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I have had a hard time finding information on the Internet about removing the timing belt gear from the crankshaft.
I have a 2.3L honda Accord LX, year 2000, F23A4 engine.
I am in process of overhauling the front of the motor after my balancer shaft seal popped out (fortunately it was close to home, so my engine did not seize after losing its oil). I am putting on new timing and balancer belts, new tensioners, new thermostat (the item not at the 'front' of the motor), and the three seals: crankshaft, balancer shaft, and cam shaft.
Of the seals, I only have the crankshaft seal remaining. However on the crankshaft is a timing belt 'gear' and the square key pin between it and the crankshaft holdng the timing belt 'gear' in place.
My question: have you had experience getting the timing belt 'gear' off? What is the best way to do it? Mine seems to be on pretty snug, probably has never been off (this 14 year old car). The key pin also seems to be on pretty snug. I have yet to attack it seriously, so maybe it will be easier than I think, but in initial 'tampering' with it, the key pin and the gear seem to be quite tight. There is no space for a puller to go behind the gear. I do not like prying behind it with a screwdrive because one can crack a side wall of an aluminum engine block by doing this. One forum I read a couple years ago about the 3.0L Nissan Maxima engine is to drill two holes in the timing belt gear, tap them out, screw in two screws and then pull it out by the screws. I am hoping this Accord is easier than the 3.0L nissan engine.
Would appreciate any insights from those who have removed a timing belt gear from the crank.
He said he tapped the key with a hammer, it came loose, he took it out, then the timing belt gear came off easily. This basic procedure worked for me too. I used both a punch and a hammer, different angles till they key loosened. Took the key out, then YAY, gear came off easily with a little wiggling it and pulling it. (Then was able to reach my target: the crankshaft seal. Cross my fingers, it is in, hopefully no leaking. The crux of it was getting the key out, and it came out pretty easily.
Mad Mike ... thanks for the response, but no puller was needed in this case. I might need one someday on my Nissan however.
If you used an aftermarket seal, it's imperative to put some grease on the inside lip to help the lip break in properly. If you installed a Honda OEM seal then no need to.
Im in the same boat..my car has neen parked for 8 months now because of this key..i have over 20 hours tugging on it to no avail..nothing left of the key now..i gave up...1997 accord 2.2
I created an account because I just did this. Tried tapping key, slightly prying gear, and tapping gear. Did not work. In short you need an impact load that pulls on the key. I used needle nose vice grips that I clamped on to the key, then attached a pipe (with a stop on the end) to the adjustment screw on the bottom of the vice grip and tapped it away from the engine, came right out.
If you search my threads you will see i was in the same position..my car was parked for 6 months because of this..i pulled..ranked..spent hours trying to get this off..a puller wont work..no room..i finally tp the person above..i bought a punch..wacked it 2 tiimes and shocked it..fell right out..put on the front face..wack it back toward the engine
I just tried this a minute ago. Hammering key didn't do much good. I put a flathead from the top of engine directly straight down behind the timing gear and gave it 2 hits with a hammer and the gear as well as key popped forward. I then removed the key and pulled the gear off easily
Is this how your key was placed? As you can maybe see mine has the sloped edge on the top away from the shaft and on the outside that you can view. It seems to me this would be upside down and backwards. I would think you would want it on the inside down. so that you could tap it up, too get it to rotate out of the slot. I didn't need to remove it for my timing belt job, but would like to know if this looks correct. struck me as odd looking.
04-03-2014, 04:08 PM
timing belt gear on crank - how to remove?
The crux of it was getting the key out, and it came out pretty easily. 
