Ls400 4.0l V8 -- Requires Crank Pulley Holding Tool

[IS400]

I bought all the parts and tools for changing my water pump and timing belt for my 90. I got the list of parts and tools from your knowledge base article. Cracked open everything and now I read the part where the author wants me to put a 22 mm socket on a breaker bar and crank the engine while whacking the floor with the bar.

Do you moderators actually condone this technique? I'm pretty good with a wrench, I took off my 200,000 mile plus steering rack solenoid with five good hits with a hammer and chisel, but this sounds like madness to me.

I'm asking if there are any ways to keep that crank pulley from moving while appying the gorilla force to loosen that pulley bolt, without buying the lexus/toyota specialty too.. I'm stuck at this point and with a rented pulley remover that has to be returned tomorrow before noon. I'm ready to wedge something between pulleys before cranking my engine against a breaker bar.

Notice that the crank pulley bolt in the knowledge base tutorial is mangled? Wonder how it got that way.

[VMF]

what i did is went underneath the car, stuck a big screwdriver in the flywheel while some1 was applying the force using the harmonic pulley removal tool:)

[IS400]

How can you access the bolt if the remover is locked in place?

I understand you are describing a way to keep the pulley from turning, but my rented remover looks like a clover leaf with a threaded hole in the middle and slots on the 'leaves' for various pulley diameters.

Is this the type you are talking about or did you use something different?

[VMF]

http://www.lextreme.com/timing.htm this is the howto that i wrote when i was changing mine, it seems u might have gotten a wrong tool, look at the pic of mine and how to connect it to the pulley

[IS400]

http://www.lextreme.com/timing.htm this is the howto that i wrote when i was changing mine, it seems u might have gotten a wrong tool, look at the pic of mine and how to connect it to the pulley

I have the same tool you do in your tutorial. Step 18 and 19 do not show how to remove the bolt. All the pictures show either the bolt already out or the puller in place to remove the pulley.

How did you remove the bolt?

[VMF]

well you have to hold the flywheel if you dont want to crank the car, this how me and my buddy did it, one under the car and the other one using a wrench to pull the pulley off. we put a big piece of pipe on the wrench to have sufficient force to remove the pulley.

[IS400]

How did your friend hold against 180 foot pounds by himself? How did he grab the crank pulley?

well you have to hold the flywheel if you dont want to crank the car, this how me and my buddy did it, one under the car and the other one using a wrench to pull the pulley off. we put a big piece of pipe on the wrench to have sufficient force to remove the pulley.

[VMF]

he didnt grab it, u use the wrench on that big bolt in the middle of the tool, the tool pulls the pulley off the crankshaft.

[IS400]

My question is: How do you remove the crankshaft pulley bolt when it is torqued to 180 foot pounds and spins freely.

Your tutorial shows how to remove the pulley but does not show how to remove the pulley bolt. There is no way to remove the pulley without removing the bolt right?

[SRK]

Impact gun. Takes about 7.3 seconds to do the job.

[VMF]

use either the impact gun, or put a big pipe on the wrench, and just do it, while ur helper is holding the flywheel.

if you dont have a helper, then you have to put the wrench, put it against the ground and crank the car just a bit to loosen it.

i did it without cranking, just with a wrench and a pipe over it.

[IS400]

use either the impact gun, or put a big pipe on the wrench, and just do it, while ur helper is holding the flywheel.

if you dont have a helper, then you have to put the wrench, put it against the ground and crank the car just a bit to loosen it.

i did it without cranking, just with a wrench and a pipe over it.

O.K. Impact gun is not recommended due to risking damage to the crank bearings. I understand the wrench with the pipe over it, I have a long breaker bar and 22 mm socket ready to go. I am asking HOW did you keep the pulley from turning as you used the wrench? If you do not isolate the pulley it will just turn over the engine.

It is impossible to remove the bolt without keeping the pulley from turning somehow. If you are saying the only options are using my ENGINE to remove the bolt, using an IMPACT device inline with my crankshaft or buying the toyota isolation tool?

I'm sure toyota designed the tool so that they could prevent damage to the crank. Why build a special tool when every shop has an impact gun and 7.3 seconds to spare. I'm not being cheeky, but just do not want to be having bearing failure 1,000 miles from now from a, jeeez that's how we did it and our engine works fine still, technique.

A hammer removes the bezel from a watch pretty good, but that is not what the rolex designer had in mind.

If I told the toyota engineers that I cranked the engine to remove the bolt they would probably whisper to themselves in japanese, "twripical amrrriiikin fool."

There are threaded holes in the pulley, does anyone know even what this toyota pulley isolation tool looks like?

P.S. to any others that are thinking about doing their timing belt and water pump and have a leaking power steering pump, you probably have ps fluid getting on the belt and inside your engine.

I noticed as I started taking the engine down that on the passenger side there is a ton of fluid built up on the timing belt top cover and it seeps under an inadequate rubber gasket as it is thrown from the pump and gets inside where the belt is. I found fluid all over the place where the distributors are and on sensors and such.

A bad pump is going to damage more than your alternator is seems. I'm glad I took the time to do this job even though the tutorial lists only 3/4 of what you will encounter and is missing parts that you will need to replace.

There is no way to remove the radiator without removing the fan first, if you have AC. BTW when I did get my radiator out the surface that was next to the AC condensor was thick with decayed leaf matter. Over one half of the radiator was blocked at least a half inch thick. If you have a car over 100,000 miles and live in an area that the trees lose their leaves in the fall I'd take out your radiator and you will see at least a POUND of impacted leaves and debris. New leaves and twigs and bugs on top and each layer a little more decayed until you reach the radiator fins finally.

I thought I had a mouse nest the size of texas until I took it apart and identified all the layers of stuff. Pretty amazing that the car cooled itself at all in the summer.

