ayang951

so im donig a head gasket, timing chain and seals etc. i figured since im taking half the engine out, i might as well do those as well.. now im trying to pull the harmonic balance off at the moment, and it seems that i have no room what so ever to take it off with the pulley puller tool etc. so im guessing is that i have to take the engine out? but i would rather not go that route if i dont have to. what do you guys suggest? if i take out the engine then i can use all the gaskets etc in the engine... idk, im frustrated at the moment as well(sorry) but that balance is bugging me... well thank you for your interest and time, and i look forward to your responses... again thank you.

rodj

So are we
Year model and engine would help when seeking advice?
The ESP is still on holidays

In any case for the work you are doing, having the engine out and on a stand
makes life easier than trying to work in the space in front of the engine
For exp;
you have to lower the oil pan to get the timing cover off to change timing set
Could also consider the freeze plugs while engine out of car especially the ones that can't be
changed in the car; the one behind flywheel and the ones behind the engine mounts

ayang951

yeah that would.. sorry... well i have a 1990 convertible 6 speed... it says tune port injection on it, so im guessing its the L98TPI right? im not to sure, i meet lots of people and when they see it, some says L98, L99 and LT1 hehe.. someone even said it was a LS1 (obviously i didnt believe him.) but yea... im pretty sure someone here can tell me that. but i got the balancer out a little, but when im using the puller, im hearing a clunk sound in the rear of the engine now? is that bad? im afraid that it might have bad bearings or something... please someone give me some good news like its suppose to clunk from the rear when you pull on the balancer... i already took the 3 bolts and the belt pulley off as well, might as well add that in so i dont look like a total idiot

rodj

Possible whole engine is turning over;
is car in gear / park brake on to prevent it?
(The big bolt in center of crankshaft is out?)

In some cars need to remove the engine mount bolt(s) and jack engine up slightly in order to get room for the puller to work

ayang951

yeah the engine is still able to turn over, and the car is not in gear but i did have parking brakes on... the big bolt in the center is off, as well as the belt pulley and the three bolts to that is as well... what im looking at is a disc like behind the belt pulley... when im trying to pull that out, it just clunks in the rear of the engine? i took the parking brakes off, and same, still clunks and not coming out... im totally stumped on this, i hope the block isnt bad...

l98tpi

Kind of confused. You don't seem to know for sure what engine you have, yet you have it apart? If you are down to the harmonic balancer, it can be pulled with the engine in the car. I have a puller/installer kit and never had an issue with the engine turning over. If you do have a six speed you could put the car in 6th gear and set the parking brake and that should keep it from turning over.

ayang951

oh sorry, what i meant is that i can still crank the engine, but the disc will not turn if i try to do it with out a tool... its just that i cant get the disc off... but yea... im not sure what engine i have, but i took it a part already... im just wondering if its suppose to make that clunk sound in the back of the engine when your about to pull it out? i mean i got it out somewhat, but not all the way, im using a snap on 3 prong puller a thingy-ma-bob-ber... but yea... sorry if im confusing you all... i just never done this type of engine before... i have done this type of work in the pass with 4cly and 6cly... but never a v8 in a cramped engine bay...

ayang951

ill try and take some pictures of it tomorrow and post it, so you all can see what im dealing with.

l98tpi

The balancer may be frozen to the crank as well. You could try to heat the balancer and/or spray some wd40 or pb blaster on the crank shaft to help lube it up

rodj

Confused
If balancer is frozen to the crank then usually balancer puller tool and crankshaft
will turn together when you try to wind the balancer off.

If this is happening remove the easiest to access spark plug and jam 4ft of 1/4 or 3/8" nylon rope in the cylinder.( tie end off so it doesn't fall in cylinder)
Slowly turn removal tool ( and crankshaft) in correct direction until it comes to a halt.
Engine can no longer turn
but if balancer is stuck real hard you are going to need a extra long bar on the tool
to crack the balancer loose

84wannabezo6

you need to use a balancer puller you can rent them at auto zone and they are pretty cheap you should not use the three jaw type especially if you want to reuse the balancer

vetteoz

This type




Not this one

gerardvg

Hi
You can do the job with the engine in the car, maybe take the cooling fan's off if you need the room. just use the bolts supplied to bolt to the ballancer and get a friend to use a large screwdriver to stop the flex plate or flywheel from moving. It is pretty straight forward but make sure you clean the crankshaft when re-assembling it.
It can be easy to strip the crankshaft thread so take care, make sure you don't try to force the harmonic ballancer back on with the thread in just a turn or so.

sailorsteve

I suggest you do yourself a favor and get the '90 Factory Service Manual. Don't waste your money on Haynes or Chilton's. If you are going to be doing work on your car, this book will be a great help.

ayang951

yeah i am using the top one, but it seems stuck... i guess it might be seized..
yea.. i learned that the chiltons dont tell you anything.. i need the one you recommended...
but ill try and take some pics of it soon, so i can post it.

again thank you for all your help and information, i really do appreciate it.

mtnmanut

AT RISK OF BEING CONSIDERED RUDE, THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE RIGHT JOB. IF YOUR NOT SURE CONSULT A REPAIR MANUAL. IF YOUR STILL NOT SURE , CONSULT A MECHANIC. WATCH A YOUTUBE VIDEO. WHILE WE APPRECIATE DOING YOUR OWN REPAIRS AND LEARNING IN THE PROCESS,LIKE I TAUGHT MY SON, DOING ANYTHING YOU HAVE NEVER DONE BEFORE IS GREAT, JUST READ UP ABOUT IT FIRST.A LITTLE CORRECT KNOWLEDGE GOES A LONG WAYS.

ayang951

@mtnmaunt - yeah i understand... i have watched some vids and some reading, but its just puzzling me at the moment with the disc...

here is a pic of the disc that im talking about, dont mind the liquid, i just sprayed some wd40 on it as i was suggested to do so.

95tripleblack

please take a pic of the front and center. and also a pic of the intake and valve covers so somebody may be able to help identify the engine for you. thx

ps PB Blaster is much better than WD40

oops: actually an image of the stamp on the block -I believe the front right corner will identify the block, or just the numbers will do - either way

ayang951

kk will do thanks... yeah i have a video of the car from awhile back when i didnt know that the injectors were bad. but this video is just reference to you all that is asking about the engine...

Click on this to watch the video:


but yeah, that clunking sound in the back is kind of the same clunk sound i hear from the rear of the engine when i tried to take out the disc... like the crank is moving back and forward? but i will get the pictures of the top right numbers and the disc.

ayang951

i started to scrub off the gunk from the block, but i didnt see any numbers, just some circles.. ill keep scrubbing off the gunk until i see one and ill post it, but for the mean time, i have gotten the pictures of the front of that troublesome disc...