Help Removing Crank Damper - 2Q's

[MercuryMarc]

I am trying to remove my crankshaft damper to get access to my timing chain on my 78 Fairmont block (D8BE). There is a 13/16" bolt in the center of the damper that appears to screw into the crank.

1. Does the bolt have to come off before I pull the damper or can I pull the damper off with the bolt still in the crank?

2. The "damper" that I keep seeing mentioned in my manuals - is it single peice damper/pulley or is the pulley separate from the damper?

Thanks-

Marc in SF
63 Comet with Dual Cupholders
http://mercurycomet.net

 

[addo]

For the damper to come off with the bolt still on the crank, you will have destroyed the crank. Better to remove it.

It's integral with the pulley sheave(s), the exception being bolt-on pulleys for aftermarket/dealer accessories like air-con.

 

[MercuryMarc]

Thanks- now for the next silly question. How do I loosen the bolt without the crank rotating?

Marc in SF
63 Comet
http://mercurycomet.net

 

[MustangSix]

For those really stubborn ones, I put a breaker bar and scoket on the bolt, and then rotate the engine so that the handle is resting on the left frame rail. Then I bump the starter. Voila! Bolt loose. Remember to disconnect the coil wire!

 

[MercuryMarc]

Thanks Jack.
Any ideas on how to remove that bolt with the engine out of the car and on an engine stand? Looks like I have to place bolts into the damper holes, somehow fasten a breaker bar to the damper using those bolts, then rotate the center crank bolt with a socket on a long breaker bar. Am I missing something?

The 78 manual says simply, "remove the damper with special tool XXXXX."

Thanks again to everyone for your patience and advice!
Marc in SF
63 Comet Convertible
White Fuzzy Dice
http://mercurycomet.net

 

[Hot 6t Falcon]

If the pan is off, wedge a hammer handle between the crank and the block to hold the crank still.

If the head is off, put a short length of 1 x 2 wood in a cylinder with the piston far enough down. Then put the head back on and snug up the headbolts around that cylinder.

If both the head and the pan are on, screw bolts into the flywheel flange and put a crowbar between the bolts to back pry as you loosen the damper bolt. This takes four hands.

And then if you're going to do this enough, make a 1 inch wide by 3/8ths inch thick strap that bolts diagonally across a cylinder. in the center of the strap drill a hole and put a bolt with enough thread to have a nut on the top and the bottom of the strap, so the bolt is adjustable.

The "Special tool" is a damper/pulley remover. It looks like the piece I described above - a flat bar stock with slots to screw bolts into the damper and a threaded center hole that has a long bolt to screw against the crank. It will slide the pulley right off. IT IS THE ONLY WAY TO GET THE DAMPER / PULLEY OFF. Rent or borrow one. Check with the guys in your car club.

Cheap ones are around $10.00 and work jst fine.

Good Luck

 

[MercuryMarc]

Thanks-
Crank bolt came off using bolts + crowbar on flywheel to secure the crank. Damper came off eaily with the tool. Timing chain has < 1/2 inch of play and timing marks are aligned so it looks fine.

Next stop - the pan.

Thanks again-

Marc
63 Comet
78 Fairmont 200 - in the process of checking it out
http://mercurycomet.net