taking off crankshaft pully

[gregm]

Hi -- I am removing a timing belt from a 1995 Corolla. The Haynes book said to stick a wedge into the transmission (automatic) flywheel so I can take out the bolt, but I removed the plastic cover but still cannot wedge the flywheel. Any other ideas of how I can remove the crankshaft pulley bolt?

[Flashmn]

I removed it by putting a bolt in the crankwheel (theres places there for the toyota sst) flatbar and then just brute force.

[gregm]

Thanks for the tip. I cannot find any holes in the crankshaft pulley or any way to hold it down. Perhaps the engines are different in this regard? Any additional insight will be appreciated.

[punter]

Why can't you jam the ring gear?
I just pushed the end of my prybar into it then undid the bolt, it should be easy.

[freakinbox]

if your having that much trouble with it they do make special pullers for this kind of crap...

[tashirosgt]

I think the simplest way to get the crankshaft pulley bolt off is to use an impact wrench. I avoid using impact wrenches, but this is one case where it is the simplest way. You don't need an elaborate arrangement to hold the pulley. A very slight force will hold it enough for the wrench to work. ( Another place where the impact wrench comes in handy is removing alternator pulleys.)

[freakinbox]

I used an impact gun when we did the timing belt on a ford escort

[punter]

Another crude method is to use the starter motor to undo it, but thats probably a bad sugestion to make.

[gregm]

Thanks to all who offered advice. A friend had an impact wrench, and it worked to get off the crankshaft bolt without any problems. Now for my fun part -- determining if a water leak is a gasket, head, or engine block problem.