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Microsquirt 16v+t

No problem Ems Fred, I share to help others, since I always learn the hard way. Watch the video link above for full story.

The only thing i did not include was the fact that my ac belt had flipped over backwards, and my ac was on when this happened. I run power steering, ac,water pump and alternator. All accessories. Oh and the fact the dayum crank bolt was loose again.


I actually plan to go back and double pin the crank pulley and the b234 crank gear that i broke the tab on. Supercharger guys do it, and Rick G made the clever suggestion. Google it.

I torqued the crank bolt both times to 122ft lb, per IPD specs. But it came loose twice regardless. After the first time i used red lock tite. The other thing i noticed is that my harmonic balancer , or crank pulley outer are spinning on the innards, so the rubber has failed inside of it. Not sure if this is an issue, or a cause. Either way i will be using a different crank pulley.

I really like the Yoshifab piece, but that price.Then it says you have to machine the crank anyways, soooo..I just can not wrap my head around. Sure it would have saved me the price of another 16v head, but I bought my first 16v head for 350, and second for 300, so the price gap,of 190 for a gear- is not satisfactory at all for me.
I am all about the bargain, and this gives me the built not bought attitude. I know that's not the consensus here on TB , but it used to be,back in 99.

Looks like i will be making a round piece, like a metal stencil if you will, to bolt up to Volvo crank, with four holes drilled in it in . The four holes will be like this jig in the video..Then insert solid rollpins(not hollow) to hold both firm.



https://youtu.be/pkvXHGvbMko?t=5
 
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I feel like that design will be stronger than yoshifabs deal and it will hold the Crank GEAR AND PULLEY steady. But we will see about that..
 
Thanks Cosby, but i still have a crank pulley that will not stay still, and this is the main problem, The gear will not simply solve the issue. The crank pulley needs to be solid as well, and not rely on the rigidity of the gear, both need to be independently locked down, or locked down together,Not one locked down and the other depending on the one- like with two roll pins going through both, or two keyways, one top, one bottom. My opinion of course.
 
Maybe buy the gear and lock the crank down with a keyway.. Hmm, that would be easier actually, but as effective??
 
Meh, 2 from same seller, posted yesterday. I don't trust it. Going with original plan. Thanks again for heads up though.
 
Honestly the easiest solution would be to use the factory Keyway valley on the stock Volvo Crank, its even marked on the b234 gear..
 
I torqued the crank bolt both times to 122ft lb, per IPD specs.

That sounds low to me. The Volvo spec for a B230 is 44 ft/lb plus 60? (one flat or point on a 6 point bolt).

I think I tested this on my own stuff a couple times following the angle torque method, marking the final position, and then loosening it and torquing it with a higher torque wrench setting to get it to the same position. It was pretty reliably at ~180 ft/lb for me with clean dry bolt and crank threads. If I was going to use loctite or any lube, I would just follow the angle torque method.

People seem to break the cam pins also, and I wonder if they are torquing those bolts correctly either.
 
I had a crank bolt come out on a 8v setup. Ever since that I impact the **** out of them. Haven't had a issue in years. Several 16v setups aswell.
 
I had a crank bolt come out on a 8v setup. Ever since that I impact the **** out of them. Haven't had a issue in years. Several 16v setups aswell.

Yep, pretty much

Same here... Hi torque impact AND red Loctite. Never came loose but forget about taking it off without an impact!

But first get another crank pulley! You'll never get your timing right if they slip on the rubber damper and it's probably the cause of your head mayhem. ;-)
 
For sure on the crank pulley, have to machine another one down. The cause was the bolt coming loose- i guess because of the accessories i was running. The crank pulley is held by the nub on the crank gear and it rounded that little spec off, which then loosened the bolt as the pulley spun on the crank. My guess is that when the rubber separated, it got hot and caught, when it caught it started shearing stuff.

I know my timing was correct , because of the little disk behind the gear with the little hash mark on it that lines up with the hash mark on the block. I always use these for cam timing, for tdc, because of the above scenarios. My ignition timing is always dead on, via the stock flywheel sensor and timing light.The pulley didn't spin until this happened, both on the rubber and on the crank. So initial setup had nothing to do with it. If it had, i would have had bent valves when i started this engine after the build, instead it happened after 2000 miles. Just for clarification purposes.Goodness it hurts typing that -2000 miles , face palm.
 
The solution will be to pin both the crank and the gear , and/or a key-way..The bolt then will not come loose when torqued. I will be hitting that thing with my 3/4 snap on impact, until i feel its solid this time, as well as using a new crank bolt.

The whole thing to understand is once the crank pulley rubber separates , the outer pulley will spin on the inner until it gets hot, then it sticks like a hot tire on pavement. That action is a shock, and this shock breaks things, kind of like the shock of grip- in my rear differential, because of a triple disc clutch that gives no slips. Right, so then, the shock shears the stupid little nub that holds the crank pulley clocked to the crank gear, as soon as the crank pulley spins an inch on the crank- the front crank bolt unscrews, due to the opposite energy applied . Its a no win scenario. How much the bolt is torqued is irrelevant to a certain degree, IT WILL COME LOOSE.

Volvo dealt with this scenario on their white blocks really well. Probably was the main reason for only running the b234 for one year of production in cars (major assumption). I am curious to see a penta bottom end to see if there were changes made in the crank gear and pulley design. Any one know? Kenny?

Here's a video of a 850r block i have for sale along with head, and how they addressed this OBVIOUS issue.

https://youtu.be/tFUL8VEA0qQ?t=30
 
I would venture to guess that un key way block- is a 8 valver and runs little to no accessories? I have all the accessories and run ac regularly, a fact which makes most scratch their heads, "turbo out of the hood, has to have a/c delete", uhh no its Houston, always humid.
 
Makes me think, i need to go check my oil pump drive.. I didn't check that out.. Make sure its not seized..UGHH.
 
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