need some help with front cover removal

[rsx858]

so i started by detaching the water pump but i cannot slide the assembly off becasue the pulley blocks it. to remove the eccentric shaft bolt holding in the pully, i did as the mazda article said and compressed the clutch pedal with a beam, when i attemp to remove the bolt it just turns the engine over... how do i prevent this. I think the article suggested a chain wrench around the pully but i only have a rubber band wrench thats nowhere near stong enough. any suggestions? this job is a pain!

[ddewhurst]

Matt, on the passengers side of the motor at the side of the motor at the rear just in front of the bell housing there is a little tin trap door with IIRC two # 10 hex head bolts. Remove bolts, remove cover, take a light & you should see the outside diameter teeth of the flywheel. Get a friend with a big ol screw driver to block the flywheel from turning or block the flywheel with a piece of metal when you loosen the E shaft nut. Blow the dirt away & match mark the parts as you remove them. My motor is a 12A.

[lateapex911]

Is the engine in the car? If so try it in gear...

or...go to NAPA or whereever and buy an impact gun. Why I didn't do that YEARS ago is beyond me...talk about money saved and time wasted.

[paulydee]

I have taken off many a front cover bolt and there are several ways to do it.
The only way that works consistently is blocking the engine somehow (the above mentioned screwdriver method is easiest) and using a long cheater bar on the end of a breaker bar. Impact guns don't always work depending hope much sealant was used ont he pulley boss.

The ideal method is blocking the engine with the Mazda flywheel tool. It bolts to the top of the engine where the tranny would mount (which means the tranny would have to be out of the car) and it locks the teeth of the flywheel. Then the breaker bar would have to be used again.

[C. Ludwig]

Sure fire, one man way of locking the engine is to leave the car in gear and stick a block of wood, or a cheater bar wrapped in a towel through the spokes of the rear wheels. Assuming you don't have an operable e-brake.

[rsx858]

putting the car in gear had occured to me but the mazda article stressed that the clutch should always be depressed when loosening the bolt to prevent the torrington bearing from falling out of place. im gonna try to wedge the flywheel with something and see how that works

[C. Ludwig]

When you take the front cover off you have to remove the hub anyway which will allow the stack of thrust bearings to fall out of place even with the clutch depressed. You'll need to make sure that those parts are properly aligned before you re-install the hub.

[joeg]

What the heck kind of advice is "depressing the clutch" to lock a motor? That would only free a motor.

Perhaps the book is meaning to say that after you have just broken the bolt free, but before you attempt to remove the damper, hold the clutch depressed??

[paulydee]

The holding the clutch down advice is if someone is replacing the pulley boss. It has nothing to do with preventing the engine from turning over. As Chris stated pulling the front cover off will get you to the torrington bearings anyway, so the caution would be on reassembly.

[MaxEnergy]

The depressed clutch pushes the flywheel/eshaft forward and prevents the thin front bearing from slipping down past the spacer.

Sure fire trick that has never failed (for 2nd gens):
The impact wrench does not work always because it is either too weak, not enough space without removing the radiator or you don't have one.

The blocking the rear wheels doesn't work always because it just winds up the drive train and will not allow any kind of abrupt shock to the breaker bar.

Can't recall who to give the credit to but here goes, not hearsay, I've done it this way every time:

Standard craftsman 1/2" breaker bar with a 19mm socket (preferably 6 point impact quality). Put the socket on the pulley bolt and rest the breaker bar handle on the driver's side frame rail. It is the perfect length but don't pinch the oil cooler lines. Tie a string to the breaker bar but I have never had one jump loose. TAP THE STARTER KEY or THE IGNITION BUTTON and you're done, it's that simple. Obviously don't crank on the starter it will spin the pulley bolt right off. Have a helper watch the bolt break loose or mark it with a crayon so you can see that it moved and undo by hand. Tighten to 90lbs with blue locktite by inserting a prybar in the tranny access hole and holding the flywheel while a helper uses a torque wrench on the pulley bolt.

ps while you have the pulley bolt off make sure you do the thermopellet mod. When the thermopellet fails so does your motor. NEVER LET THE CLUTCH OUT WITH THE PULLEY BOLT LOOSE.