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Tools for Toyota Harmonic Balancer Bolt

Jrboulder

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Mar 27, 2014
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I have a DeWalt DW059 18v 300 ft-lb impact. I'm about to do the timing belt on my Grandpa's Lexus RX300.

You guys think my DeWalt has enough beans to get the pulley bolt out with one of those Lisle heavy sockets?
 
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visionguru

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I have a DeWalt DW059 18v 300 ft-lb impact. I'm about to do the timing belt on my Grandpa's Lexus RX300.

You guys think my DeWalt has enough beans to get the pulley bolt out with one of those Lisle heavy sockets?

You can give it a try, but I doubt. 300 ft-lb is nothing. One person can generate that much torque with a 24" breaker bar.

I would say a DCF899 with Lisle socket will surely get the job done.
 

Mr_B

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They ain't that tight but that impact is weak so use a breaker bar with a cheater pipe, on a manual leave it in gear on a auto lock/hold flywheel .
A cheap nano air impact at 500+ft/lb deal with that no drama .
Only battery impact I liked so far been IR's latest offering . they hit hard and size sensible. for flywheels which 99% in my shop I use facom ns.1600f, even honda no issue and no fancy high mass socket needed .
 

jgromada

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I did a harmonic balancer bolt on a Hyundai so very similar.

At the time only had an electric HF impact so NO it did not work.

I used a huge cheater pipe on a HF 24" breaker bar. This worked beautifully but i have 2 pieces of advice:
1- Find a good way to restrain the crank pulley from turning. I managed to wedge a wrench into the pulley against a frame piece on the car (pure improvisation)
2- keep everything aligned so Socket on harmonic balancer bolt stays on. The Hyundai was transverse V6 so the harmonic balancer was on side of passenger wheel well. So from Socket i came out with 1 ft extension and then the breaker bar. To keep the 1 ft extension at correct height i used an adjustable jack stand.
 
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IndyGarage

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I've done quite a few of those Lexus timing belt jobs. No way an electric impact will touch it unless it was reinstalled loose the last time.

Sometimes my IR 1/2 inch air impact will get them. Most time I have to go to my 3/4 air impact, and occasionally I have to heat them cherry red an then hit them with the 3/4 inch.

The hardest one I ever did required heating and all my weight on an 8 foot pipe to break free.

The problem you have if it's tight is the engine wants to turn, and there's not a good place to hold it. You can get some leverage from the flywheel access, but it's not enough if really tight. If you get a really tight one, you need the Schley tool that bolts to the balancer and holds the engine.
 

97nismo

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Maybe breaker bar and use the starter bump method??

Don’t like doing that but when I am against the clock...
 

Mr_B

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Use a decent nano airgun with a real 650ft-lb or good old muscle and leverage and use any socket you like lol
What I do on these mobile if not manual gearbox is use an old belt and fold it back on itself so grips on harmonic pulley in direction you turning and then around another pulley and use a quality breaker or knuckle bar with half or full length jack handle pending on how tight it is and how good your bar is, I never had much issue even with hondas . Battery impacts hit weak unless size of a cannon and even top money battery impacts leaves you with bulky tool which not great for longitudinal engine layout meaning need pull/move likes of aircon core/rad etc to make the room .
 

seve7

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Maybe breaker bar and use the starter bump method??

Don’t like doing that but when I am against the clock...

Starter bump for the win. Just do it with the car on the ground not on jackstands, it can lift it off. If you arent familiar with this, disconnect all fuel and spark fuses. Crank the engine to ensure it doesn't start. Place the strongest breaker bar/t handle you have against the floor, then bump the starter, it should break it free instantly. Very powerful impacts can do it sometimes, sometimes you need an extra heavy socket even with an impact.
 

IndyGarage

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Starter bump for the win. Just do it with the car on the ground not on jackstands, it can lift it off. If you arent familiar with this, disconnect all fuel and spark fuses. Crank the engine to ensure it doesn't start. Place the strongest breaker bar/t handle you have against the floor, then bump the starter, it should break it free instantly. Very powerful impacts can do it sometimes, sometimes you need an extra heavy socket even with an impact.

Until you get a tight one and rip out a section of the flywheel teeth. I've had some of them that are definitely stronger than the flywheel.
 

thooks

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HF 1/2" breaker bar (26"), 1/2" extensions, socket and 4' long piece of 1-1/4" pipe. Should do the trick, be patient and careful.

When it breaks loose, it will sound like someone fired off a .357 Magnum.
 

Mr_B

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Starter bump for the win. Just do it with the car on the ground not on jackstands, it can lift it off. If you arent familiar with this, disconnect all fuel and spark fuses. Crank the engine to ensure it doesn't start. Place the strongest breaker bar/t handle you have against the floor, then bump the starter, it should break it free instantly. Very powerful impacts can do it sometimes, sometimes you need an extra heavy socket even with an impact.

Until you get a tight one and rip out a section of the flywheel teeth. I've had some of them that are definitely stronger than the flywheel.

