Gday,

Has any one changed the timing and balance chain with out removing the engine out?

i planned this one and as it was expained in the manual looked easy and thought will finish it in 4 days, :nuts: but could not open the crank shaft pulley bolt....... so frustrated :rant: i had gregorys manual, thought the info is not enough so bought the Haynes manual... still the same. :nuts:

i know the tightening torque on the bolt is quite high 108- 127 but have nothing to lock the shaft.

@ is their a special tool to lock the shaft so can apply the pressure on the bolt..... please help me out :headbange

i m lost please help...............
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love d car and she will love u back

If you remove the engine it will make things soooo much easier.... I would reccomend getting a ratchet or a breaker bar on to the cam bolt to stop the engine turning over (your gonna need someone to help you there) and then undo it.

thx i will try that,

i was searching on net and on one of the web forums said the thread on the bolt is reverse, what about our magnas are they normal or reverse,

removing engine will be my last option cause i dont have the equip to do that and i f i can fix it inside the car i wish to try that first.

Timing chain is the LAST thing i would want to do with the engine in the car, its just in a stupid place. Do you have a tree and some chain? you could have the engine out in half a day. :D

i know the tightening torque on the bolt is quite high 108- 127 but have nothing to lock the shaft.

@ is their a special tool to lock the shaft so can apply the pressure on the bolt..... please help me out :headbange


Hey there,

Try getting a socket and a right-angle extension (not a ratchet, as you'll break it), put it on the nut and click the starter motor. The engine turning over will un-do the nut. I usually put a bit of wood under where the bar will hit, just so it doesn't bend anything.

Doing it back up is a little tricky, either you have to bind up the flywheel (take out the starter motor) or use an impact spanner.

eeerrrr rattle gun will get it of in the blink of an eye. drive over to ur mechinics and have him loosen it for 20 bucks, do it up tight enough to get home then ur set.

or the starter motor way has worked for me, tho i still say autos suck



if its manual just put it in gear and use the handbreak

thanks fellows....
i will remove the engine out...... will use the block and tackle ....

one more question please

does the bolt have normal type threading (by normal type i mean is opens whens turned anticlock wise) or is it the other way cause i read in some other sites about reverse threading.

thx a lot for u r help

cheers

Try it both ways, its gotta be one way or another...

its normal thread, anticlockwize will get it off. did you try a bfoh on a ring end spanner or socket? DO NOT USE SHIFTERS ON CARS!

Yep shifters are the worst tool to have for cars, you will round the head on every bolt you come across!!

stuff taking out the engine, do it while its in the car, not really that difficult, save stuffing around with disconnecting everything like the engine mounts and then putting them all back together properly.

What i did was put a breaker bar and socket on the nut and then spun the engine with the starter motor and came off easily enough. What my dad did was have someone put their foot on the brake, i pushed on the nut with my foot and he whacked it with a hammer, that works too.

take off the engine mount on the front of the engine, and then undo the bolts for the front of the crossmember under the engine, this will let you drop the engine enough to do it easy.

Pretty good way to save you so much money in labour.

I can also recommend the starter motor method. Basically whatever the engine, to get the nut (or bolt) off the pulley, it needs to turn the opposite dircetion to which way the shaft spins. Same as an angle grinder or any other high speed shaft. They are like this to prevent inadvertant unlocking of the bolt or nut while the shaft is in motion.

Cheers,

thank you very much for help

i will remove the engine out this week end, if the weather is ok.

will post on some pics if any one is interested.

cheers

pics would be great

timing chain can be replaced in the car i have done it many times.
use a rattle gun and single hex socket to crack the balancer nut (or breaker bar or ratchet and pipe as mentioned b4 but make sure the end of the bar is lined up properly with the front of the chassis rail before hitting the starter and don't use an extention bar on the socket.)
To get the balancer off the crank undo the engine mount at the front of engine and the one at the gearbox and use a jack to pivot engine/box to an angle where the balancer pulley clears the chassis rail. Remove the sump, alternator, a/c compressor and bracket and engine mounting bracket from front of engine. timing case can now be unbolted and removed from under the car, careful not to damage the head gasket while removing timing case. the hardest and most time consuming bit is getting all the old gasket off the block.