Alright, I've got my '00 SOHC all put back together following my timing belt & water replacement operation accept for one thing. I'm having trouble putting the belt pulley back on the crankshaft. I was hoping I could just tighten the bolt and the pulley would slide right on but the pulley is out so far the bolt isn't grabbing any of the crankshaft threads. I went out and bought a longer bolt just to use untill the pulley is on far enough to use the stock bolt but I'm having problems with that too. The pulley is about halfway on the shaft and the bolt is getting very hard to turn. I don't want to just keep cranking on it and possibly strip the threads out of the crankshaft but I don't want to just give up and have it towed to a shop either. Anyone have any helpful hints? I pulled the pulley back off and tried threading the bolt in without it. The bolt threads all the way in with no problems so I don't think I've damaged the crankshaft threads yet. What should I do?

 

I am not quite sure why your having problems, its gonna be tight, but that sounds a little too tight. If you have the bolt halfway in, its gonna have enough threads grabbing that you can just crank it down. Just make sure everything is aligned corrrectly.

 

put it in the oven for like 20min at 300deg and get some oven mits and that sucker would slide right on there without any broblem then wait till it cools down and put on the belts. I have done it atleast 10 times and it works every time

danny
edited because I can not spell

 

I have heard of that for the cam gear, suposed it would work for the crank too, good answer.

 

now I see how you got that post count so high triplle post
the cam gear actaully comes and goes on real easy on a neon.

 

Sorry, I gotta fix that, I must have hit it a few times.

I know for a fact people have had problems with the aftermarket underdrives.

 

I baked the pulley at 400 deg for about 30 min and that did help a little. The pulley goes on about half way just tightening the bolt but then it jams. To keep going I have to tap all the way around the pulley with a hammer, tighten the bolt a little, tap with the hammer, tighten the bolt a little etc..... This process has gotten the pulley to within an 1/8 of an inch of where it should be but the bolt won't turn any more. I could crank on it with a breaker bar but I really don't want to strip out the crankshaft threads. I put the ac/alternator/pwr steering belts back on and you can see they're not at the proper angle. The car starts and drives just fine but I don't like knowing the pulley isn't on all the way. I'm thinking the pulley might be warped. When I first pulled it off I noticed marks from a gear puller on the pulley bolt head. It looks like someone at sometime used the incorrect puller to pull off the pulley before we purchased the car (we bought it used). If I do crank on the bolt with a breaker bar and stip the threads how much would it cost to get that fixed? Could a shop re tap the crankshaft or would they have to replace the whole thing?

 

You very well may have a bigger problem, but if it was on there right once and you did not notice anything out of the ordinary taking it off then I would have to say thats not it. You need the belt on there right, you will go through belts like you would not believe it you don't.

 

Try using anti-seize. I was a little iffy about putting a hunk of aluminum with zero tolerance against a steel crank snout - I've seen metals weld themselves together before... Mine (Cosmo) went on without heating or grunting, and I've had it off twice since with no problems.

Take a good look at the inside of the pulley for nicks and burrs, particularly right around the edge. It should be silky smooth. You can use a very fine file to remove any burrs around the edge, just don't try "smoothing out" the whole inside of it... a slightly chamfered edge is fine.

If you think yours is damaged, you could always go with one of the aftermarket UDP's (assuming yours is stock), which will probably cost just as much or less as a new one from the dealer.

If you strip out the threads, it isn't an easy fix. Yeah, you can tap in for a larger bolt, but you may end up having to take your pulley in to a machine shop to get the center bored out to fit it. Then there's the chance that either the new bolt hole on the crank and/or the new hole on the pulley will be a little off center or at a slight angle... yuck...

Best of luck!

 

Don't put antiseize on a pulley, they are interfearence fit. That is how they grab the crankshaft so they don't slip with a lubricant. We heat them in the Oven to 500 degrees, then you can get it almost all the way on. The stainless steel center bushing will allow you to use an impact gun to put it all the way one. The AFX pulley is designed to take a little abuse.