Engine teardown - question about crankshaft bolt

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heyjewel

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Does anyone know for sure if the crankshaft bolt on the Gen 1 3.0L V6 is a normal right-hand thread (righty tighty lefty loosey) or, as I saw on a Ranger thread, is it a left hand thread (lefty tighty righty loosey). Don't know how accurate that info was and of course the engines LS v Ranger are similar but not the same.

Thanks
 
I suspect that it is normal, but I don't know that for certain. I'm posting only because I am a little confused.
I have a Ranger with the 3.0 engine. It is a push rod 12 valve V6, and nothing at all like the 3.0 overhead cam V6 in the V6 LS. I do know for a fact that it has a normal damper bolt, as I have had to remove it twice. The only other V6 that I know of for a Ranger is the 4.0L. I had assumed that it was not very similar to the 3.0 in the LS. Is this not the case?
 
joegr said:
I suspect that it is normal, but I don't know that for certain. I'm posting only because I am a little confused.
I have a Ranger with the 3.0 engine. It is a push rod 12 valve V6, and nothing at all like the 3.0 overhead cam V6 in the V6 LS. I do know for a fact that it has a normal damper bolt, as I have had to remove it twice. The only other V6 that I know of for a Ranger is the 4.0L. I had assumed that it was not very similar to the 3.0 in the LS. Is this not the case?
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I dont know the answer to that. I just got to a ranger forum when searching for info on this and found posts that warned that the camshaft bolt is left-handed.

Problem is the engine is out of the car and I am having difficult time rigging something up to prevent the crank from moving as I torque on the bolt. And I want to be sure which way to try to loosen it cause warning is to not turn crank CCW or crankshaft damage will occur.
 
The shop manual says to hold the damper with a chain wrench. I would use (and did) an impact wrench on the bolt (to remove it only).

A little further research indicates that the V6s used in the Ranger are not remotely related to the V6 in the LS.
(Still, you should never turn the crankshaft backwards on any overhead cam engine. It can damage the timing components.)
 
joegr said:
The shop manual says to hold the damper with a chain wrench. I would use (and did) an impact wrench on the bolt (to remove it only).

A little further research indicates that the V6s used in the Ranger are not remotely related to the V6 in the LS.
(Still, you should never turn the crankshaft backwards on any overhead cam engine. It can damage the timing components.)
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OK good to know. So couple of things - what shop manual do you have? Cause my DVD says "Remove the bolt. Discard the bolt".

Now I should know, but what are you referring to as the 'damper'? The engine is out of the car and all other belted components have been removed. I looked damper up and it's supposed to be behind the crankshaft pulley on engine front. But there's nothing behind there. The only metal protruding behind the pulley is the small diameter of the pulley itself which has some parts of the pulley which are voids and protrusions. Cant describe any better. Anyway this smaller diam has only about 1/8" on which a chain wrench could be applied. At the rear of the engine is the rear of the crankshaft which is a finely machined circle containing bolt holes and two pin holes all for attaching the flywheel and then the clutch.

If I put something solid around the crankshaft pulley as a cushion perhaps could I use the chain wrench on that? Course all I can think of at the moment would be some closed cell foam. There are bolt holes and two pin holes on the back of the engine that are part of the crankshaft but havent thought of a way to hold those in place. I suppose I could put the flywheel back on and try to use that if I can get a chain wrench long enough. I dunno. It's always sumpin.
 
The damper and the pulley are parts of the same assembly. Most (including myself) just refer to the whole thing as one (damper) or the other (pulley).
The idea is to cut a piece of old belt (the one that came off of that car) and wrap it around the pulley, then put the chain wrench around that.

I know of those who have used the flywheel (manual) or flexplate (auto) to hold the crankshaft, but I think that runs some danger of damaging it.
Another trick (I have never tried this) is to wedge the pull handle (on the socket over the bolt) on the ground or something solid and then bump the starter to break the bolt loose. Personally, an impact wrench has worked for me.

Yes, you are supposed to replace the bolt each time.
 
joegr said:
The damper and the pulley are parts of the same assembly. Most (including myself) just refer to the whole thing as one (damper) or the other (pulley).
The idea is to cut a piece of old belt (the one that came off of that car) and wrap it around the pulley, then put the chain wrench around that.

I know of those who have used the flywheel (manual) or flexplate (auto) to hold the crankshaft, but I think that runs some danger of damaging it.
Another trick (I have never tried this) is to wedge the pull handle (on the socket over the bolt) on the ground or something solid and then bump the starter to break the bolt loose. Personally, an impact wrench has worked for me.

Yes, you are supposed to replace the bolt each time.
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Why didn't I think of using the old hose? That should do it. Can't do the starter bump cause engine is on engine stand.

Thanks though, I think you've solved my problem. Course the bolt has probably been discontinued.
 
heyjewel said:
Why didn't I think of using the old hose? That should do it. Can't do the starter bump cause engine is on engine stand.

Thanks though, I think you've solved my problem. Course the bolt has probably been discontinued.
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I have a variety of long pry-bars, including a 30-year-old (or more) Craftsman that is about 15 inches long---mostly a square tempered bar with a chisel end on it. I bought it for a pry bar. Put two bolts in the flywheel flange and insert a bar across the flange between the protruding bolt ends. Use the bar to keep the crank from rotating as you apply torque to the crank bolt in the front. It works like a charm!!

