So, I was all worried about changing the reluctor wheel on the 6.2 crank I got from a 58X to the required 24X for my 2005 GTO.

No I didn't want to buy the Lingenfelter conversion box for $274.95 or the overpriced patented tool for $209.99. I have FAR better things to spend my money on. Besides, the proper 24X wheel cost me all of $21.84 including tax.

Here's how I did it WITHOUT the overpriced "patented" tool.

1) Place new reluctor wheel over the existing wheel on the crankshaft
2) Align the 8mm hole and "triangle/oval" holes on both wheels

3) Once aligned, install a small C-Clamp or 8mm bolt/nut to hold them together
4) Mark/Scribe TWO alignment marks from crankshaft to reluctor wheel (I made them 180° apart just to be safe)
(two marks are for double verification when aligning the new wheel)
(be sure to scribe the crank starting from inside the existing wheel and outward onto the new wheel)


5) Remove C-Clamp or bolt/nut and new wheel
6) Using a hammer and driver, remove existing wheel
7) Place new wheel in oven at 350°F for 20 minutes
8) Using an OVEN MIT, remove new wheel from oven and place onto crankshaft
9) Using OVEN MIT, rotate new wheel and align with reference marks
10) Make sure wheel is started "straight" when placing onto crankshaft
10) Once aligned to the reference marks and going on "straight", use hammer and driver to tap new wheel into place
12) ONLY tap around inner diameter area of the new reluctor wheel and be sure not to bend/damage the new wheel
13) Tap until new wheel is FULLY seated against the register on crankshaft
(you'll hear a "ringing" noise when it's fully seated vs. the "dull" noise when driving it down


14) Allow reluctor wheel and crankshaft to cool until it reaches room temperature
15) Optional: Spot weld reluctor wheel to crankshaft to prevent it from slipping in the future
16) Install crankshaft into engine
17) Required: Pat yourself on the back for saving $209.99 + shipping.

 

Nice tip!!!!

 

Another potential Sticky here!

 

Added Pics for some steps. I can take more pics if needed.

 

How do you verify the original wheel was in the correct position? Such as a crank from an unknown engine.

 

I would say the above trick only works if the 24x reluctor is known to be correctly installed, like if it came out of a running engine

 

Yes, if it is a used crank out of a running engine, you have to ASSUME that it is installed correctly. If it's a NEW crankshaft, then you have to ASSUME that the company that produced the crank installed it correctly.

How many times have you heard of the reluctor wheel shifting and causing an engine to not run?

If an engine experiences a catastrophic failure, I'd probably consider having it inspected with an alignment tool/fixture.

The above trick works for going from 24x to 58x and vice versa. The alignment holes in BOTH wheels are the same.




In the end, if you install the wheel at a slightly different angle, it won't make the engine run any different, but the timing "number" will change. For example, 24° timing before the swap may not be the same as 24° timing after the swap.

For me, it won't really matter since I have to re-tune my car anyhow with all the changes that were made.


Cole

 

In reference to installing a new 58x wheel on a used crank, my experience was that after heating the wheel in an oven at 400 for 20 minutes I could completely place the wheel down on the shoulder loosely. And had time correct a slight misalignment. No hammer and punch was used. I had time to get it where I wanted it before cooling and tightening up.
Previously I had checked the interference fit of a new wheel and a LY6 crank I have. Cold showed .003 interference. Fine for cold pressing parts, but when heating is used it would be nice to have much more. Heating the new wheel to 400 expanded the ID .008" from the cold measurement. Hope this adds something.

 

Is it really this easy? I have LY6 short block to convert for a future turbo build.

 

Yes it is this easy, heating the wheel to get it on and off is a piece of cake, we just need info on the correct phasing of the wheel to the crank, as it seems to vary. I used threaded alignment pins sharpened to a point screwed in the holes at 3 and 9. The points set right next to the shoulder of the crank the wheel registers on. And then scribe across the back side of the wheel the tooth I want to appear in the sensor hole. The 8mm hole has to be on the right side of the motor of course. I hope the community could come together to flesh this out.

 

I’m surprised the correct phasing is so difficult to find. I dug through the factory service manual today and it said the reluctor wheel is not serviceable. Replace the crankshaft if there is a problem with the wheel, ridiculous lol.

 

Agreed on the timing and overall ability of the engine to run. I'm concerned with misfire detection and any other small things that reference the crank position. It would be nice to know the tolerance range for installing the wheel so you can make sure you center the wheel in that range during installation. If its a two tooth window then its probably not a big deal, however it could be a half degree tolerance and that is obviously harder to get right. What is the penalty for getting it wrong? What kind of things would be present on a vehicle with a "slightly" out of phase wheel? I have a crank with no reluctor wheel on it now and I need to get a 24x installed on it. I'm not just stirring the pot with my questions, although it may have came across that way with my first post.

 

I can't answer your tuning/PCM questions as I'm not a tuner, but I have a decent understanding of how the PCM interprets timing. Mis-fires, that another situation I know little about.

I will report back once my engine is back in my car and we begin tuning (HP Tuners). This will be my first chance at learning tuning. Another well experienced person is doing the tuning for me and I will learn from him. I can ask him these questions once we get into it all.

As far as your crank WITHOUT a wheel on it, then I would suggest using an alignment fixture for that install. The alignment of the wheel to crankshaft is determined by the non-threaded hole in the end of the crankshaft and 8mm hole in the wheel. According to my GM models, the angle between the two should be 123.05°. I went to the trouble of creating a 3D model and drawing to make my own fixture. In the end, I didn't need to do this.



Thanks,
Cole

 

That is precisely the info I was looking for, thank you. I assume that 123.05 degrees is center to center on the alignment holes?

I do want to check the location of the wheel on my LS7 also. It does run fine with the exception of a random misfire code accompanied by a rich condition at idle and very low speed/low load driving (it’s not a real misfire though). It’s a strange problem and I don’t want to clutter this thread with it unless it turns out to be relevant. I’ll report back with results.

 

Yes, center-to-center of holes.

 

Cool tech tip.

As I’ve not seen an aftermarket wheel, would this process work for installing a billet 24x wheel on an LSA crank?

Thanks.

 

I can't say for certain. It all depends on if the aftermarket wheel has the same alignment hole as a factory unit (most likely does) and if the LSA crank has the same orientation of the "dowel" hole in the crank flange.



Cole