I am in the process of tearing my engine block down but I have ran into a snag. I cant seem to remove the front bolt on the eccentric shaft (large bolt in the middle of the main pullies). I have my pnuematic gun at 150psi and it is still not coming off. its not a reverse thread by chance is it? I have an overhaul vid and on there its a normal thread for the FC but I am assuming is the same for the 3rd gen. anyother suggestions?

 

It's a right-hand thread. I had to take my engine to a diesel mechanic. It took a torch and a 1200 ft-lb pneumatic impact to get it off! Good luck.

 

Hell men this has been discussed about as many times as an Auto to Manual swap. Don't use a torch on your Eccentric Shaft....never ! Don't put a wrench on the bolt and "hit" the starter ( like some have done ). Don't try to lock the flywheel. All this puts ondue stress and strain on the E-shaft and more.

I have removed 4 or 5 of these and the FD is the hardest to remove. It's torqued on at 200 foot pounds with some locktite. So What! IT goes on, it'll come off. The key to removing this "Demon Bolt" is to capture and hold the E-shaft hub, to prevent it from turning. I have developed ( and some others may have too ) a tool to bolt on and hold the E-shaft hub firmly, to keep it from turning. Remove the bottom pulley ( 4 bolts ) and bolt this tool on. Once the hub is held firm then just take a 3/4" ratchet or breaker bar with the proper socket ( been awhile but I believe it is 21mm ) and add a cheater to it and the bolt will ease on out, without incident. My wife held the holding tool while I broke the bolt loose once.


Here is a picture of the Tool that I made to hold the E-shaft hub....

 

the way i usually take it off :
with the engine out of the car on the ground , with engine mounts still on and flywheel attached ,
i chain 2 bolts ( one 2 flywheel and one to upper trany bolt mout in such a way that it stops the eshaft from rotating when i unbolt the front )
with a ~1.5 Meter pipe ... and my dad and a friend on top of the engine , it usualyl comes off

 

If its an original motor, my 700 ft/lb IR Titanium gun won't even do it. I put the motor on a heavy duty engine stand. Use a rotary-specific flywheel stopper. Then I have an assistant stand on the engine stand to keep it stationary while I go at the bolt with a 1" drive breaker bar and a jack handle for an extension. This may not work for everyone, as I am 6"1" 238lbs and at the gym regularly. Another option is to put the car in gear and put the ebrake on, and break it loose while the motor is still in the car. I would worry about denting a fender though. I don't see anything wrong with using a torch. You should be replacing the o-ring on the bolt, the thermopellet with a solid plug, and the front main seal anyway during your rebuild. A lot of engine are assembled with lock-tite and you need to heat it to free it up.

 

1. Heat it with a torch.
2. Try your impact gun again, if it does not come off now...
3. I will usually then lock the flywheel and then use a breaker bar with an impact socket.

Anthony

 

I built a similar tool to Bads that lags to studded garasge walls to hold shaft. I works well and you can remove the bolt by yourself.