KS
 
cammerfe said:
I have a variety of long pry-bars, including a 30-year-old (or more) Craftsman that is about 15 inches long---mostly a square tempered bar with a chisel end on it. I bought it for a pry bar. Put two bolts in the flywheel flange and insert a bar across the flange between the protruding bolt ends. Use the bar to keep the crank from rotating as you apply torque to the crank bolt in the front. It works like a charm!!

KS
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Not a bad idea though bolts ay bend before crank bolt gives. It's worth a try though.

LS - thanks much for the P/N research.

Joegr - I'm searching high and low for a chain wrenc long enough to wrap around this pulley which is just shy of 7" OD. Means chain has to be at least 7*3.14 = 22 inches. Longest I've found is 18" and it's not a sturdy one. Checked Amazon, Harbor Freight, O'Reilly's, so far. Do u have a mfgr ID for the one you used?
 
I don't know how deep you're planning on going with the engine rebuild, but if you drop the oil pan you can stick a piece of 2x4 between a crank weight and the block wall and then remove the bolt.
 
LSinYourLS said:
I don't know how deep you're planning on going with the engine rebuild, but if you drop the oil pan you can stick a piece of 2x4 between a crank weight and the block wall and then remove the bolt.
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Now that's something I can relate to. I will definitely put that at the top of my list of rigs to try.

I plan on going until I ID either a blown head gasket or a cracked block as the source of exhaust in the cooling system. If head gasket, I will rebuild. If cracked block I will probably recycle.

BTW I did finally find a chain wrench of the right size but it was $179.00 plus tax and shipping. So I hope I can get the 2x4 method to work.

Thanks
 
If you put the bar right up against the crank flange there is virtually no bending moment on the bolts. I've been doing it this way for about 60 years, starting with the '48 Merc flathead engine that came out of my '34 Ford five-window hot rod.

KS
 
cammerfe said:
If you put the bar right up against the crank flange there is virtually no bending moment on the bolts. I've been doing it this way for about 60 years, starting with the '48 Merc flathead engine that came out of my '34 Ford five-window hot rod.

KS
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This sounds better now. I will probably try this before the 2x4 method. As soon as I get time. I am currently trying to solve suspension issues in both my other LSes.

One has a serious, loud creak from the front left area. I am trying to track it down but can't recreate it with wheel off and can't see nothing with wheel on. Car has all new stuff there except lower control arms and lower ball joints.

The other one has a shudder in the right front. Happens when I hit a bump with that wheel. It's fairly bad. Shock maybe? I dunno. I happen to have a spare so can try that right away.
 
heyjewel said:
This sounds better now. I will probably try this before the 2x4 method. As soon as I get time. I am currently trying to solve suspension issues in both my other LSes.

One has a serious, loud creak from the front left area. I am trying to track it down but can't recreate it with wheel off and can't see nothing with wheel on. Car has all new stuff there except lower control arms and lower ball joints.

The other one has a shudder in the right front. Happens when I hit a bump with that wheel. It's fairly bad. Shock maybe? I dunno. I happen to have a spare so can try that right away.
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The creak is the lower ball joint.

When this happened to my V6, I picked up a 110K used engine the next day for $400. Why mess around? ;-)
 
milehighmikey said:
The creak is the lower ball joint.

When this happened to my V6, I picked up a 110K used engine the next day for $400. Why mess around? ;-)
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Lower ball joint? I happen to have 2 new Moogs here. I'll try to verify that's the source b4 I get them replaced.

If I could get a used engine for that price I might still do it. I did spend some time looking for a lo-mileage engine but never saw one in that price range. Any tips on how/where to find such a bargain? And how to be sure it runs well before u go to the time of installing it? Tks. Also, I sort of relish getting into the engine just cause I've never done that before. I guess it's on my bucket list.
 
I found mine using car-part.com and searching my region. There were literally dozens of these engines out there. A tear-down of your engine would cost at least $400 in parts alone to repair, assuming only head gasket failure. It wasn't worth my time to mess around, since the car already had 276K miles on it. The junkyard will usually warranty the engine for 90 days so if it is no good, they buy it back or replace it. You eat the labor costs though. Pretty much everything on the replacement engine needed to be replaced with my old parts though, which was both good and bad. Bad because it was a bit of extra work, good because all of my sensors and such were working fine. This included the fuel injection system and all of the sensors and harness. One thing to be aware of is the water pump. That is what did my engine in, the impeller fell off the shaft due to plastic fatigue. It was a lifetime replacement pump from Autozone, so if you do get another engine, you want to replace the WP in this process because it sucks big time changing it on the engine when it is installed under the hood.

And yes, the ball joints are well known for this amazingly loud squeak/squawk noise when they dry out.

Good luck.
 
I did find one within 100 miles at car-part.com. 117K for $750. Thanks for referral though I'm not sure yet if I'll pull the trigger on it.
 
heyjewel said:
I did find one within 100 miles at car-part.com. 117K for $750. Thanks for referral though I'm not sure yet if I'll pull the trigger on it.
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Which state is your particular Auburn? Sounds higher than expected, but I did see engines in that price range last year when I was buying, too.
 
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