Back to the drawing board on this pulley I guess...

[VMF]

block the flywheel!!!! remove the flywheel cover and then jsut stick the big screwdriver between the gears, this will prevent the engine from turning. not sure what parts are missing from the list tho:) what else did you have to buy?

[IS400]

block the flywheel!!!! remove the flywheel cover and then jsut stick the big screwdriver between the gears, this will prevent the engine from turning. not sure what parts are missing from the list tho:) what else did you have to buy?

You cannot put a large screwdriver in the slots of the pulley because there is a guard back there. You can see it in the photograph on the first post of this topic. I could force a large screwdriver in there but it would bend the guard.

Is that what you did? Will bending the guard back be an issue later? If not why did toyota put it there? Maybe to keep people from jamming in screwdrivers. Or maybe just to get them to buy their tool?

Again I do not want to mangle the car, but find a smart way to do this before noon so I can return the remover.

BTW is is a brand new 33 piece remover kit with no missing pieces.

[VMF]

flywheel is at back of the engine, its a big metal wheel and it has gears on the edge, its not a pulley, its much bigger then the crankshaft pulley. check google for pictures of the flywheel. it is covered by the cover behind the engine, you have to unsrew the cover, but not fully and just stick the screwdriver between the gears.

[SRK]

O.K. Impact gun is not recommended due to risking damage to the crank bearings.

How do you think the factory installs the bolt? Bunch of guys hold the engine while one uses a cheater bar? Think again. I have done hundreds of timing belt jobs and the impact gun is the best and LEAST dangerous method. Just where you got the idea the CRANKSHAFT BEARINGS would be damaged I don't know.

Do you have any idea what you're talking about? You make the job seem impossible, while Toyota and Lexus techs do them all day long without any angst at all.

[blake918]

I've changed the timing belt on my LS 2 times, and I used an impact wrench both of those times to effortlessly take the crank pulley off with no adverse effects on my high mileage engine. I too have never heard anything about impact wrenches causing problems.

[IS400]

I've changed the timing belt on my LS 2 times, and I used an impact wrench both of those times to effortlessly take the crank pulley off with no adverse effects on my high mileage engine. I too have never heard anything about impact wrenches causing problems.

Just got back from the dealership. I told them about the alternative methods you have all mentioned and they laughed. Especially the one about cranking the engine with a breaker bar against the floor. They did not believe me at first, until I took them to the knowledge base article and showed them the picture and the mangled bolt shown therein.

The head tech (asian guy) said you owners with tell tale engine vibration at high rpms could trace it to the impact wrench being used without isolating the pulley with the toyota tool first.

BTW how could the moderator confuse this discussion with the engine to transmission flywheel? I did show the picture of the bolt in the first post of the topic. Just because other posters call a pulley a flywheel is no reason to blame the issue on me not knowing what I am talking about.

Can you imagine using the breaker bar/crank the engine method on a 2008 LS460L? Why should LS400 owners do it?

[VBdenny]

I guess the right way to do this job is to whip over to your local Lexus dealer and have a hot cup of coffee while leaning at a 45 degree angle. I assume AutoZone doesn't rent a Toyota Pulley isolation tool and I know Lexus won't rent or lend it to you. SO how much does a dealer charge to do this job?

[Sanpete]

Interesting discussion.

VMF hasn't confused anything. He was just telling you how he prevented the engine from turning, by blocking the flywheel.

Good that you're being cautious.

[IS400]

Interesting discussion.

VMF hasn't confused anything. He was just telling you how he prevented the engine from turning, by blocking the flywheel.

Good that you're being cautious.

Now that is worth checking out. If it is an access panel, instead of pulling the tranny, I may be in business...

[VMF]

like i said, flywheel is covered by a small plastic cover, unscrewing the cover will give u access to the section of the flywheel, it is enough to stick the screwdriver between the gears. my bad if you didnt understand what i was trying to tell you form the very beginning. next time i will try to explain better. and of course there no tranny pulling required.

[IS400]

like i said, flywheel is covered by a small plastic cover, unscrewing the cover will give u access to the section of the flywheel, it is enough to stick the screwdriver between the gears. my bad if you didnt understand what i was trying to tell you form the very beginning. next time i will try to explain better. and of course there no tranny pulling required.

You saved my !Removed!!

It is a cute one too, as I am female and wear bikinis all summer on my boat. Think playboy bunny that works on cars and likes to fish! I used to have pics on here until one of the members became offended. Now I am just a ghost and lurk until I get stumped like on this problem. Mwahhaahaaa!

Happy Holidays!

[SRK]

You saved my !Removed!!

It is a cute one too, as I am female and wear bikinis all summer on my boat. Think playboy bunny that works on cars and likes to fish! I used to have pics on here until one of the members became offended. Now I am just a ghost and lurk until I get stumped like on this problem. Mwahhaahaaa!

Happy Holidays!

Nevermind.

[jbarhorst2]

Here is another alternative (and how I did mine when I changed my SC300 timing belt).

Cut the serpentine belt into a piece long enough to surround the crank pulley.

You do not want it to overlap (you will understand after the next few steps).

Get a good pair of locking chain vice grips. Wrap the chain around the belt covered pulley and attach the end to the slot in the vice grips.

Tighten the vice grips and lock into place.

Depending on the car and area you are working with, devise an appropriate way to hold the vice grips in place.

I used a short piece of pipe on mine and let that contact the ground at an angle.

Slide a pipe over the end of your breaker bar and apply sufficient "gorilla force" as mentioned earlier to loosen said crank pulley bolt.

Installation is basically in reverse. Turn the vice grips around so that they are facing the right direction to hold the pulley firmly in place.

Using the serpentine belt as a protection device for the pulley works really well and allows you something to attach to.

Tom