I am in trhe process of replacing the timing chain cover gasket and the oil pan gasket and have run into a snag. I have everything taken off that needs to be excpet one thing. According to the Haynes manual,page 2B-6 sec.11 #7, I need to rtemove the "large bolt and washer retaining the vibration damper to the crankshaft." How do I do this? I have put the socket to the bolt but the whole mechanism turns. Do I need a second set of hands?

Any tips on replacing the oil pan gasket would be much appreciated too. Do I really need to jack the engine up off the mounts?

While I am asking questions here is an AC question. I bought a conversion kit for r-12 to r134a. I went to the auto shop to have the system drained of the r-12 and to make sure the system had a vacuum. Well it turns out the system has a leak but the r-12 was removed. My qiestion is how well does the leak stop included in the cans of r-134a freon conversion kits work. I would hate to do the conversion and waste all that freon to a leak.

I don't know squat about squat, but I imagine the people who ARE mechanics might need to know what kind of car/engine you are talking about

when working on a car air tools are your friend

yankeefan, what kind of car are you working on?

Quoted: yankeefan, what kind of car are you working on?

Sorry guys I guess that info would help. It is a 1990 Ford Bronco with the 5.0l fuel injected V8 and auto tranny.

All you need is a harmonic balance puller, you can buy them from the auto parts store from about 15.00 dollars. to turn the bolt you need to take two screw drivers  in the opposit holes and chris cross them to hold the pully in place while you turn yhe bolt

If you don't have an air impact wrench, you'll need a breaker bar or at least a piece of pipe for your 1/2" ratchet. If you have a manual tranny, put the car in a high gear and lock the parking brake and you should be able to break it lose. If  you have an auto tranny, you can use a strap wrench on the OD of the balancer or a flywheel holder on the starter ring gear. Might take two people, you can remove the dust cover on the tranny bell housing and get someone to hold a pry bar in a tooth on the ring gear against the tranny housing while you loosen the bolt, you'll need to look up the torque spec for it and tighten it properly.

Most gasket sets for this job come with a new front crankshaft seal and a partial pan gasket. Use a quality gasket cement to attach the gasket to the pan and put a small bead of RTV in the corners where the pan meets the front of the block (where you cut the old section of gasket away. ) Use a razor blade to to that and be sure to clean the pan surface real well. Don't over tighten the pan bolts, best to torque those and the front cover bolts, using a torque wrench or drive on the pan bolts and cover bolts will prevent leaks and prevent over tightening the gasket and squashing it out. Do not slather everything up with RTV, it's best to use a spray adhesive like Hitack. RTV improperly used, especially around water galleys can wind up in the steam holes in the head and cause problems for you later down the road. HTH

Stick a big screwdriver or somethiing through the HB (harmonic balancer) so it binds on the bottom of the block holding the HB from turning while you pull the bolt out of the crank shaft. But like the post above, you are going to have to get a HB puller to get it off.

use a impact gun on the bolt, the dampner may turn a little, after that you will need a harmonic balancer puller in most cases, i.e. what type of car and engine ?
on the ac, don't use stop leak, that stuff will plug up the reciever/dryer and or orifice tube,
go ahead and retro fit the system with r134a, remember only charge the system wwith 80 percent
of what it took with r12, 134 works under a higher pressure, i.e if the system took only 2 pounds of
r12 you would only charger it with 1.6 pounds of 134, before you charge the system with freon
get some ac dye at the parts store, its like a oil with a ulta violet dye in it, you will only need about
1/4 to 1/2 ounce of it, make sure the system is completely empty before you do this, check so by pushing in on both high/ and low ac fittings , the schrader valves, after making sure the system is empty,  open up the ac line thats easy to get to, it really does not matter which line
high or low line it will work through the entire system, close up the line then charge it with freon,
after the ac has run for awhile, use an ultra violet light, black light, look for the bright yellow dye,
pay close attention to the ac evaporator core drain tube, the unit thats located in the dash board,
its the hardet thing to check, most time its the usual suspect on ac leaks, look for the water draing out and see if there is any dye in it. once you found the leak and have repair it, find someone with an ac evacuation pump(vacuum pump) suck the system down to at least 25-30
of pounds of negative vacuum, then make sure you suck in the Pag oil that comes with the kit, this
oil breaks up any remander of the r12, the reason you don't what to mix the freons is, r12
is chlorine base, and R134a is ammonia base, ever heard don't mix amonia with bleach ?
thats why. charge up the system with the correct amount, if you have a set of ac gauges
you should have about 100 to 115 pounds of pressure with the system not running, with the
ac turned on the best readings would be around 30 psi on the low, and 225 to 275 on the high,
thats base on everything else is working.

Go to page 2a-4, see illustration 8.7.  

Thats the tool you need to completely remove your timing chain cover.

Air impact gun... like the ones used for lug nuts.  It will act like a hammer drill and "hit" it a bunch of times and knock it loose.  These are pressed on with many models.  Good luck.

I just had the freeze plugs go out on my 1999 Ford Taurus.  It is the pugs under the flex plate.  My weekend is being spent pulling the motor.  Ford wants a grand to replace three 30 cent parts.  It sucks.

Quoted: Air impact gun... like the ones used for lug nuts.  It will act like a hammer drill and "hit" it a bunch of times and knock it loose.  These are pressed on with many models.  Good luck. I just had the freeze plugs go out on my 1999 Ford Taurus.  It is the pugs under the flex plate.  My weekend is being spent pulling the motor.  Ford wants a grand to replace three 30 cent parts.  It sucks.

That is why I am trying to replace these gaskets myself. I was quoted $600 for the two from a Ford dealer and over $550 from two different mechanic shops. I'll go get a HB puller tomorrow and a breaker bar. Thanks for the help guys.