glennhl

I did a cam swap this weekend. Everything went well except I'm a little nervous on the balancer. I used a 2 foot breaker bar to get the bolt off. Man, I had to stand on that sucker to get it to budge!

Putting the balancer back on I used the longer bolt trick to get it started, used the old bolt and tried to get 240 ft lbs on it. My torque wrench didn't go that high, so I pushed on the 2 foot breaker bar with my feet. Couldn't push much harder. I then put in the new bolt, went to 37 ft lbs and marked the bolt. Again, I pushed as hard as I could with my feet while lying on my back and grabbing the front tire. No matter how hard I tried I could only get around 100 degrees, not the 140 that you are supposed to get. I did put blue loctite on the new bolt because I knew it was hard to get 140. Should I be worried? I could borrow a 3 to 1 gearhead at work to multiply torque, but I'll have to go buy a 24mm socket with a 3/4" drive or a 3/4 to 1/2 adapter.

Thanks,
Glenn

robertbartsch

I did the same about 1 year ago...no problems...

SSactionLs1

Find a 250lbs wrench trust me, my damn asp fell off on the dyno because i did just what you said.

eallanboggs

iTrader: (1)

You can duct tape a long piece of pipe to your 2' breaker bar or if you have a piece of pipe with a large enough I.D. you can just slide it over the breaker bar. If you use a 4' or 5' long pipe you will multiply the torque quite a bit. You probably won't have to lay on the floor and wrap your leg around the tire to keep from sliding across the garage floor The long pipe also helps in getting the bolt loose initially. You just need the extra leverage to get the bolt broken loose then it's not too bad after that. Once the balancer/pulley bucks up against the cam chain/oil pump sprocket the bolts is only going to turn so far and no more. If you had a torque wrench that could read over 250 lb/ft I'd bet you've already reached that value by now.

glennhl

OK, I got chicken and went back under the car with my torque wrench and breaker bar. I coudn't find a 250 ft lb torque wrench but I set mine to 160 and it clicked without moving. So I think it was tight. Anyway, I put on my breaker bar and did what an old mechanic friend used tell me and that's "Just Grab it and GROWL!!!!" I got the bolt to turn another 25 degrees. So I marked it with a Sharpie and I'll keep an eye on it. If it starts to loosen, I'll go get some pipe and tighten it even more.

Thanks for everyone's help,
Glenn

Wolfee

iTrader: (3)

Easiest thing to use to get the full 140 degrees is the handle from your jack. I use my handle like this all the time BTW, get a better (bigger) torque wrench, Heck, you could get an el cheapo 1/2" torque wrench from Sears that goes to 250 ft lbs for like $70-80. I have one, I only use it for my wheels but it'd be better than being short 90 ft lbs. Just my .02
Wolfee

2xLS1

iTrader: (25)

Install the old crank bolt and tighten to 250 FT/LBS of torque to seat pulley.

Remove old bolt.

Install a new bolt and tighten to 37 FT/LBS of torque, then rotate the bolt an additional 140 degrees.

glennhl

Thanks, I tried to use the GM method for installing, but I didn't have a torque wrench that went that high. I will borrow one and redo it. Plus, thanks for the tip on using the jack handle, never even thought of that, but it will work perfectly!

Should I use blue loctite on the new bolt???

Thanks,
Glenn

derek_silvy

I'm doing my cam swap when I get back from vacation and I only have a cheap torque wrench that goes to 140 ft/lbs. I'm gonna see how hard it is to torque to 140 ft/lbs.
....Now, if I am correct, mechanical advantage as it applies to leverage in this situation is multiplied by 2 for everytime the length doubles. (someone tell me if I'm wrong). I will then put a cheater bar on there, and grab it at a point that will, in effect, and if my math is correct, give me enough torque, at the same input (input being the imprecise measurement of how hard I am pulling on the bar, lol) to torque to roughly 250 ft/lbs.

For instance, if a 2.5 foot long torque wrench could achieve 140 ft/lbs of torque on the both with an input force of 55 lbs, then about a 4.25 ft long bar could achieve 250 ft/lbs at the same input foce.

...now I haven't thought about math or science since I graduated, but that seems correct to me. If it is, that may save you from buying an expensive torque wrench. The only problem is that you have to remember how hard you were working your muscles (to keep roughly the same input force).

Ok, its late... and that may have been completely retarded, but some1 let me know...

glennhl

Sorry, if I understand what you are saying, that won't work. Doesn't matter if you double the length of the torque wrench, it will still click at 140 ft lbs. It will just be a lot easier to do. You need to get a torque wrench that goes to 240 and then put the pipe on the end of it to make it easier to reach 240. You are right in that if you have a 2 foot long torque wrench, it will take 120 pounds of force to reach the 240 ft lbs. However, if you put a 2 foot extension and make it 4 feet long, you only have to apply a 60 pound force on the end to reach the 240 ft lbs of torque. Look at it this way, if you take the force you exert and multiply it by the lever arm, that is the torque, so 60 pounds times 4 feet equals a torque of 240 foot pounds.

Thanks,
Glenn

technical

Hit the weight room!!!

I used a Snap-on 1/2 ratchet and the growl method.

soundengineer

iTrader: (16)

I used the "I am a grip master gorilla son of a bitch" method....
got my 140*


pulled it so hard that the wheels turned...6th gear...e-brake on...buddy stompin down on the brakes....