need help on 94 B2300 crankshaft seal

kdowney50 said:

First of all, if you haven't done so, remove the radiator from the truck. This will give you all kinds of room to work in and minimize tool damage to the radiator fins.

Now . . .

There are two pieces bolted to the front end of the crank shaft: A pulley which drives the serpentine belt and a harmonic balancer. (Also known as a Crank Position Indicator) The pulley is actually bolted to the harmonic balancer with 4 bolts. remove them first and remove the pulley. This will give you better access to the large bolt that holds on the Harmonic Balancer. Your best bet is to use an impact wrench to get the nut off. The CPS will come off too. Once you have it in your hand you will understand why you couldn't remove it with the HB (CPI) on.

Or. . .you can use a breaker bar and a hammer. (Although I don't recommend it) Make absolutely sure your socket is well seated on the bolt head, then using a hammer, firmly rap the end of the breaker bar. This will eventually break the bolt loose. (Its also guaranteed to damage at least one finger) Keep in mind, the bolt is right hand thread, so set your breaker bar so it points toward the passenger side of the truck and hit down on the handle end.

This technique also works with the proper size box end wrench. Do NOT try it with an open end or a crescent wrench! To help keep the engine from turning, have the truck on the ground, set the parking brake and put the transmission in 4th gear. It won't stop the motor from turning but will help.

Once the HB (CPI) is off, gently pry out the old seal. Tap in a new one and reassemble in reverse order.

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kdowney50 said:

I feel your pain, bro. Glad to help. Its good you got to vent your frustration here and not on the car. My first wife could tell you stories about my adventures as a young, poor, inexperienced shade-tree mechanic.

I once had this 1972 Ford Pinto and . . .

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kdowney50 said:

I got your PM. When you took the serpentine belt pulley off was it bolted to the Crank Position Sensor as I described? If it was, then use those holes to attach a Harmonic Ballancer Puller and yank that thing off of there. Its hard to believe you have to break it to get it off.

Or was it secured to the crank with the same center bolt that holds on the CPS?

Does the pulley have spokes? On the 2000 Dodge Intrepid I'm working on, the harmonic ballancer has three spokes between the center and the outer hub. I had to turn the hooks of a gear puller so they face out and hook the thing from the inside.

When I rebuilt the top end of mine, I replaced the timing belt but had no reason to pull the lower timing pulley, so I didn't look closely at it.

I'm running out of ideas. I hate to think you'll have to break the pulley to get it off. Still, its hard to believe. I too wonder what the engineers were thinking.

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