DD accord repair attempt. Round one- failure

I decided to change the TB on my 99 accord today but could not break that crank bolt loose. I knew it was going to be tough so I put the acetylene torch on the bolt then took my impact to it. No go! It doesn't help that my impact is 20 years old and probably only puts out 300 ft lbs. Question is should I upgrade my impact (it's been on my list) or spend the money on breaker bars and the pulley tool. Will a 700 ft lb impact knock that off? As it is I'll probably have to work on it next weekend now. Rats!!

Couple good whacks to break the embedment and a good impact wrench has always done it for me. That's on the reverse rotation engines by the way.

Hondas crank pulleys are always a bitch.

If you have access, use a long (3-5 foot) tube slipped over the end of a wrench and gradually apply your weight to the end of it. It's amazing what a long lever can accomplish, no impact wrench necessary.

The problem is that the motor will turn before the crank pulley bolt comes loose. You can get the Honda holding tool for pretty cheap on Amazon. My harbor freight Earthquake 1/2" impact has always worked on pulley bolts but I never tried it on an old and stuck Honda bolt just a few 200k+ mike lexuses.

Yep, 25 bucks for the Honda tool, and use cheater bar(s). I just did this, and was taking a beating before borrowing the right tool. And, despite of the weird rotation, leftsy is still loosey.

I've always wondered how Honda can build a bolt which, when torqued to 150 foot pounds, requires 450 foot pounds to remove. Magic, I figure.

Streetwiseguy wrote: I've always wondered how Honda can build a bolt which, when torqued to 150 foot pounds, requires 450 foot pounds to remove. Magic, I figure.

And only puts out 40ft/lbs to the crank no less.

is the accord the type where you can wedge the wrench against the subframe and bump the starter to loosen the bolt?

In reply to MrChaos:

Not on reverse rotation engines.

Sometimes giving it a whack in the tightening direction is all it takes to break whatever adhesions are holding a fastener in place. Then back it out like normal.

AngryCorvair wrote: Sometimes giving it a whack in the tightening direction is all it takes to break whatever adhesions are holding a fastener in place. Then back it out like normal.

I can tell you've never removed a Honda crank bolt.

Streetwiseguy wrote:

AngryCorvair wrote: Sometimes giving it a whack in the tightening direction is all it takes to break whatever adhesions are holding a fastener in place. Then back it out like normal.

I can tell you've never removed a Honda crank bolt.

'88 civic dx is the only honda TB I've done. On that one I think I just rattled it with my impact. It was a long time ago.

First thought: "Why do you need to remove the crank bolt to replace a throttle body?"

Second thought: You need to make the bolt orange. Then it will come out.

Man, just drove more or less past Salem. Had I seen this before I left, I would have stopped by on the way home with my impact and honda pulley tool .

You could always do like everyone else and go buy the HF impact, whack the bolt off, then return it.

If you haven't gotten it by next weekend, and have a reason to head west, you can stop by and have at it. If we can't get it off, Pat is only 10 min away, and can probably do an LS swap for you while you wait .

XLR99 wrote: Man, just drove more or less past Salem. Had I seen this before I left, I would have stopped by on the way home with my impact and honda pulley tool . You could always do like everyone else and go buy the HF impact, whack the bolt off, then return it. If you haven't gotten it by next weekend, and have a reason to head west, you can stop by and have at it. If we can't get it off, Pat is only 10 min away, and can probably do an LS swap for you while you wait .

I have an IR impact. And when that doesn't do it i have a 3/4 drive monster. Worst case LS swap it

I've had a crank bolt back all the way out on our chump Accord. That pulley came about 2cm away from brake and fuel lines when it put a nicely sized dent in the floor board near the drivers nards. The day before we had to replace the crank pulley at the track and were bitch about that son of bitch not coming out. No idea how it backed out because we triple checked the tightness. I guess 14 hours of racing does that (fell off last lap)

As others have stated, a decent impact will remove it. The Honda crank holding tool is a huge help too.

They sell a special socket with extra mass to allow an impact to take off the bolt. You could weld up your own. I did a timing belt on a Honda with a clockwise engine so I could use the starter to take out the bolt.The rest of the timing belt was a exercise in pure frustration.

You will need the special tool to hold the pulley when you tighten it to the huge torque required if you have an automatic. There is also a trick in an old GRM that shows how to use a serpentine belt to hold the pulley. I have tried that with much success once I figured out how to do it.

In reply to XLR99: I'm probably going to buy the 1000 ft lb HF Impact to replace my old unit. This isn't the first time my impact was lacking so I'm due. I took a look at that HF model today and it looks good and nicely weighted. I can't work on it till Saturday so I'll wait until Friday just in case it goes on sale this week. Thanks!