Harmonic balancer Quit spinning.

[xdeadeye1]

Hi guys.

I am new here because im looking for advice and answers.   I got this 96 Legacy wagon 2.2, this spring,,and im planning on using it as a run around car and especially for the winter. 

 

I just got done replacing the heater core,,    now im driving in town,, nothing harsh..    And I hear a rattle noise and some lights come on the dash.  I pull it over, look under the hood,, and the Crank pully isn't turning.    

After doing some research im attempting to fix this.    Its raining so im here talking to you.

 

1.  Getting the Crank Bolt out.    
           I have read about and actually found the access port on top of the engine.. But I look in there with a flashlight and I don't see anything turning when I move the crank bolt with a breaker bar.     Some guidance on how to wedge a screwdriver in there to stop the engine from turning would be a great help.  Especially for later when im Re assembling.

 

 

   1a.    I'm planning on putting my breaker bar against the ground and kicking the engine over if I cant  figure out how to jam the fly wheel in there.

 

2.   Once I get the Pully off ,,,,  (its currently very wobbly on the bolt which is still tight in the crank.  )      Im almost positive the keyway sheared off .  because the pully will turn on the shaft/bolt.

 

I guess I will get a new key and put in  the cleaned out keyway.      Im worried I damaged the crank shaft by the keyway,,,,      I will post here again when it stops raining and I can actually work on it. more.

 

If any of you have done this / ran into this,, advice is appreciated.

 

Im concerned as to what caused this,,  and also  what to do if the keyway is chipped or something.

 

Thanks.

John

Marietta, OH

[lmdew]

Breaker bar, long one will sit on the frame rail right in front of the battery.  

Disconnect your coil pack for Safety.

 

You will most likely need to replace:

Crank grear

H Blancer

Key way

Front cover

 

Torque the bolt to 125 FT Lbs

[ocei77]

If its an auto once you get new pulley and can turn the engine you will see slots in the flex plate where you can insert screwdriver. Make sure it doesn't rest against the tps.

Alternatively there is a hole in the side of block where you can insert a screwdriver or something to prevent turning. See attached.(credit to JohnCEggleston)

If  a manual, you have to block the flywheel.

 

O.

 

[porcupine73]

On my '96 I jammed a small pry bar down in the access port on top of the engine. It did manage to block the flywheel somehow though I couldn't quite see what it was grabbing.

Im concerned as to what caused this,

Usually it is from not tightening the crank bolt enough after replacing the timing belt.

[afterbang]

crossing my fingers that the key way isn't destroyed.

[xdeadeye1]

Ok,

I figured out why the access port in the top of the engine wasn't seeing anything moving in there..   and I couldn't figure out what to jam up. 

 

The Crank Bolt was loose.   I was turning the bolt and it wasn't turning the crank..

 

Pulled the bolt.

Pully was a bit wallowed out in the back,, going to replace it.

 

The key is lying in there underneath the crank gear,,, loose ,, but I cant get it out,, it gets stuck as I pull it out.    It isn't pretty.  The key is sheared and or bent.      Im nervous hoping the Key WAY is still usable. 

 

so im going to begin the process of a timing belt change ,,,  (radiator pull, cover removal etc...  ) then try to get the crank gear off the shaft.. and pray the crank is still serviceable..  If any of you smart guys are following this thread,, I would appreciate you checking in on me for questions etc..  Im a shade tree mechanic,, and im in uncharted waters.

[heartless]

chances are the keyway on the end of the crankshaft will be fine - you may need to clean it up a little, but it should be ok, they are pretty tough. Replacing the pulley is a good idea if it is damaged, tho.

 

there are lots of threads and write-ups around here about timing belts - some with good pictures, and plenty of people to help if you arent sure about something.

 

how many miles on the car?

 

Probably a good idea to do a full timing service while you are in there - new idler pulleys, water pump, T-stat, seals, etc - do it all at one time and be good to go for miles and miles. Lots of threads discussing timing kits, and where to get them as well.

T-stat - you want either Subaru OE or the Stant Exac-stat equivilent (part number is around here somewhere) - do not cheap out on that one, it will cause problems if you do.

[xdeadeye1]

around 180 k on the car.   The water pump and timing belt change was done by my brother a few years ago.   So it was him who put no lock tite on the crank bolt,, and Im pretty sure he didn't torque down the bolt at the end of the job..  It has taken a long time for this bolt to work loose.  I never noticed any significant wobble on the Pully when I got the car this past spring,    I changed the 2 belts and drove it to florida and then drove it all summer. 

 

I just got the heater core done and was feeling happy.. when poof..   

 

as far as a kit,, yeah I just priced some on rock auto,,   There is a kit from gates for 115.  And another one from "DNJ"   for $94.   

 

Maybe ill get some pictures on here of things.

[ocei77]

Gates.

I have always had good fortune with theimportexperts on ebay also.

Loctite is not needed, just torque to at least 130ft lbs.

 

O.

[idosubaru]

The keyway is entirely unnecessary if you don't want to dig into it right now.

 

I use a 3 foot cheater pipe over my socket and get it "good-and-tight" with no torque wrench.  Crank bolt never loosens.

I don't even care when I pull a pulley and see no pin/keyway in it or come across one with a damage/sheared off/broken crank/bolt/sprocket/keyway, don't even hesitate or think twice.  I'll install a new pulley and bolt and done, no worries about the key.

Edited October 9, 2014 by grossgary

[mikec03]

Just to clarify something for you.  If  your brother, consulted a 96 service manual, it did not specify 130 ft lb of torque for the crank bolt.  I think the 95 specifies 65 ft lb and through the late 90's, subaru kept increasing the specified torque, until the early 2000 cars where they arrived at 130+ ft lb.   So apparently, subaru had reports of the crank bolt loosening and increased the torque to fix the problem.  Use the 130+ ft lb. 

