2002 ford explorer 4.0L how to remove a harmonic balancer

Heres a story for you
Today i found that a engine rebuilder was open
So i packed up the motor on a trailer and ran over as fast as i could before they closed
I had 2 brand new 8x1,25 100mm in my balancer puller,
So i ran over and 2 old timers came over, and i said this is it, they're going to know how to do this,
And he asked if I used air on it, and i said no!! i just using a breaker bar and pipe wrench.....
So he said that's your problem????.....you need air
So he removed my puller and then blue greased the threads,(he said that will make the puller work better)
Then he looked inside to check, and then proceeded to re tighten my puller,
Then brought the big air impact gun.....AND I SAID....!!!!
I was just using the breaker bar and I stretched the grade 8 bolts by hand, so he mumbled and proceeded
Yeah!!! He snapped the 2 bolts in my harmonic balancer,
Then Said........WELL THATS ALL WE CAN DO FOR YOU.....then I was in ahw!!!, I looked at the mess and then turn towards his garage door, and it was closing in my face......I'm sorry for the language............but I was f*&king pissed...............What do I do now.....I was f.... before I went there now I'm really fu......!!!
Sorry but that's why I don't like anyone touching my truck.....
well any ways, I think I know the problem....I looked at the 200.00 dollar ford tool, and looked outside in the light at the mess I had.....and it looks like you can't push against the balancer at all, it looks like you need the right size bolt to go thru into the crank, and push against the crank threads??
But if I can get these bolts out....(MIRICLE)...I might try something new........
Someone really needs to make a video.

[@davidjohnson2469]

Extended Crank bolt is M12, 1.5 pitch and 100 cm. At least that is the one I used, worked great, thanks for the video. Worked like a charm and only used a 1/2 inch ratchet to remove it. Thanks again for the video it really does work as easy as you showed.

[@mdavis3637]

Been working on my weekend project now for 6 weeks. Had to pull my 4.0L sohc v6 and have gone to Cruzroy videos on several occasions to get details. After over an hour on the harmonic balancer I came to this video and was making the exact same mistakes. Thanks Cruzroy. Big ford man myself, but would like to have a discussion with ford engineers about making life a little easier for the DIY'er.

[@HawaiianReloads]

Your a life saver bro! Thanks! My uncle has been stressing like yourself and making everybody else stress out. Well done man...

[@morrisw7227]

Your STEP ONE, is to remove engine from car! We need video for engine in the car!!

[@furbee28]

Thank you! This saved me a ton of time and curse words. I used 8mm x 1.25 x 100mm. Any one that has stripped out holes can put a nut on the back side to hold the bolts to the balancer.

[@dandiy4958]

the sound cut out as that fact was stated, thanks for posting the bolt size!

[@Julian-gi5el]

Thankyou i went the same way .thought it was part of crank.endup breaking some bolts.going to get a longer Bolt.

[@wingman358]

THANK YOU! I've been trying to get this thing off for three days now. I made two custom tools to try to pull this damn thing off and both bent/snapped bolts! Going to go get one of those crows foot puller tools and some bolts (thanks to your info!!)

[@joebleicher4664]

Thanks, you just saved me a ton of frustration. Great video

[@joseavilamadera]

One of the worst engines I've worked on. Because of the need of too many expensive, hard to find special tools. and one need to remove the engine just to change timing chains or guides. Four timing chains that is. GREAT JOB FORD¡¡¡¡¡¡.

[@benadamitus6347]

Awesome video. I am just getting into this and can see I would have ripped my hair out. Look forward to the rest of the library on this.

[@gerardoortiz577]

Great video just save my ass working on one so I did some research and found you're video thanks for sharing and keep up the good work

[@TheKrazyBrave]

thx for the info, I had the same problem on my 2005 V6 Mustang

[@guard4us]

thank you so much, i didnt know what to do with mine, but thank to this video i did fix mine, thank u again

[@cristianzachskrause9333]

Great video !! Help me to much!!! You have a blessed day's!!

[@marvinnolasco6204]

buen trabajo amigo yo trate casy todo pa sacar esa polea asta q encontre su vedeo y me fue fasil sacar esa perra q me dio dolor de cavesa tratando con la sotras erramientas gracias por el video dios lo vendiga

[@TLytle-ey3zm]

Watching your video was a great help to me with the issues I was having the last couple of days. Came right off with the bolts I purchased. bolting it back on was even easier. Thanks again.

[@martystevens8357]

Use clothes-line in the cylinder to lock the engine to remove and tighten the crank bolt. Get the piston up just below TDC on the compression stroke. Put the clothesline in the cylinder. Bring the piston up to cause the clothesline to jam against the head. Then remove or tighten the bolt. You'll have to lower the piston to bring the piston back around to remove or tighten the bolt. You can now torque the bolt to spec. Factory tools are better but are expensive. OTC has tools and Kent-Moore has tools. Goodson has engine tools like valve seal tools and crank turner sockets and other engine rebuilding tools. Special damper pullers have crank bolt hole adapters to avoid damaging the bolt hole.

[@gertis7420]

Great video

[@kennethgilbertdds7249]

Just click to turn on the comments CC and the audio is transcribed pretty well.

[@cruzroycruzroy64]

thanks

[@stangohr]

Great video. Thanks so much. Been a mechanic for 45 years and I sure thought I was pushing against the crank, not against the balancer--as you point out. Very deceiving, as you say. Why would you need to pull the engine to replace the timing chain? I can't imagine a reason for that??

