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Posted this in the Mazda section and got good advice which helped me, but now am at the stage where I'm stuck. It's a 1994 Mazda B2300 with a Ford 2.3 engine. I'm trying to replace the front crankshaft seal, and have removed everything that is bolted on the crankshaft (pulley wheel and harmonic balancer) but the sprocket is too tight to get off. I can't use a harmonic puller or a gear puller because the sprocket is too close up against the block to get normal jaws behind it. It has no bolt holes for a harmonic puller. It also has a metal belt guide bolted on behind and around the sprocket which also hinders the use of a regular puller. I bought a thin-jawed gear puller from Advance Auto, and even then I had to grind down the metal on the jaws. I was able to get it behind the gear, but the jaws were so thin that they just bent back and popped off the gear. The truck has about 155,000 miles on it, and it's very likely the gear has never been removed.
Two possible options I read about from other people who had the same problem were:
1. heating with a torch, or
2. breaking the gear off
is heating it a bad idea? I'd hate to damage the temper of the crank and also get any other seals too hot (if it has any in close proximity). Breaking it off seems like the best option, but how in the world do you break the thing off? I guess drill some holes and use a chisel to break through the rest of the metal? For that matter, maybe drill two holes and tap them, and then use a harmonic puller? There isn't too much metal to play with, hate to damage the crank with a drill bit and chisel. Whatever's the easiest at this point. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks for any help
Two possible options I read about from other people who had the same problem were:
1. heating with a torch, or
2. breaking the gear off
is heating it a bad idea? I'd hate to damage the temper of the crank and also get any other seals too hot (if it has any in close proximity). Breaking it off seems like the best option, but how in the world do you break the thing off? I guess drill some holes and use a chisel to break through the rest of the metal? For that matter, maybe drill two holes and tap them, and then use a harmonic puller? There isn't too much metal to play with, hate to damage the crank with a drill bit and chisel. Whatever's the easiest at this point. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks for any help
