then, if you have and it did, consider yourself lucky. Either that or the belt was done once before and had already been broken loose. In general even a REALLY good 1/2" air impact won't get them off. Even with the proper crank holder tool a breaker bar won't do it. Unless you can lay hands on something bigger than a 1/2" its just not going to happen.

The starter method is exactly what I did with my Type S. It worked fine. Is it scary as all get out? Yes, but if you're careful you'll be fine.

You do have to be careful though, the starter on a lot of the newer Honda's is a 1 click start which makes it a little more difficult as you have to be fast to turn it back off in order to 'bump' it and not just engage the starter and leave it engaged into a dead stop.

 

[Chris142]

The only way I can get those off is with my ingersal rand 3/4 impact. My Mac impact with 625 ft lbs and the special weighted socket won't do it. I actually broke a weighted socket once on a Honda.

 

[Hall]

My son-in-law did it when he changed the timing belt on our '05 Odyssey. Worked perfect. He had done the TB on their '02 Odyssey a few months before and tried his impact, breaker bar, breaker bar with a long pipe and had no luck. When he did ours, he didn't even want to try those and asked if it was okay to try this.

 

[spasm3]

I used an Aircat 1150 impact on my saturns. I think you are going to need heat and impact( good impact wrench not a cheap one).

 

[Number_35]

The problem is always how to keep the engine from turning when you're applying torque to the harmonic balancer bolt.

I try an impact wrench first - it usually works.

I did the 'bump the starter' trick on a Mitsu Lancer when my impact wrench couldn't break the bolt free. As others have said, it's essential that the crank turns CW as viewed from the front - otherwise the force could overtighten the bolt to where it shears off.

Once I had the head off an OHC engine, and later realized I also needed to remove the timing chain cover (and thus the harmonic balancer). I removed the starter, and used a crowbar (with rags wrapped around the end) to hold the flywheel in place, and a long piece of fence post over a breaker bar on the bolt. It was a bit of a stretch as I had one hand on the crowbar and the other on the piece of post. It worked well, but I was scared of breaking the teeth on the flywheel. It was a last resort (and was before I owned the impact wrench).

The other thing I did pre-impact-wrench was to cut holes in a piece of plywood. The centre hole was large enough to accommodate the socket. The two small holes were to allow me to bolt the plywood to the harmonic balancer. (The HB had threaded holes in it to either side of centre.) The plywood was sized such that the bottom was on the floor. It stopped the harmonic balancer from turning while I removed the bolt with a breaker bar.

There's always a way. Good luck!

 

[Omahaug]

Originally Posted By: Number_35
The problem is always how to keep the engine from turning when you're applying torque to the harmonic balancer bolt.

Usually the crank pulley has a hex cut out where the bolt is, you can buy a tool to hold the crank pulley in place while having a socket go through the middle.

I know you said you can't go the impact wrench route but if you do you may also want to look at a crank remover socket. Unlike a normal thin-walled, hollow socket, this socket is one big chunk of metal, not hollow. This way more of the impact goes straight to the bolt instead of lost through the flexing of the socket wall. If you do buy this socket though I doubt it would fit through the center of the crank pulley holder tool.

https://www.amazon.com/Lisle-77080-Harmonic-Balancer-Socket/dp/B00RGNCV1U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_FEKDTcYgU

If you aren't going impact because you don't want the pneumatic setup, there are electric impacts strong enough to take crank bolts off, especially with the socket above. They're between one to two hundred. Look at it as an investment. The Ridgid Gen5X comes with a lifetime warranty on tool and battery as well.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=electric+impact+wrench+crankshaft+bolt

If you really wanted to go cheap, one of the videos above has a guy using one of those Harbor Freight corded electric impacts that you can get on sale for $40.00. It's on a Hyundai though. But using that with the crank socket above might work.

 

[beast3300]

Don't try the starter trick please, it won't work. That crank pulley bolt is going to require heat. Sometimes it takes a few heat cycles to get it to come loose. My 1200 ft lb Milwaukee won't get those off without heat. I usually get my IR TiMAX out of my toolbox on the J series. I do not like the sound my Milwaukee makes when it can't turn something. The IR will just take the abuse over and over. And the faster rev ups of air tools are sometimes required with stuff like this.

 

[2009Edge]

My neighbor and I broke 2 Craftsman breaker bars with a 6 foot cheater trying to loosen one.

Then he went to a independent repair shop and got them to loosen it, snugged it up and drove home, <1 mile.

 

[Chris142]

This is the socket I broke. https://youtu.be/mujZqN7R_Nc

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted By: beast3300
Don't try the starter trick please, it won't work.

You must not have read some of the other responses - it DOES work.

 

[AVB]

To be honest, I would rather use the starter than a torch.

 

[Lasthope05]

Sometimes you get lucky sometimes you dont. The last one I did nothing worked except the blue wrench. Starter trick? Stalled the starter out. Crank pulley hold down tool? Bent it. IR w7150 with thick Honda socket? Nothing. Same with the 1/2 air impact wrench? Still laughing at me.

You need an oxy acetylene torch and not that small hand held propane torch.

 

[andyd]

I used a dull cold chisel and a 2 lb hammer to drift off the nut on a CRV. It is a bit brutal but it worked. There is more than one way to apply percussion