Seemed like a good idea at the time, use the 9000lb winch to remove the crankshaft vibration damper from the end of the crankshaft. It was good and stuck, so a lot of effort seemed ideal
Untill it sheared the damper off, leaving the collar behind on the end of the crankshaft. Nasty cheap castings they use these days.
Had to slit with grinder what was left of the damper off and break it with a chisel. The culprit? bit of rust on the end of the crankshaft...
Alex
Wot a plonker! - seriously, using a winch for something that may suddenly let go is a very risky business. In a way, the fact that it destroyed itself slowly is, perhaps, a godsend.
9000lbf (bare drum) is a trifling amount compared with what you could generate with a large fine-threaded bolt in a 'mechanical puller'. A puller is much more controllable than a winch but you should still take precautions against things flying about when the joint lets go.You probably also didn't think too hard about it, but what reacted the load that the winch applied? The engine and transmission mounts, crankshaft thrust washers, main bearing cap/bolts/dowels and crankcase were not designed for such use. You should have applied the force only between the crankshaft and the damper.
Hoping that you'll find all well when re-assembled and running.
Arn't they equipped with M5 threaded holes for a puller, or two long bolts and a piece of metal? I seem to remember doing something like that the last time I had to get in to change a 200TDi cambelt.
Dave B.
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