Timing Belt removal - Crankshafted

[KGM323]

1991 Mazda 323 - 1.6L SOHC j@ 194000 miles.
==> Am replacing the water pump - and timing belt.


Now: I must remove the Timing Belt Guide 'washer' by first removing the large center bolt of the Crankshaft Sprocket:
==> How to prevent the Crankshaft from turning? AND what direction to turn & remove? Counterclockwise (right-hand thread)?

In doing a water pump replacement on my Isuzu Trooper ('91 4-cylinder) a few years ago, I had to first remove the starter motor and jam into the ring gear of the flywheel a small pry bar.

The Haynes repair manual suggests "removing the flywheel/ driveplate access cover" to do the same "flywheel ring gear wedge". I see no "access plate".
Is the manual actually telling me to remove the drivers side transaxle drive & clutch/ flywheel Housing?
waddahassell!!!

Any suggestions?

 

[MaxPower]

Turn it counterclockwise. You can use the starter to break the crankshaft pulley bolt open, but you'll still have to figure out how to hold the crank stationary when tightening... check youtube for videos on how to do this.

This tool will help, if you can find it: https://www.amazon.com (commissions earned)

 

[dmention7]

I've always had good luck putting the transmission in 5th and having a helper stand on the brakes while I loosen/tighten the crank bolt.

 

[sch72]

Not sure about the 1600 but a neighbor's impact wrench and 200 feet of air hose to his compressor did the job on my 1500 last year. The bolt came off right at the shop manual's torque setting. Put it back on after replacing the timing belt etc. with the same tool and Loctite.

The 1500 does have a port to let you jam a screwdriver against the ring gear but the thought of stripping gear teeth was too much.

 

[slavrenz]

Not sure about the 1600 but a neighbor's impact wrench and 200 feet of air hose to his compressor did the job on my 1500 last year. The bolt came off right at the shop manual's torque setting. Put it back on after replacing the timing belt etc. with the same tool and Loctite.

The 1500 does have a port to let you jam a screwdriver against the ring gear but the thought of stripping gear teeth was too much.

Impact Wrench, FTW (mj)

 

[sch72]

OK, not everyone has a a friendly retired heavy duty mechanic with a garage full of tools as a neighbor so here is a possible plan B.

After mucking around with another problem on this car for a long time I found the whole engine shop manual downloadable for free from an internet site. Sorry, moved things to another computer and lost the url, it was pdf something or other.

The manual shows a special tool to immobilize the crankshaft. It looks like a big flat open end wrench that bolts on to the four bolts on one of the crank pulleys. That thing and a long handled torque wrench will do the job.

You need to pull about 120 ft. lbs. and re-install at that setting if I remember right. The tool has also been home made by a number of people.

There may be some archived posts on this topic, the job is challenging and tricky for a do it yourselfer but it can be done.

I did buy a new water pump but after reading accounts of some people coming to grief snapping the mounting studs off decided if its not leaking don't fix it. The car has about 95000 kilometers on the clock.

Replacing the alternator and air conditioning belts also gets interesting - They will squeal like banshees if you don't set them to the right tension.
I made a belt tension gauge out of a piece of wood, screw, and fisherman's scale the looked sort of redneck but did the job.

Hope this helps.