Crankshaft Pulley from Car
Cars

How to Remove a Crankshaft Pulley in Your Car: The Easy Way to Do It

Your vehicle’s crankshaft pulley is a mechanical system responsible for power distribution in your car. It is a wheel-shaped device that is connected directly to your vehicle’s crankshaft and other car components through accessory belts. It transmits torque, as well as mechanical power, via the pulley system to your car’s alternator or steering pump.

Once you are determined to finally change your vehicle’s timing belt, you must first know how to remove a crankshaft pulley in your car. Here are the simple and easy steps that you should follow for the quick removal of the crankshaft pulley in your vehicle:

  1. Locate the vehicle’s crankshaft pulley.
  2. Get ready to disassemble your vehicle’s wheel.
  3. Disassemble the bolt.
  4. Disassemble the crankshaft pulley.

In this article, we are going to talk about the proper and easy way to do it. Read on if you want to successfully remove the crankshaft pullet in your vehicle.


Things You Need to Follow This Tutorial

First, gather all the tools and materials that you will need for the removal of the crankshaft pulley in your vehicle, which includes the following:

  • Impact wrench
  • Puller kit
  • Lug wrench
  • Car jack
  • Bolt remover tool

Step-By-Step Guide on How to Remove a Crankshaft Pulley in Your Car

Here are the simple and easy steps that you should follow for the quick removal of the crankshaft pulley in your vehicle:


1. Locate the Vehicle’s crankshaft Pulley

Obviously, the very first thing that you must do is to find the crankshaft pulley’s location in your engine to determine which component will be removed. Generally, it can be found on the engine compartment’s left side or the driver’s side. Other times, it may be hiding at the bottom front portion of the engine.


2. Get Ready to Disassemble Your Vehicle’s Wheel

disassemble your vehicle’s wheel
Via: https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-man-holds-brake-disc-car-removed-wheel-image74018343

Using a lug wrench, you must slacken these lug nuts off the wheel that you wish to remove. This is a step that you should do before raising your car’s wheel over the floor’s surface. If you did not, the wheel is likely to just turn once you apply some pressure on your lug wrench.

If you have a standard transmission, you can leave it in gear, and it will be locked. However, for an automatic transmission, which most of you have, the engine might just keep spinning along. Thus, preventing you from getting rid of the bolt. In this case, you will need an impact wrench.

If you do not have an impact wrench, you would want to ask for a mechanic’s help to just loosen the bolt. They do make electric impact wrenches for getting these bolts off. However, while they do not work quite as well, this electric impact wrench usually gets the bolts off.

Place your car’s transmission lever to “park,” and with the use of a car jack, raise your car’s wheel. You would want to place the jack stand right under the car’s frame, which is situated close to the wheel that you will be removing. Lastly, lower your vehicle once it has settled into the stand. This way, removing the crankshaft pulley will be a lot more secure and safe.


3. Disassemble the Bolt

Once you have gotten rid of the bolt, you would want to get the pulley off. However, you will not be able to do that easily, as it is tight. You are going to need a puller kit, which does not cost that much. It can be bought for as low as $19, and it is very easy to use.

Get the rod, screw it repeatedly into the main puller part, and snap it into the end portion, so it pushes against it. The next step is to do the same thing on the other end, so it pushes against the crankshaft.

In a normal vehicle, you might notice 4 little holes that are threaded, which is an advantage so you can get bolts in them. Once the puller assembly has been prepared, put it over and get one nut bolt and screw it into the little hole. After this, screw another bolt into a hole found on the opposite side.

Now that you have both holes on snug get a socket and snug it up by hooking up a wrench and keep turning it until it comes off.


4. Disassemble the Crankshaft Pulley

Once you get the bolts off, you may now remove your car’s crankshaft pulley. To do this, remove the timing cover so you can do any of the work that you will need to do, such as changing the timing belt or seals.

You may also use a bolt-removing tool on the bolt’s head. You just have to place one end on the bolt-removing tool and slacken the bolt using an impact wrench. With the bolts included in your tool, you may now tighten the bolt remover tool. Keep doing this step until the crankshaft pulley is finally released.


Pro Tips

  • A half-inch drive impact gun might be a great tool for removing a stubborn crankshaft pulley bolt. A torque wrench has also been proven to be a helpful tool for correctly securing it.
  • You might want to follow the service manual when removing the crankshaft pulley. You must observe all the safety precautions before you raise and support the front portion of your vehicle.
  • You will realize how accessible and how easy it is to be removed when you take a right front wheel and the splash shield off.
  • You may place the tip of a large flathead screwdriver between the splash guard and its rivets. To remove the rivets from the splash guard, you may put pressure on the screwdriver handle. Once it is loose, you may now remove the splash guard.
  • Slippage can result in a misalignment between the central hub and the other drive ring. This slippage can cause the crankshaft pulley to wobble. It may cause a constant slip while appearing to be working properly. This can be prevented if you know how to disassemble the crankshaft pulley and replace it.
  • Never use a jaw-type puller to remove your car’s crankshaft pulley. Using this tool will only cause the rubber bonding ring to rip or tear through the pulling on the outer edge of the crankshaft pulley. You may use the correct pulley removal tool to eliminate the pressure concentrated on the rubber ring.

Conclusion

Now that we have discussed how to remove a crankshaft pulley in your car, we hope that you will now be able to do it successfully on your own. With the right tools, you can take anything apart. Just follow this step-by-step guide the next time you find yourself whining about the high cost of auto repair. Now, you do not have to call a mechanic to do this job for you.