Hi I know prob a stupid question, but What is the easiest best way to torque the crankshaft bolt back on? I need to get the car moving and this is holding me back, I don't want it to come out or cause problems. The engine is a 455, with an auto trans behind it, and it's in the car
i dont know but I think it has to be torqued to like 160lb. how you will make it hold still for that I dont know.
yup, maybe put the car in gear?o No:, and with a torque wrench or impact? I don't have acess to either:shock:uzzled::ball: Ok I took it off using the breaker bar method, can I reverse the process? using that?:idea2: but I want to make sure it's right though
Long ago I used to use a short piece of oak, from a hammer handle I think...inserted it into one of the larger flexplate holes so that when it rotated it would wedge up against the pan rail and freeze the flexplate. Devon
The 'inspection' cover needs to be off- I snap a couple vise grips carefully on the sides of the ring gear-done this many times-
Vibration Damper-to-Crankshaft Bolt 350 cu. in. 1970-72 120 ft. lbs. 1973-75 140 ft. lbs. 1976-77 175 ft. lbs. 1978 and Later 225 ft. lbs. 455 cu. in. 1970-75 200 ft. lbs. 1976 225 ft. lbs.
You need to hold the flex plate/ring gear on the back of the motor. This can be done as explained by other members on the forum. I found that wedging a large flat bladed screwdriver into one of the teeth of the ring gear and as you rotate the motor the screwdriver will become wedged to the trans bellhousing. You will need a buddy to wedge the screwdriver while you rotate the motor. This way you create the least amount of effort of trying to hold the flex plate. You can also but a flywheel turning tool which in effect does the same thing. Hope this helps.
It's more complicated than I first thought, I thought I just needed a torque wrench or impact gun, Do I still need to use one? I don't want to have the bolt come out
Its really not that hard to do. You need to keep the motor from turning when you tighten the bolt as described by all the different methods. If your worried about the bolt coming loose use some red loctite on the threads.
Alright, Sounds good guys, I'm going to go pick up a torque wrench my uncle has in his Barn, Good thing I asked, I had no idea you had to hold the flex plate in place:spank:
If you have trouble finding a torque wrench that goes to 200ftlb use your breaker bar and put a short pipe on it so you have maybe 2' of leverage and tighten it as tight as you can make it. 200ft lb is about at tight as the average human can pull it. Obviously this is not the most preferred method because the strength of humans can vary quite a bit. One thing is for sure you aren't going to snap the bolt if you are too tight. I have done many 430/455s simply making them as tight as I can get them with a long 1/2" drive breaker bar and short pipe extension. Never had one come loose. I use the "large-flat-screwdriver-blade-in-the-flywheel-teeth" method to lock the crankshaft.
Thanks I'm pretty strong:laugh: ha ya that sounds like an idea, the tool rental places are really out of the way and all the parts stores I've called only have them up to 150 lbs and are expensive, I know I can get one online, but it's expensive and I need to get the Rivi running asap. Thanks for the input:TU:
If you do not have a buddy to hold the fly wheel/ flex plate, you can do another method. Take the rockers off one side or the other and remove one of the spark plugs. Pick a cylinder that the piston is part of the way down. Fill that cylinder with some nylone rope and then rotate the engine until it is locked up. tighten the bolt to 200 ft/lbs. then rotate the engine a little to lower the piston in the cylinder and pull the rope out and reinstall the rockers and plug.
The other way is to make a type of extension that doubles the length of the torque wrench but goes on the 1/2" ratchet end. This will double the torque that you read or set your torque wrench too. so if you need 200 ft lbs you can set your wrench to 100. -nate
sounds great:beer I might just go and get myself a torque wrench that is at least 150lbs, They are in stock, I also believe my local parts store also rents them out. I should get the Rivi running on Friday, I'll make a clip of it running. interesting, thanks guys, these are all pretty clever methods! should add it to a collection of homemade remedies for our Buicks.
I use an exhaust clamp run through any ONE ofthe flexplate holes around the ring gear to hold engine stationary. Turning engine will pull the clamp tight against the block an transmission case. Just rotate engine backwards after torqued and remove exhaust clamp.