[@marcsmith3881]

Because it is almost impossible to get out the one in the rear with the engine in the car. The 4.0 SOHC is not like most engines. It has a cartridge in the front on the left and the right is in the rear. I personally would swap the entire engine with a rebuilt if it has a lot of miles and I planned to keep it. My 2002 has a 150K miles and runs great thankfully. The transmission did break and it cost $1,850 for the rebuild, shift improver kit and all of the Ford recommended updates. It shifts incredible now.

[@azadyado6168]

i want to ask a question about this content. i want to know how many sizes are available(piston) and what the sizes are on sales for fixing

[@growingyourhealth4503]

how did you the keyway off the crankshaft to get to the balanceshaft

[@wangbungal]

you can borrow the loaner tool fro advance you dont need to buy a bolt to push against it, the loaner tool is a kit and has adapters to push against the puller

[@cruzroycruzroy64]

use the longer bolt you bought and washers and start pushing it back in untill its close enough to put the factory bolt.....remember to tourgue it down

[@TheBruceTR]

My engine is in my truck (not on an engine stand). I don't have an impact wrench. When I go to loosen the crank bolt (using a breaker bar), will I be able to use the belt to keep the engine from rotating counterclockwise? Please advise. Many thanks!

[@ryansavage6593]

hey does anyone know what bolt was used that was going directly into the balancer to take it off?

[@cruzroycruzroy64]

watch end off 2002 Ford Explorer Tming Chain Update 01-10-2013 part 3 i tell you what i did....i forgot to film it......but you should under stand....use longer bolts and as many washers as you need in steps......take 4 off at a time, till you can use new ford bolt......if the balancer is to far out you will stripp your crank

[@Andjo1980]

OMG, this video saved the day. I like you struggled with that damn balancer for days. thank you for this video

[@demiurgiac]

Thanks! But I should have read this first... before I made the classic mistake.

[@frederickralston1842]

The balancer on the 2003 I'm doing had the holes all stripped out from some past repair.

[@cruzroycruzroy64]

i used regular tool for pulling....but bolt is inside to help

[@BrotherPhilo1958]

you really don't need a bolt, i used a drive extension and it worked fine.

[@WalshPhoto]

You can get this tool kit at Harbor Freight for about $13.

[@cruzroycruzroy64]

yes their is a fix.......youtube doe not let you put links.....so send me your email or go to Heliproz South and search for align 2 in 1 switch fix

[@eduardopena6280]

Oustanding vidéo..sr.

[@kentuckyboi777]

I done the same thing on a 2001 4.0 SOHC. It's very deceptive because it looks like you're pushing on the snout of the crank.

[@MrSupermonkeybox]

how did you get it back in?

[@cruzroycruzroy64]

buy many washers to use on the longer temporary bolt.......use it to push balancer back on...remove washers 1 or 2 at a time till you can use original bolt.......if that makes sense

[@MrSupermonkeybox]

did you find out the pitch on the bolt? how did everything end up working out?

[@cruzroycruzroy64]

every thing is good.....another 20000 after build......and pitch i dont know ....picked up new from ford.....and matched it at hardware store for longer to pull it

[@MrSupermonkeybox]

Found it, it was 1.5

[@cruzroycruzroy64]

yes but not a tool.......just a bolt and washers i pick up from hardware store to match the ford bolt.......better than cheap tools from rental places......

[@wingman358]

FYI... the two bolts on the outside are M8 x 1.25 and about 80-90 mm long. There were two bolts like that in the universal puller kit I got from HF ($14). The big center bolt (the one that holds the harmonic balancer on to the crank) is an M12 x 1.5

[@alfonsoramos5597]

Fords suck! I told my girlfriend not to buy Ford . Why would Ford make it so hard to remove a harmonic balancer? Why didn't they continue making them like they used to in the old days. We have to basically remove the engine just to remove the harmonic balancer. You have to put a bolt in there that's longer than the original harmonic balancer crank bolt for the harmonic balancer remover. That's so stupid that ford did that. No wonder I can't remove it. Ok, now I have to go to home depot again to get another bolt that's 1" longer to be able to remove this god damn thing. Not only that, these ford harmonic balancers are disposable!! Harmonic balancers are suppose to last the life of the engine! Jezzzz! Thank you Cruzroy. This video helped out. :)

[@billbobb7162]

You don't have to pull the engine to pull the balancer. All you need to pull is the engine fan and fan housing. If you want a lot of room to work, you can also pull the radiator, but you don't need to. I've done this twice on my 1996 Explorer 4.0 OHV. The first time was a pain, but the first time you do any job it's a pain. The second time was easy because I knew exactly what I had to do.

[@dandiy4958]

if you have to replace the right side cam chain and guide (casset) plastic, the engine has to come all the way out. in a ranger that is. The bolts are inside of the bell housing, what a pain and horrible engineering.

[@SmitfraudC]

Where does one pick up the M12x1.5x100 bolt? I've looked around and can't find one.

[@nilknarf1596]

next time lube up the bolt on that puller

[@alfonsoramos5597]

How come ford made the balancer so cheap like that. the one on my girlfriends mustang looks like that too. Obviously it's so that ford can make $$ after the sale. What happened to quality like the old days.

[@udizzy1969]

please,please.please new cam... lmao thanks for the info bro.