So today I get a call saying that my crank hub will not come off, he has broken one puller and is using an air ratchet. He has even tried heating it and says that it will not budge. I am seriously thinking he does not have a bolt bottomed out in the crank. Keep in mind I put the hub on with my torque wrench less than 1 month ago.

Why would the hub not come off?

 

Sounds like he's pulling the hub against itself. (-instead of sticking a bolt or 1/4" drive extension THRU the hub to press against the crank snout).

I'd double-check that he's using the correct procedure.

 

I was thinking the same

 

had the same prob, did all ur mechanic has done. found out i was pushing against the hub still. Get a 1/4 inch extension on there and she'll pulll right out... mine did

 

That would scare me. Obviously he doesn't know much about LT1s and that the hub looks like this.

 

Time for a new mechaneck, as my dad use to say. Mechanics and doctors had one chance with him. Get it right the first time or your gone.

 

it's people like him that make the rest of us look bad. we had a mecanic that we found out was pretty much high all time. he did a timing chain on an LT1 caprice and even he got the hub off fine. we did fire him when he came to work so lit up that he cound;t talk and fell over tho

 

I wonder how much heat he applied. Could that have any ill effects on anything (like warping?)

 

He is a good mechanic, he just has very little experience with Lt1 engines. I am going out to check how he has the puller hooked up today.

 

I'd be looking in the Yellow pages for a new Mechanic... & a lawyer while I was at it.

 

I went over today, he was using a puller with a pointed end on it. He just made a simple mistake happens to everyone.

 

I had trouble with it too the first time. Finally a buddy in my automotive class helped me out we threaded the bolt in a little and then used a snap on puller that looked like a C. Came right out after backing out the bolt a couple of times.
-b

 

I trust you are joking. Even the most experienced and best engine builders and mechanics have difficulty removing an LT1 hub the first time they encounter one. LT1s have a weird design and unless you know about it one will try to remove it in the conventional manner.

 

Umm... well about 4 years back when I knew nothing about these cars or had much if any mechanical know how, the first car I really worked on was my old 93 Trans AM LT1, I was going to do the cam/heads swap which I did, when I started on the hub I know right away it would come out by just pushing in the middle cuz thats the hub it self, so I figured maybe I'm missing something & acctually tried, I didn't put much if any force on it until I realized by the feel of how the puller was working that it wasn't even trying to move it so thinking that pushiung on the bolt in the middle might be a bad idea I used a huge slide hammer LOL, she came out but this is when I had much if any experience.

 

In the thirty years that I've worked with mechanics I learned that any mechanic that can't figure out how to solve simple mechanical problems like how to remove a crank hub is useless. No excuses. No exceptions. If your mechanic can't solve simple problems. . . you'll be loser in the end.