stubborn crank bolt, new tools?

[tyrannix]

k, in my garage i have a campbell-hausfeld air compressor, 2hp, either a 5 or 8 gal tank and it goes 125 psi max

my impact gun is a cheapy rockford walmart job

the crank bolt says "no dice" when i try to remove it with this combo, should i replace the impact gun, or get a more hoss air compressor?

what do you use? (and have you tried the crank bolt?)

-CJ

[jt15833]

mine came off with one zip of an impact gun with shop air. have you tried pb blaster on the crank bolt over the course of a couple days trying to free it up?

[Bwana]

For tough stuff like that I have a 1/2" drive IR impact (huge, must weigh 20 lbs) and a big (like 150 gal) air compressor. Since you probably don't want to buy all that stuff just to remove a crank bolt, I'd try a breaker bar. It'll only work if you have some way to keep the engine from turning over, but if you can do that, and if your bar is long enough and strong enough you should be able to get it.

[f s t caz]

2 ft breaker bar w/ car in gear and ebrake applied.

or out of car, large/long handle prybar/flat head screw driver wedged inbetween teath of flywheel, prying against a trans bellhousing bolt that's been threaded into the block, with a 2 ft breaker bar working on the front crank bolt

[teddy]

The technique I used is probably about the farthest you can get from the correct way. It's actually an ancient ninja tactic. I had the motor on an engine stand. I don't have an impact gun, and the crank bolt was being semi stubborn(I've had worse though). I put a big ratchet on it and put a bigger breaker bar over the ratchet and leveled the bar perpendicular to the ground. Then I drop kicked the bar...yep, I drop kicked kit. It was a wicked hard kick too. And the crank bolt came loose.

[tyrannix]

thats exactly it, i want to know what kind of air tools you guys use to (for example) get the crank bolt out

my situation is the engine i built, sitting in my garage, transmission bolted up, but i have time while i wait for the correct length stainless lines (taka lines, 2 were the wrong length when i got them, so hees redoing them for free, great guy)

so i am taking off the timing belt cover and valve covers, sanding down and re-enamling with a classier gold color (instead of the candy, didnt really float my boat)

but thats just where i noticed that my impact gun wasnt really getting the job done... if i just wanted to undo the bolt, i would take off teh transmission, lock the flywheel and breaker bar it

i used shop air as well when i put on the bolt, just trying to figure out how hoss of an air compressor i need (or if i just need a better impact gun) ... because it failed at another job i tried recently also

im thinking i may just need a bigger air tank, but i want to find out what you guys use if you have a compressor at home too

[Nowhere]

Here you go:http://www.harborfreight.com/c...93124

1/2 gun, 625 torque.

An air tank is useless without the following

pressure (125 is the standard). Max torque is @ max pressure, don't try to use the gun when the compressor is on (under HIGH load requirements).air flowa 200' 3/8" air hose will have a pressure drop and a flow restriction. For TOUGH jobs, a 25' standard hose or even a 1/2" hose should be used (vs a 50 or 100')...The right gunDuhh, a crappy 200lb ft gun will do nothing.. A nice powerfull 1/2" gun is usefull in high torque applications. A stupid powerfull 1" gun is more expensive and you'll rarely use it.

Here are the air guns I have:

http://www.harborfreight.com/c...37730h ... 28SLOOOOOW, uses a lot of air, VERY compact though...

And my big gun for stupid bolts:http://www.harborfreight.com/c...93124

A 1 gallon air tank @ 125 psi with a short hose and a good gun will remove the front bolt.. You might have to wait 1 ~ 3 times for the compressor to bump up to 125psi again after you've hit the bolt a couple of times..

This compressor will work, again, max torque @ max psi, wait till the compressor turns off if HIGH demands are needed.http://www.harborfreight.com/c...90539

My 2 cents says buy the BIGGEST and baddest compressor you can afford if you've got a shop.

[tyrannix]

awesome, thats just the info i was looking for.

so my 2hp 125 psi max compressor with a 5 or 8 gal tank is fine, i just need a gun thats rated for more torque?

llama llama llama. watch out, they spit (the kids watching the emperors new something or other)

[Nowhere]

Yes.

Air tank volume = gun time, that's it.. It's nice to have a large tank. It takes longer to fill and drain a larger tank..

PSI = possible power (goverened by the COMPRESSOR and the PSI drop in the air hose, larger hose = less psi drop. Smaller hoses are easier to work with..)flow = useable power (goverened by the air plumbing (air hose + connectors). The smaller the internal size, the less the flow. NOT ALL AIR TOOLS WILL EXCEED THE FLOW CAPIBILITIES OF THE AIR HOSE!)

[Bwana]

Yes.

Air tank volume = gun time, that's it.. It's nice to have a large tank. It takes longer to fill and drain a larger tank..

PSI = possible power (goverened by the COMPRESSOR and the PSI drop in the air hose, larger hose = less psi drop. Smaller hoses are easier to work with..)flow = useable power (goverened by the air plumbing (air hose + connectors). The smaller the internal size, the less the flow. NOT ALL AIR TOOLS WILL EXCEED THE FLOW CAPIBILITIES OF THE AIR HOSE!)

What he said.

I made a mistake in my first post, my big one is actually 3/4". Like this
Modified by TheColoradoQ at 9:03 AM 2/5/2006

[lifelicksballs]

this i SWEAR it works and you dont need no fancy impact gun or air tool at all! all you do is get a wrench stick it in the crank bolt and turn the wrench to rest on the chassis..the power brace or something...and you just crank it real quick (like 1 second) AND ITS OFF INSTANTLY!...i had done this so many times without any problems, because i had made the mistake of getting the wrong water pump 3 TIMES IN A ROW!

p.s. the crank turns towards the turbo side so rest the handle that way or else you'll see a hole the size of a wrench on top of your garage

[jt15833]

horsepower doesnt matter when picking a compressor if its just for at home use? is that just how fast itll fill up?

[Nowhere]

The power rating (either HP, CFM, or SCFM) is HOW MUCH / TIME...1/20hp @ 2000psi, or 300hp at 15 psi....

The "size" of the compressor is only relevent to time..

Smaller compressors take LONGER, but require less energy for the same TIME...

When doing serious work, it's anoying to have to wait for the compressor to pump from 40 to 125 so the tools have max torque again..

[Smurf6x6]

WTF you need such a big gun for colorado? Working on truck or what? My 1/2 IR ti does my just fine. 1000lbs of torque in reverse and weighs about 3lbs cause its made of titanium. Best gun I ever owned/used.

[Dattebayo]

Your problem is that you are using a Campell-Hausfield piece of equipment.

Everything they make is economy crap, thats why it costs about 1/3 - 1/2 the price of the good ones, like Matco, Snap-On or Craftsman.

But I like anything from Sears. Craftsman tools and Equipment are waaaay better than any Campell crap, so I would just go with thier stuff if you cant afford the really good stuff.

[Bwana]

WTF you need such a big gun for colorado? Working on truck or what?

Yep. I own a KW T300, lol. And since I have it I use it occaisonally. I have a couple IR 1/2" Impacts that I use most of the time.

Your problem is that you are using a Campell-Hausfield piece of equipment.

Get a quality impact and you should be fine.

[Dattebayo]

Its not your impact wrench thats the problem (unless of course you havent lubricated the wrench since you bought it...). Im confident that the compressor and tank are your issues.

[Nowhere]

^^^^^

If you paid less than 40 ~ 50 dollars for your impact gun (new of course), it will not cut the HIGH TORQUE applications.Guns such as:http://www.harborfreight.com/c...53176