yoyoguy2

i can't seem to get the timing gear off the crank, it came 2/3 off with some prybar help, but it won't go any farther at all. should this be so hard? it seems like it should slide on and off fairly easily,... is there some other way to do it?

pete944

You need a gear puller. That pulls it off the crank squarely. Forcing it can make it bind.

yoyoguy2

thanks to "german engineering" i can't fit a gear puller in properly. or rather, i can get a little one in, but the screw isn't long enough to fit down the hole for the crank bolt, and with the bolt in it doesn't fit in the space between the radiator and the engine. so what kind of gear puller do you have?

pete944

I bought a $20 one from Autozone and it fits but just barely. Did you remove the fans? That always helps.

yoyoguy2

ah, there it is. i'm trying not to remove the fans. is this really the only way?

Danno

Well, you have to remove your taillights! Then work your way up to the front. Might be easiest to just pull the engine...

pete944

The fans come out pretty easy from the bottom. Unplug the 2 connectors and remove 6 10mm bolts. A little creative wiggling will get it out.

Sometimes I think Danno pulls the engine to change the spark plugs!

Joe Jackson

Put a thick spacer on the front of the crank to push on or thread the crank bolt in however much it takes to get the puller screw in the right spot. You may need to remove the fans for the second one although you should remove them anyway as you'll have so much more room to work with and only have used up 10 minutes max to pull the fans.

What were you using for leverage when using a pry bar? You're scaring me.

yoyoguy2

i was thinking pulling the torsion bars might help, but i don't want to mess with the sunroof gears.

oh, and while i was writing this my #2 rod bearing failed.

damn cars.

yoyoguy2

uh, yeah, by pretty easy, you mean what? you mean "dimensionally impossible" perhaps? i've got the bolts out, and i'm not seeing this...

pete944

After you do it a couple times it gets easier.
After the bolts are out slide the fans up and lower the drivers side corner. You should be able to wiggle it out.

yoyoguy2

did you remove every piece of coolant piping? cause i think i'll have to pull like 10 of them at this point, and the oil line to the oil cooler, and maybe remove the radiator first.

pete944

No, it slides out fairly easy.
Oh wait, you have a 951. I'm not sure how the hoses are routed on those.
You are trying to get it out from the bottom, right?

yoyoguy2

ah ha. the source of our miscommunication.

yeah the problem is there are several hard pipes that run across the front of the radiator above the fans, so you can't lift it high enough to rotate it. also, the external oil cooler line runs right under the bottom of the radiator on the passenger side, so it can't slide down. it looks like i have to take off a bunch of the coolant hoses, which i was also trying to avoid doing, but it seems there's no way out.

anyway, thanks for the help, i'm taking a break for a while but i'll post how it turns out, possibly weeks from now

pete944

Good luck man. Can you unbolt the oil cooler and swing it out of the way without disconnecting the lines?