 

Also you will need a 12" screwdriver to easily hold the flywheel, or something like a screwdriver.  There are like 1 1/2" long eliptical like slots in the flywheel to insert the screwdriver.  It's relatively easy to hold the screwdriver with one hand and put the torque on the bolt [with a cheater].

 

It would probably be a good idea to order a new crank bolt which is cheap just to be sure that the threads are not goofed up.

[lmdew]

Torque in the aftermarket manuals of that lower value was an error.  I use 125 FT LBS never have had a problem.

[mikec03]

 

Torque in the aftermarket manuals of that lower value was an error.  I use 125 FT LBS never have had a problem

 

No.  The lower torque specifications were from subaru, not after market manuals!  The following are from surbaru service manuals.

 

Crank bolt torque

 

1996       80 ft lb

1998       94 ft lb

2001      130 ft lb

 

In addition, there was no change in the crank bolt from 95 to at least 02 and probably to the present time.

[xdeadeye1]

Good info.  Im going to tear into it and get some pics up by tomorrow.   Just been crappy weather.   

[xdeadeye1]

going to buy the harmonic balancer / pully ,, but  apparently there are two types..      To select the correct one , it asks for the 9th digit of the model number.       Which should be P or G.    Well I found the vin number,, and the 9th number is an x. 

 

So under the hood I found a plate.  the only thing that is close is an Engine type number..    The 9th digit of the engine number is P.        (which of course is the more expensive one)  

 

but the web sites all say this to refer to the 9th digit of the model plate... wtf.   

[johnceggleston]

any ej22 pulley from 90 - 98 will work.

same with the crank sprocket.

it may be sloppy as well.

[xdeadeye1]

I got pictures,, but I cant figure out how to post them up here..   nothing working

[idosubaru]

i'm pretty sure the pulleys are interchangeable even if there are two part numbers.

[xdeadeye1]

i cant post pictures so ill tell you about it. (if anyone knows the trick im all ears)

 

1.  lots of metallic dust around the idler pullys.

2.  All the idler pullys ,, instead of being shiny from the belt wearing on it ,,,   all seem brown like some kind of build up is on them.. either oil,, or rust.. not sure.. 

3.  looking at the passenger side cam pully, (the wagon wheel)   it looks like there is a build up of some sort behind the wheel,   Looks like hardend  black grease   or  melted plastic... not sure at this point.  

4.  Belt looks to be in good condition.

5.  keyway seems shallow .  Its wallowed out a little too wide for normal,,, and it doesnt go back very far under the crank sprocket.  about 1/4 to 3/8 " length total overall.

 

 

The crank pulleys are  diffent by 20 dollars in price.    If Mr. Eggleston says use the cheaper one is ok,, then i will. 

[heartless]

i cant post pictures so ill tell you about it. (if anyone knows the trick im all ears)

 

sign up for a free account at an imaging hosting site - imageshack, photobucket, imgur - do a google search and look a few over to find one that is going to work best for you.

 

upload your pictures to that site, and use thier url links to post in the threads.

 

if you do use photobucket, you do not need to use the "image" tag here (little picture icon) - simply copy the url from photobucket and paste it directly into your post.

 

using other image hosting sites, I am not sure if you need to use the image tag, or not - I only know photobucket, as I have used it for many years.

[xdeadeye1]

[xdeadeye1]

This is the driver side cam pully with greasy black hard stuff piled up behind it.

 

[johnceggleston]

the only reason i would buy a new pulley and sprocket is if i were in a hurry and needed to be back on the road today.

some one has these parts sitting on a shelf as we type.

ask around or post in the ''wanted'' section.

 

and yes you need to remove the crank sprocket.

 

the black gook could be worn belt rubber and engine oil leaking out through the cam shaft seal.

maybe left over from the last belt change.

 

the key way is a non-issue, except it may be difficult removing the sprocket.

if you reinstall a good sprocket, pulley, woodruff key, and maybe the bolt is damaged,

align everything correctly and torque to 127 - 135 ft. lbs.,

you will be good.

 

the slop in the key way is in the unbolt direction.

when aligned properly and torqued, the parts will stay in the proper place.

once torqued properly, they will not move.

the key only holds them in the correct position.

the bolt does the the real work.

 

you should also consider replacing cam & crank seals and the oil pump o-ring.

Edited October 12, 2014 by johnceggleston

[xdeadeye1]

Mr. Eggleston,

From the pics would you also replace those idler pulleys?  I haven't taken them off yet to check them.  but im saying "from the way they look"   is that normal?

 

This will make  a difference in if I buy a kit or just a belt.. 

 

I guess im also going to replace the pully,, I have no woodruff key,  and it comes with the pully.    My pully is a little wallowed out by the shaft spinning inside it with the key in it.

 

 

I know im asking a lot of silly questions, just want to do a good job and be sure the car is reliable again.

 

The cam seal, crank seal and oil pump O ring are a lil more above my pay grade,, but I think I can do it.        Being that the car is 180k miles,, and never had these seals replaced I guess I should probably do it.      The water pump was replaced about 50 k ago .

[johnceggleston]

i would replace the all idlers including the one for the tensioner.

i would not replace the tensioner unless it is damaged, leaking or does not work.

how old is the belt? maybe it is ok.

they rarely fail, but your best priced kit is going to include one.

so i'd replace it.

most folks would recommend replacing the water pump as well.

and as mentioned, cam & crank seals as well as the oil pump o-ring.

 

if you do all this,

you will set to drive 60k miles.

 

the parts are going to cost $150 - $200.

 

there are several good write ups on what you need,

where to get parts,

and how to do it.

do a search.

 

these 2 are a start., youtube will have a bunch as well.

 

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