cannot remove crankshaft nut on Vauxhall Vectra 2.0DTi on a 53 reg plate

Nov 05, 2010 14 Replies

The front pulley on my Vauxhall Vvectra 2.0DTi flexible rubber mount has sheared (well known problem) and my mechanic is having difficulty removing the crankshaft nut that holds the pulley in place. Vauxhall tech support tells him to keep persevering with his air powered breaker wrench designed for a lorry (he burnt one out and had to replace it). They say it is a normal RH thread and it could take hours of work with an air tool to loosen it as it tightens up in use and has a locking fluid holding it in place. He does not want to heat it as it would damage the oil seal and pump behind. He is scared to freeze the crankshaft end as it could weaken the metal. He is worried about whacking it with a long bar on the wrench.



Has anyone got any ideas. Graham



3 quarter drive socket on a BFO breaker bar and turn the key.

Get a new mechanic with a bigger compressor and a decent air wrench.

Get a socket and a bar on the nut then a couple of quick turns of the key. Bar up against part of the car/block of wood. Should move the bolt.

As I found out accidentally once when turning the engine by hand to set up the points gap on my old allegro !

(left the nut/bar on the pulley !)

Graham

this is an accepted method in workshops see my other post

My thoughts too. An impact device is ideal for such things. But you want one which can produce a deal of 'momentary' torque. Like about 300 ft.lb.

the impact wrench I have supposedly knocks out 600 ftlb in reverse, yet I have still come across stuff it can't move, generally a 4 ft scaffold pole plus my weight is enough for those odd occasions.

That's against a rigid object though, any spring in the system dramatically reduces the torque applied by an impact wrench.

what is frightening is that I have come across wheel nuts that it hasn't shifted, yet it almost always gets crank shaft nuts.

An impact wrench relies on the *mass* of the object. A spanner of any type is far more influenced by 'spring' in the system.

Which needs to be rigidly attached.

A spnner doesn't care, you have to turn it further but the torque applied is still proprtional to how hard you push it & how far away, what the bolts attached to doesn't influence it.

Like a crankshaft?

The torque will be opposed by any spring.

I'd expect one of those to be rigid.

Yes, but that won't reduce it, it'll just increase the angle you have to turn it through. The force remains the same.

I've burst a 6point Elora socket on a wheel bolt with a long bar, some people really don't understand that overtightning thinss is a bad idea.

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