Took car for a ride tonight for the 1st time BUT....

[Onefast99gsx]

Hi guys- I had some non motor related delays. Starting the motor for 1st time went excellent. I did (3) 10 sec intervals of turning it over without the plugs, inj wires unplugged and also the crank sensor. It primed really fast. When I went to start it for real, it started as if I just shut the thing off seconds ago...

Took car for a ride tonight for the 1st time around the block BUT.... I need to get the crank bolt torqued to spec (87 lbs). I just torqued it with my cheapy impact that wouldn't even break the same bolt loose months back. So anyway, i limited my ride to just around the block. I would have thought that having the front wheels on ramps, back wheels on the ground & blocked, car in 1st gear, e-brake on...that I would have been able to tighten that bolt. When I torqued it the whole motor wanted to turn over, yet the car wasn't moving when the crank pulley was turning which I thought was really odd. Is that something to do with the Diff or something? While in gear, I couldn't push the car at all so why is that I couldn't tighten it?

So how do you guys tighten that bolt? The book shows a spanner type wrench holding the pulley while using the torque wrench on it. I don't know anyone around here that will have that spanner wrench.

Thanks guys...

[JET]

Hammer the crap out of it with the impact.

[DBMajik]

Use the impact! The reason your impact wouldn't be able to take it off is because of heat expansion.

[FattyBoomBatty]

So, you put together your whole engine and transmission and things aren't fully tightened? What's going on?

And you can use a screwdriver to hold the flywheel in place while tightening the bolts, or have someone with some gloves hold it so it doesn't spin. Unless you're talking about something else?

[JET]

Use the impact! The reason your impact wouldn't be able to take it off is because of heat expansion.

Actually it was likely due to rust between the bolt and the crank pulley. Even a cheap impact should be able to tighten it fine.

[1ViciousGSX]

Try putting it into 5th gear instead of 1st gear.

[Onefast99gsx]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys.. I will be working on this tonight after work. I was just looking it over at lunch eyeing it all up. It's been so long since my motor was together, I forgot what timing belt tension felt like to the touch. When I put it all together, I did the "if you can put the gernade pin back in, you're good". It just seems loose to me but I don't know....

I realize that this is by no means a valid test, but if I push down on the belt in between the cam gears, then pull up, I have just a hair over 3/8" of up/down play. From the neutral/untouched position of the belt and then up only, it's 3/16" of up play. Does that seem decent to you guys?

[JET]

Yep, that sounds about right.

[Onefast99gsx]

Thanks alot JET....and thanks for all the help you've give me throughout the build. You and about a handfull of others have really helped me out.

[Onefast99gsx]

Bolt is tight. Wasn't that hard after all. Someone suggested to me to put it in 5th gear instead of 1st. Made a big difference. I was able to torque it to spec. I just had a buddy hold the cam in place with a wrench. He said it barely moved. Who would have thought 5th gear would have done the trick vs. granny gear 1st.