^ yeh starter trick can cost you dearly with damaged fly/starter or a stray or exploded bar damaging stuff.
It absolute no drama with a decent nano air impact or manual operated breaker bar .
 

seve7

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Obviously i try an impact first, but you gotta piss with the **** you got. If the guy is asking about a dinky electric, he probably doesnt have air or a good air impact. Like i was saying, ive had good tool truck impacts even fail to get it done while just a small bump has never failed for me. Should he go out and spend 600 bucks to get this off or use the stuff he has?
 
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seve7

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Definitely as in you definitely think it was stronger than the flywheel teeth or you definitely ripped the flywheel teeth off? This bolt aint **** compared to the 54mm nut on a rotary engine flywheel, the actual tool to remove this gargantuan nut bolts to the engine and locks into a few flywheel teeth, ive used in excess of a 1000 real ftlbs on cheater bars to remove these before and never broke a flywheel tooth.
 

IndyGarage

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Definitely as in you definitely think it was stronger than the flywheel teeth or you definitely ripped the flywheel teeth off? This bolt aint **** compared to the 54mm nut on a rotary engine flywheel, the actual tool to remove this gargantuan nut bolts to the engine and locks into a few flywheel teeth, ive used in excess of a 1000 real ftlbs on cheater bars to remove these before and never broke a flywheel tooth.

I had one ES300 - same engine as the OP is working on, where the bolt was so tight I thought the flywheel teeth were starting to flex. That was with a 4 foot bar on the breaker.

It ended up taking cherry red heat and an 8 foot pipe on the breaker bar to pop it loose - holding the engine with the Schley tool against the vehicle frame (approximately 1200- 1600 foot lbs). I didn't push it that far, but I'm quite certain it would have taken out the flywheel teeth if I had continued pulling on them. I'm pretty sure the starter bump would put the same amount of pressure on the flywheel teeth.
 
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seve7

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It seems to be a common problem on toyotas. I have an ls430 and the bolt had been off previously less than 3 years and had to resort to the starter bump. Im worried of taking heat to that nut and damaging a seal or the dampener.
 

shawndp

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Jun 25, 2017
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M18 2763 or the Dewalt 899 WILL blow the bolt off with even a plain ole HF socket most of the time. Toyota is our # 1 brand serviced and the MZ motor comes in countless Camry / Highlander / Sienna / RX / ES vehicles that have all popped out just fine. Honda is the hard one to pull, but if you have a decent electric 1/2" you should be ok.
 

Mr_B

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Obviously i try an impact first, but you gotta piss with the **** you got. If the guy is asking about a dinky electric, he probably doesnt have air or a good air impact. Like i was saying, ive had good tool truck impacts even fail to get it done while just a small bump has never failed for me. Should he go out and spend 600 bucks to get this off or use the stuff he has?

The guy went out and bought proto 3/4 tools and harmonic pulley holder and all he really needed is good breaker bar and cheater or matco powerbar and if had air get a decent impact that hits a proper 650+ft-lb. toyota/lexus not a tough nut to bust .
I done crank bolts for last 30 years as a auto mechanic and never once needed bump on starter or struggle much even without air, in a real pinch it a good trick but amount of aircon jobs I had related to damaged from that on longitudinal layout would surprise you. had one honda towed in and starter and fly teeth in one spot damaged (only found out after fixing crank seal and cambelt as owner kept stum about all what he had tried) and reason towed was tried heat as well and ruined crank seal and belt too. my ns.1600f rattled it off in under 40 seconds, pretty sure my jack handle on my breaker bar could of done it too .
 
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ticci

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VW's old 5-cyl ael diesel engines have crank bolt tightened up to 460nm. My MG725 with 1/2" hose can't do anything to that.

I would advise using 3/4" stuff. I've managed with 1/2" braker bar and soma 8ft of pipe, but the flex on the 1/2" breaker bar can be problematic if there's a little to no room to spare.
 

IndyGarage

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A word of caution using heat to free up the bolt. The 1MZ-FE 6-cyl engines have a 2 part construction, separated by a thin rubber ring. Getting the rubber too hot will destroy the pulley and a new OEM one is pricey.

.

Good point about heat.

I've done about 20-30 of those engines - sounds like others have done many more.

Most of them were not a problem - of those only 1 was real stubborn. Perhaps it was the only hard one in existence, however I doubt it. Hopefully the OP will get an easy one.
 

IndyGarage

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That's the one I used. It works well - very heavy made, and it allows you to concentrate heat on the bolt and not damage the rubber of the balancer. On the ES300 the ear contacts the frame of the car, so you don't need to put a bar on it. Not sure where it would contact on an RX300.

I would say the homemade one above would probably work also - the only problem might be the handle length.
 

akalian

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St. George Utah
I would say the homemade one above would probably work also - the only problem might be the handle length.

The handle isn't to be used as a lever.

It was designed to bolt to the end of the crankshaft and is long enough to lodge on the frame. The center portion is where you put whatever socket and breaker bar combination you have to loosen the bolt, and a torque wrench to tighten it.

.
 

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