Honda Crank Bolt.

Some Honda engines run counterclockwise at the crank pulley. The starter bump trick will not work for those. 

pjbgravely said:

Some Honda engines run counterclockwise at the crank pulley. The starter bump trick will not work for those. 

 

 

Historically, this is because Honda never made a rear drive car, so when they designed their front drive cars, they were free to do whatever the heck they wanted without being at the mercy of suppliers.  Japan is a RHD country, so they put the engine on the left side, and it makes sense for the engines to spin that direction.

Note:  I have no idea how we settled on clockwise for engine rotation in rear drive cars.  If there are counterclockwise rotating rear drivers, I'd like to know about it.  (Corvairs don't count, they rotate backwards to accomodate pre-existing running gear)

I tried all the methods mentioned when I replaced the timing belt on my Accord the first time.  I gave up and took it to the dealer and asked them to just get the bolt loose.  They did and did it for free.  I asked the tech what they use and he said they use a regular impact wrench.  I said that's what I used, to which he replied "You need big air".

I went through this fairly recently. 

I used the "Honda bar" to hold the pulley still. Impact socket of the proper size, then a breaker bar with an extension to get it out past the body. I used a jack stand to support the extension, and a 5' long pipe on the breaker bar. It still took a lot of force to break loose, and when it did, it did so with a loud "SNAP", which made me think I had broken my bar, but I got it done none the less. It can be done if you have a healthy enough disregard for your tools.

 I had to use my acetylene torch to heat just the bolt and then took the impact wrench to it. Everything else failed. 

Did you know if you google "stuck crank bolt" a Honda forum is the first result?

I also just went through this with an '89 Accord I bought as a daily beater.  The timing belt was changed 10 years ago so the crank bolt was stuck on there good.

I don't know if it was one or a combination of these, but I squirted 50/50 acetone+ATF on the bolt overnight a couple of times, and PB Blaster a few hours before driving to a friend's garage who had a cordless Ingersoll-Rand impact.  

The month before I took it to a DIY rent-a-bay garage and another guy's 1100 lb/ft cordless impact couldn't get it off, so I don't think it was just that.

I've never failed to unstick a Honda crank bolt using methods already described here. Mostly being willing to break your tools (they usually dont break, though). 

What I want to know is if the very bottom-end of 3/4" impacts would be good enough to make this easy. I wouldn't mind buying a cheap one for things like this if i knew the cheap ones would be good enough to work. 

wheelsmithy said:

I went through this fairly recently. 

I used the "Honda bar" to hold the pulley still. Impact socket of the proper size, then a breaker bar with an extension to get it out past the body. I used a jack stand to support the extension, and a 5' long pipe on the breaker bar. It still took a lot of force to break loose, and when it did, it did so with a loud "SNAP", which made me think I had broken my bar, but I got it done none the less. It can be done if you have a healthy enough disregard for your tools.

I did this basically exact thing on a neighbors honda a few years ago. getting the breaker bar outside of the wheel well give you the option of however long of cheater bar you want/need.

edizzle89 said:

wheelsmithy said:

I went through this fairly recently. 

I used the "Honda bar" to hold the pulley still. Impact socket of the proper size, then a breaker bar with an extension to get it out past the body. I used a jack stand to support the extension, and a 5' long pipe on the breaker bar. It still took a lot of force to break loose, and when it did, it did so with a loud "SNAP", which made me think I had broken my bar, but I got it done none the less. It can be done if you have a healthy enough disregard for your tools.

I did this basically exact thing on a neighbors honda a few years ago. getting the breaker bar outside of the wheel well give you the option of however long of cheater bar you want/need.

Exactly this. A manual transmission with a helper inside, in gear, on the brakes, and a breaker bar that was like six feet long, with the extension supported on a jackstand.

This thread is not filling me with confidence in my abilities.

OTC impact socket, Kobalt hi-po 1/2" drive impact wrench, air compressor turned up to 140 PSI, and a 1/2" air line that's only 8' long - works every time.

I had a front crank seal leaking on mine once and couldn't get it loose. I had to take it in for the airbag recall so I asked the dealership to crack it loose then retighten it a reasonable amount so I could fix the seal when I got home. They charged me $50. I drove it 30 miles home and discovered they never actually tightened it. I took it out with my fingers. After 30 miles of 75 mph plus. Come on dammit.

SO far today I’ve tried the heat/cool method with impact- no change. 

And then the extension breaker bar combo including indestructo. 

Hmmmm. I got about 90* before that happened. I’m off to battle again. 

1" HF Impact?  The Big One?

Dr. Hess said:

1" HF Impact?  The Big One?

It's not the huge one, it's the red earthquake.  5/8" maybe? It's not working though.  Might have to go get the big one.  Just broke my second extension.  Growing frustrated

It's the 1/2" harbour freight...I may need a bigger one.  

I may go get a bigger hose and coupler.  That makes a difference as well. 

This is meant to help, not be a hootus:

If you can only use one extension, that will help. Ideally, it will just clear the body. Also, a breaker bar, not a ratchet. Now for the nasty, but true part. No name sockets/extensions/adapters are junk. The adapter pictured is not up to the task. Maybe your local auto parts store can rent/lend you some quality tools. 

Good luck. You can do this.

Do you have a rental place around you that you can borrow an IR 285B-6 from?

The0retical said:

Do you have a rental place around you that you can borrow an IR 285B-6 from?

not sure but I'll check.  

wheelsmithy said:

This is meant to help, not be a hootus:

 

If you can only use one extension, that will help. Ideally, it will just clear the body. Also, a breaker bar, not a ratchet. Now for the nasty, but true part. No name sockets/extensions/adapters are junk. The adapter pictured is not up to the task. Maybe your local auto parts store can rent/lend you some quality tools. 

Good luck. You can do this.

no offense taken.  I really hate off brand tools as well, but it basically required all my exentions to clearn the body. So far I broke a kobalt and a pittsburg.  The other extensions were craftsman.  My good breaker bar is holding on the pulley tool.  I'll go buy a good breaker bar and a very long extension today. 

You need impact rated stuff for the extensions, and at least 1/2" (3/4" is even better if you can swing that sort of investment) the HF impact tools are actually decent for what they are.  I've broken craftsman and husky breaker bars before with a cheater pipe, haven't been able to kill my HF breaker bar yet. 

Hell, I've broken a newer Craftsman breaker bar with my own hands.

It's worth repeating - multiple extensions eat impact torque. You just end up rattling them against each other.

They act like a torque stick, too - winding up like a big torsion bar.