So I'm at the point where I need to take off the harmonic ballancer, last time I had someone helping me hold the flywheel while I busted it loose, but I don't this time. Can some tell me a good way with one person. Here is what I've tried before, bumping the starter with a breaker bar on it.

 

please put the year of your car in the thread title next time, or at least in your post.

bumping the starter usually works, i forget if on the 1uz you can take the access panell off and put a fat screwdriver into the flexplate and then go at it with an impact gun.

 

A good impact wrench will usually get the bolt off without holding the flex plate.

 

My impact wrench didn't work for me, although if I had a much more powerful one, it might have. I used the Schley 64300 pulley holding tool (cost me about $60) on my 91 LS. That enabled me to hold the crank steady with a breaker bar and then loosen the bolt with a 2nd breaker bar.

 

Yes you can take off the access plate to get to the flywheel and get a screwdriver in there to hold it. I've never used an impact on it but just a breaker bar. (I'm sure an impact would be better) I've done this twice on this car (93 LS) and also on alot of other cars I've owned. I hate to think of people loosening the bolt by bumping the starter, I just see that bar going flying and causing more damage.
bbtri; An impact might work getting it off w/o holding the flywheel but putting it back on ya need to hold it so you can torque it to 181 ft lbs.

 

Sorry I didn't put the year I was waist deep in remove parts to get to the TB. Its a 92, I've heard a chain wrench on top of a rubber hose works. Any other suggestion, it would be hard to hold the fly and break that bolt at the same time.

 

Dude, I do it all the time. Ya just jam a screwdriver in so it doesn't come out and take the bolt out of the harmonic balancer. It might take a couple times to find the right spot that will hold the screwdriver in there without falling out, but it's there. After the bolt is out you're gonna need a puller to get the HB off which you can rent from Autozone. If you're gonna change your seals, which you should, the bolts you need to take off the crankshaft pulley do NOT come with the puller. Thread size is M6 for the pulley.

 

M6 is just a bolt size, what about the thread pitch?

 

They're actually M8 x 1.25. Btw, my puller came with the correct size bolts, so I guess some do and some don't. As for the M6, you were probably thinking of the gear behind the harmonic balancer. That gear needs to be removed to get to the crankshaft seal. It sometimes comes off easily, but if not, you can remove it with the same puller you used for the pulley. That one uses M6 x 1.00 and I had to purchase them as they did not come with my puller.

 

That's exactly what I said but I guess I should have specified "crankshaft timing pulley" which is the "gear" you mentioned behind the harmonic balancer (also called crankshaft pulley) The bolts for the HB come with puller but the bolts for the crankshaft timing pulley (gear) do not. I guess us old school mechanics talk different. I had to get some 3" bolts with washers to use the same pulley puller. All is good.

 

use the starter, big powerbar on the front bolt braced against the ground, and just tap the starter real quick, by far the easiest way, so much torque in a starter