Quick crankshaft pulley question

I don't want to DIY for various reasons - the garage is worried because Autodata or whatever they use says a special tool is required to remove the pulley.

1. Is this just a locking tool to stop it turning while the bolt is being unscrewed, in which case there are various standard techniques like an air gun, a sprag through one of the slots, etc?

2. Does the pulley come off easily by hand once the bolt is out?

Yes the special tool is just a long bar with a couple of holes in it to hold the pulley. A proper impact driver will undo the nut, or there are other methods that don't require any special tools. Once the bolt is out the pulley comes off very easily.

Thanks, so an impact driver on its own should Just Work and, if not, jam the pulley with something?  Should be standard garage techniques, then.

There is the starter motor technique endorsed by Scotty Kilmer et al but AIUI there is a small risk of stripping the ring gear teeth or the starter pinion.

Also, it's an auto - what position should the transmission be in?  P or N?  I imagine P could break the parking pawl?

Yes a decent size impact driver will do it. I've always done them with the starter motor. An 18" breaker bar rests nicely against the NS inner wing to hold the bolt, then a quick flick of the key does the magic.
It doesn't matter what position the auto box is in, the torque converter will prevent you from turning the transmission. Manual transmissions are best in a high gear, 4wd with someone pressing the brakes, but I've found the clutch slips before the bolt will come loose.

With an auto they will need to make a locking bar to tighten it up again.

I made one from a piece of old desk I had knocking around, I can't remember the hole centres, around 75mm I think (but they can measure off the new one, the bolts are standard metric threads, probably M8), my bar needed notching so it goes round the PAS bracket.

Nothing on Earth would undo the bolt on mine, it was rusted solid, so after a couple of evenings of futility with rattle guns and scaffold poles, I simply sliced the flange off in pieces with a grinder (the crank nose is about 3mm short of the pulley) and undid it with my fingers!

Just let the garage worry about it.



 

That was my idea (let the garage worry about it) but the last two garages that have worked on it have been hopeless, leaving it with slipping belts and coolant leaks, and it's hard to find a proper mechanic.  I don't think many have the nous to work around a problem if they don't have a special tool.  The Suzuki tool, which has dogs to engage the four pulley slots, seems to be unobtainium anyway.