Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines Timing gear removal

I'm having trouble removing the timing gear from the crankshaft on my 261. The trouble is that the claws on the 3 leg gear puller I have are too fat to fit between the gear and the block. I already broke a tooth off the gear in the process. I think I MIGHT be able to get the claws in there if I removed the large plate that the front engine mounts attach to, but I can't get the large attaching screws to budge... and I have a feeling I'm not supposed to remove them. I thought about grinding down the claws, but I'm afraid that might weaken them to the point of making them useless. ANy suggestions?

Thanks.

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'50 Chevy Fleetline DeLuxe ('55 235)
'48 Chevy Fleetmaster coupe (late 261)
Chicago

The gears I've had to pull all had 2 tapped holes for use with a steering wheel type puller. You could try drilling and tapping 2 holes if there aren't any there allready, otherwise buy/borrow a different puller and maybe heat up the gear.

When you get this far, have the machine shop drill/tap the end of the crankshaft so you can draw the balancer onto the crank, instead of trying to beat it on with a hammer.

Dear Hellfish;

Gearhead is correct. You have the wrong puller. Do not attempt to remove the plate you mentioned as that is not the problem.

Most tool rental outlets will have the one you need. Be sure you thread in the bolts all the way into the gear.

Goodluck, John M., #3370.

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[This message has been edited by inlineidiot (edited 02-03-2004).]

[This message has been edited by inlineidiot (edited 02-03-2004).]

the large gear that's attached to the camshaft has two holes in it where you can pass bolts through that thread into the block. The small gear that's attached to the crankshaft is solid. No holes. If I'm not mistaken, the service manual shows a 3-jaw gear puller being used to remove this gear. Does that help?

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'50 Chevy Fleetline DeLuxe ('55 235)
'48 Chevy Fleetmaster coupe (late 261)
Chicago

Dear Hellfish;

This is not good. What you have then is an "aftermarket" crank gear that was not drilled/taped.

What you will have to do is:

1. Rotate the crank till the holes in the cam gear line up with the screws that attatch the retainer to the front plate. Remove those 2 screws & then the cam. Be carefull not to damage the cam bearings.

2. You can now see what holds the plate on the block and can remove it too.

3. If your puller will fit then okay. If not you will have to pull the crank out. The gear is already junk so be carefull not to hurt anything else. (Do not use hammer to beat it off)

4. A little heat on the gear will help as 'Gearhead' stated. A small propane torch will do that trick.

It's just bad luck. I have never seen a crank gear w/o holes.

Good luck, John M., #3370.

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Well, if that's the case, I need to order a new gear anyway, so I'll get the correct one. Here is a picture. There is a hole in the plate and I can get one of the claws in there, but not the other two. There simmply isn't enough room, and I can't pull the crank out without first removing that gear (I've tried) and I can't get the screws that hold the plate on off either.



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'50 Chevy Fleetline DeLuxe ('55 235)
'48 Chevy Fleetmaster coupe (late 261)
Chicago

Pull the steel timing gear off first,use an impact screwdriver on the retaining plate screws.You're likely to break the retaining plate behind the cam when using a puller with the cam in place.Once the cam is out' you should be heating the gear before removal or installation.Pulling it off cold will broach the soft aluminum, perhaps ruining the gear.need to heat it to around 200 or so degrees You can use a torch, carefully. On installation, plop the gear in boiling water for 10 minutes.

[This message has been edited by Tony P (edited 02-05-2004).]

OK. The camshaft and cam timing gear are already off (that picture is from a few weeks ago). All that's left on the block is the crankshaft, crank timing gear (steel?) and that plate.

So, I should heat up the crankshaft gear with a propane torch, then what? This won't hurt the crank? I can't pull the crank out like was suggested because the gear is on it. I only need to move the gear 1/8 of an inch or so and I should be able to fit the puller claws in there. Is there a way to do this without destroying that plate?

BTW, are you sure that's an aftermarket gear? it looks like the one in the service manual and I'm pretty sure they use a 3-jaw gear puller to remove it in the manual.

thanks,
Joe


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'50 Chevy Fleetline DeLuxe ('55 235)
'48 Chevy Fleetmaster coupe (late 261)
Chicago

Relax. You're swinging after the bell.
I'll go over it one more time.

Since you can't get the crank gear off, then removing the motor plate is the next best thing. To do this, those flat head screws can be troublesome sometimes. If you don't have an impact screwdriver, then take the largest blade screwdriver that fits in the screw head, make sure the screwdriver has a square shaft, and get a large adjustable cresent wrench. Get into a position that alows you to put all your force directly through the screwdriver and use the cresent wrench to turn the screw. If this doesn't work the first time, try heating it up and tapping on the screw, then try again. If all else fails, drill or grind off the screw heads and let the machine shop deal with it later. You could let the shop remove the gear also if you still can't pull it after the plate is off and the crankshaft is removed.
All of my factory shop manuals show this gear with 2 tapped holes. All the replacements that I've seen are untapped. It's cheaper to make that way. Somebody has tinkered with your engine before, apparently.

I just did this on my 261 and it also did not have any tapped holes in my crank gear. The new Cloyes set I got from Patricks was tapped. When I removed mine I had actually removed my crank already because I was doing a complete rebuild. I just had the crank sitting on the bench and I pulled it off with 2-arm gear puller. It did not budge for quite a few turns and then all of sudden I heard a POP and it let go and it then came off quite easy with the puller. I am not sure if a 2-arm gear puller will fit better, but it may. I would still remove the front plate so you will have more room and you might as well replace the gasket behind the plate while your at it. I used an impact screw driver to remove those flat head screws, like the others suggested and it worked great. Good luck.

Thanks for the info. I must've misread what Tony wrote. I didn't want to break the plate. I'm doing a complete rebuild, too, so it all has to come off.

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'50 Chevy Fleetline DeLuxe ('55 235)
'48 Chevy Fleetmaster coupe (late 261)
Chicago

Tony is refering to the gear on the camshaft and the fact that you need to pull the cam out before you can remove the motor plate. But you've allready removed the cam, so no problem. You will need to remove the gear from the cam at some point, as you need to reuse the retaining plate and washer.