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Help! In Middle Of Replacing Harmonic Balancer


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OK good news bad news, I need help...

 

Bad news #1 I forgot to remove the washer after I removed the crank bolt, then starting using the remover tool but that messed up the washer slightly since I was cranking on it. I'll need to go buy a new washer, no big deal.

 

Good news #1 The balancer came off nice without removing anything but my skid plate and the splash shield. No need to remove rad, fan, etc., none of that. In hindsight I probably didn't even need to put the truck on ramps to do this job.

 

Good news #2 The balancer was rubbing on the timing chain cover but luckily it didn't dig through, it just "scored" the cover, so the damage is minimal and I don't need to replace the cover.

 

Bad news #2 Here's where I need help.... boy I'm struggling to get the front crank seal (on the timing cover) off. I tried using a screwdriver, I tried using the paint lid tool trick, and I bought the seal remover tool. None of them will budge the damn thing. Any ideas on how to get the stupid thing out of there?

 

And how do I get the old woodruff key out of there? I put some vice grips on there to try and pull it and it wouldn't budge.

 

Yeah yeah I know I butchered things trying to get the seal out... :mad:

 

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A punch and hammer.

 

For the seal or woodruff key?

 

Why do you need to remove the old woodruff key?  The new balancer should still work with the old woodruff key...

 

Good question. The new balancer comes with a new key so I just kind of assumed I need to change it. When I think about it it's easier to just leave that one alone. Consider that done :thumbsup:

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I found a trick on YouTube for removing a stubborn seal... drill a small hole and put a screw in there and pull. Cool idea, I might have to try that... but I'm done with this for the night, I'll tackle the project again tomorrow afternoon.

 

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p.s. I forgot to mention that I used the old trick of putting a socket & breaker bar on the crank bolt and cranking the engine to break the bolt loose, it worked wonderfully. It sounded terrible (I only cranked it for about 1/10 second, just a blip) but it worked great.

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IF you can drill a hole the the lip of the seal that may do the trick, otherwise don't waste your time. It's a major PITA but it is worth it in the long run to just remove the cover all together. If not you could end up damaging the opening and/or the deal surface . . . . . . . like I did. Thank God I had a spare.

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Argh, it's gone from bad to worse. I tried the drilling a hole and using a screw to pull it out trick a few times and it just tore the front metal part of the seal.

 

So what needs to come off to remove the timing chain cover? I may just take it off...

 

Someone stop me from pushing the truck out to the street and lighting a match... :mad:

 

 

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OK I didn't torch my truck. Long story short I read on another forum a tip to try and punch the seal inward toward the crank so it "loosens" the seal against the cover. When I did that I was able to take the biggest screwdriver I have and pry it out then.

 

So I guess I was just trying to not damage the timing cover too much before. In the end I think it's all good. I picked up some black RTV, I'm going to smear a little bit on the seal where it fits into the cover to help prevent any future leaks. And I put the new seal in my deep freeze to help make it a tiny bit smaller before putting it back in :thumbsup:

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