How do I remove the stock damper from the 93 Trans Am LT1 engine? When I remove the 3 bolts, I still can't get the damper/pulley to budge. I think the service manual assumes that the damper will just magically come off. I have seen on some other years that the pulley has three additional bolt holes which could easily be used by a pulley remover, but unfortunately my pulley/damper only has the three clearance holes, so there is nothing to use the typical pulley remover tool on. Is there a special pulley remover I need to buy for this configuration (that latches around the back side of the pulley)? If so, where can I find one?

I have tried heating the pulley while applying dry ice to the hub, and tapping the pulley with a hammer. I have rigged up a "puller" with 6 loops of wire through the damper, (being used with a conventional puller in place of the puller bolts) but each time it would snap the wires when I applied enough force (there was enough force applied to make it significantly firm to turn the puller bolt with a 14 inch ratchet). I need a pulling method that will be able to apply even more pulling force.

 

When it left the factory, the pulley/damper was simply "centered" over the hub, and fairly loose. Over the period of 15 years, the rust has built up to the point where it makes it difficult to pull the pulley/damper off the hub. Try some good penetrating oil (not WD-40). If that doesn't work, Shoebox has a photo showing the correct way to remove it with a 3-jaw puller:

http://shbox.com/1/pull_pulley.jpg

 

Correct, The 3 jaw puller worked wonders for me when I was changing my opti.. It's amazing how the only thing keeping it on there is rust