Part 1. Preparation and safety
Objective
- Remove belts, accessories, water and fuel pumps.
Personal safety
Whenever you perform a task in the workshop you must use personal protective clothing and equipment that is appropriate for the task and which conforms to your local safety regulations and policies. Among other items, this may include:
- Work clothing - such as coveralls and steel-capped footwear
- Eye protection - such as safety glasses and face masks
- Ear protection - such as earmuffs and earplugs
- Hand protection - such as rubber gloves and barrier cream
- Respiratory equipment - such as face masks and valved respirators
If you are not certain what is appropriate or required, ask your supervisor.
Safety check
- Make sure that you understand and observe all legislative and personal safety procedures when carrying out the following tasks. If you are unsure of what these are, ask your supervisor.
Points to note
- Make notes, draw diagrams, take photos and label parts so you can correctly reassemble them.
- Where possible replace any nuts or bolts back after an accessory has been removed.
- If the crank continues to turn when trying to remove the damper leave it on till the oil pan is removed.
Part 2: Step-by-step instruction
- Remove belts and accessories
On an engine that has V-style accessory belts, there will usually be a pivot bolt and one or two other locking bolts. Loosen these until the accessory will pivot, slackening the belt.
If the belts are reusable, when you pull them off keep them in the same order they were on the engine, and label and mark them so you know which way to put them back on.
On engines with serpentine style belts there will be one or more tensioner and idler pulleys. Loosen the bolts for the tensioner to slacken the belt then remove it.
If the fan is still in place remove it now as well as the water pump pulley behind it, and if the alternator is still attached, remove it next.
- Make notes and stay organized
Every engine design is different, so look for particular arrangements of accessories and brackets. For instance, on some engines there is a hidden spacer behind the alternator bracket.
Keep taking notes, drawing diagrams, or taking pictures at each stage in the disassembly, and keep all bolts and loose components in labeled bins or bags.
Where possible, it will be helpful later if you can replace any nuts or bolts back where they came from, after the accessory had been removed.
- Remove fuel and water pumps
If the engine has a mechanical fuel pump with a steel fuel line disconnect the line first, then remove the pump.
On some engines, there is a fuel pump cover plate with a rod hiding behind it that gets pushed on by the camshaft. This may drop out on its own when you remove the plate.
To get the water pump pulley off more easily, run one of your fan belts around two of the pulleys and pinch it. This will hold the pulley so you are able to loosen all the bolts. Remove the pulley bolts, then the bolts for the pump itself. If the pump is stuck, you may need to hit it gently to break the seal and get it free.
When you remove the main pulley, keep these main pulley bolts handy. You will need them to help you remove the harmonic balancer, sometimes called the damper.
- Remove the damper
The damper on many engines is pressed on to the nose of the crankshaft and can't be pulled off by hand. Use a harmonic balancer removal tool that will thread into the same holes the pulley was held by, using the same bolts. The bolts have to thread in at least a half inch. If they aren't threaded in far enough you may strip out the threads.
If the crank starts to spin, jerk the bolt once or twice or try turning the tool even slower. If the crank is still turning, just leave the balancer on and pull it off later after the oil pan is removed.
