As you can see, I have the locking tab and the four bolts out, and I have the car in 1st gear, hand brake on, wheels on the floor and blocks at the wheels. So far I have been able to turn the pulley about 270 degrees taking up slack in the drive line I guess. At this point with my long bar I get another about 45 degrees of “stretch or bounce”… I can position the bar at the left fender as shown and pull it all the way over to the right fender without budging the bolt loose; I will get in there with some penetrating fluid and some hammer taps and heat, but is there anything else I’m missing? I wasn’t expecting this to be so tight!
The next question that is going to come up is the engine mounts… the manual says (once the sump has been removed) to support the block “as the front bearer plate is secured to the timing cover…” I don’t see this Bearer Plate, there appears to be nothing attached to the timing cover, the engine mounts are clearly attached to the sides of the block… is this a variation from the 120 to the 140?
If the electrics are still connected you can use the starter motor to ‘bump’ the breaker bar, position it against the chassis rails and stab the starter button a few times.
Use an impact wrench on the center bolt (RH thread), use a small propane torch and go around the center of the pulley until it falls off. If you try prying on the pulley, it will usually break. Not the end of the world, I have plenty of new ones. Use a harmonic balancer puller to get the balancer off (it is on a taper). Two eared puller will usually destroy the balancer.
Bill Bassett
I don’t believe the damper bolt and washer need to be removed to remove the pulley. The 4 bolts retain the pulley to the damper.
You need one of two things ( preferably both, but one will help).
Option 1: You need to find a way to positively lock the flywheel ring gear. You can slip a clutch with a big breaker bar. Some of the slop you feel is likely the springs in the clutch disc.
Option 2: Use a big impact wrench instead of breaker bar. Can you unbolt the steering rack and raise it, maybe raise the front/lower the back of the engine enough to get an extension and impact wrench on the socket?
As Mike says, it needs to be locked up with something more than the gearbox because the springs on the friction plate can absorb a lot of your bar swing. My 3.8 bell housing has a little view port for the flywheel. Does the one on a 140? I just stick a large screwdriver in the port and grab a ring gear tooth. Then it’s quite a bit easier to break loose.
Robin’s suggestion about using the starter works well also. Set it up so the breaker is sticking out the bottom and touching the ground. Make sure you have a very solid connection between socket and bolt head so nothing goes flying, and bump the starter.
“If you want the engine to not turn then you should have the transmission in top gear, not first.”
Mike,
Why is that the case? I was always under the impression that 1st gear would have the most resistance.
Alan
First gear increases the torque multiplication applied to the rear brakes by the ratio of first gear. If first gear is 3.5:1, 100 ft-lbs applied would be 350 ft-lbs at the front of the diff. Top gear is 1:1, so 100 applied is 100 received.
Thanks for the suggestions, I’ll have another go at it today, although the idea of bumping it with the starter is not going on my list of tricks, I’m sure I’d end up breaking the starter or the ring gear!
Another question…. With the four smaller bolts removed from the pulley, should I be able to remove it from the damper while the damper is still mounted to the crankshaft with the large centre bolt that I’m struggling to undo, or does the large centre bolt and washer behind it over lap with the pulley and hold it on as well?
First gear increases the torque multiplication applied to the rear brakes by the ratio of first gear. If first gear is 3.5:1, 100 ft-lbs applied would be 350 ft-lbs at the front of the diff. Top gear is 1:1, so 100 applied is 100 received.
Use top gear for this resistance mode, handbrake on firmly. This is the highest resistance against manually moving the car this way. Use this also for tightening.
Set the breaker bar firmly against the floor or the chassis and bump the starter (ignition coil disconnected, and in neutral). Turn the engine to a point where there is no slackness or backlash in the breaker bar. With about a ten to one ring gear ratio and about a 2hp starter, the torque is massive.
In a similar vein, only use top gear to try a rolling clutch start.
Your best tool will be the biggest pneumatic or electric impact driver you can put your hands on. That allows you to utilize the polar inertia of the crankshaft and flywheel in your favor. Next best is have an assistant wedge a large screwdriver or chisel between the flywheel ring gear and the bellhousing.
Looks like you have the radiator removed? This is an XK120 chassis. Can you not get a straight shot at the damper bolt with an extension and an impact driver? Ideally, you want that extension to be as short and thick as possible. Kinetic energy is your friend.
Yes it is free to come of but it can be really stuck on with rust. Mine took a fair amount of heat, penetrating oil, time and encouragement. Be careful because the edge of the belt channel loves to crack.
Well thanks to all the suggestions and advise I made some good progress today, pulley off and bolt out. Now to rest up before tackling removing the damper, meanwhile it’s soaking with some penetrating fluid.
Mike, on the 140 the steering rack is pretty much dead centre of the crank bolt and about 3 inches away, limits using an impact driver unless I unmount the steering rack.
But knowing that the pulley can be removed by itself encouraged me to pull it off and clean everything up, then I temporarily put the pulley back on to work as a spacer for my 2x4 brace!
I generally work by myself so have to come up with solutions that can be managed without help, so here’s a photo of what I came up with… the amount of effort to actually unlock the centre bolt was quite disappointing, with zero ability for the crank to rotate it took not much more than a breathe on the bar!
Now make yourself a damper puller! Put the bolt back in about halfway, screw two pieces of threaded rod in opposite holes, add a flat plate across the front, then add two nuts to the rods. Turn the nuts to pull. You won’t need to pull it more than a couple of millimeters to separate the taper.
