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Good Morning. Thursday evening we were returning from a car gathering when an awful racket started in the car as I was braking. It stopped after about 5 seconds and the brakes didn't seem to be affected. There was a faint scraping sound that was detectable if I listened throught the open window. So, I continued home to be in familiar territory if a real problem occurred. What I discovered when I opened the hood was not at all what I expected. The vibration damper was laying between the radiator and the pulley. Luckily it was against the frame of the radiator and not through or against the core.
Now, to my problem. I am aware that the whole front clip will need to be removed, unless someone has a better way to get the damper off and on. I don't have a clue as to the order that this dismanteling should follow. I always tell my friends that I can take anything apart, but I would also like to be able to get this back together. Any help that anyone can send will be greatly appreciated. I am still in my investigative stage and will procrastinate until I feel that I am ready.
The flat rate book lists this tear down at 12 hours. That means that it will probably take me about a week to get to the repair, however long to repair it, and another week or more to get it back together. I would like to do this without scratching up my paint, which will be another factor in the amount of time to dissassemble. Is there a service manual available for this?
Again, any advice or places to look will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

You don't say what year and model but I've removed vibration dampers from many cars with the engine in the car. The front clip does NOT have to be removed, though the radiator will have to come out - that will provide plenty of room and if you decide you need more room, you could remove the grille though I've never found that necessary.

Did the entire damper/pulley come off, or just the damper section? Damper rebuilding is reasonably common, you might contact Damper Dudes on the West Coast.

I'm sorry. It's a 1940 120. I don't think the radiator will come out without having the front off. The damper came apart. The pulley is still on.

The radiator can be removed without removing the front clip. Someone who has done it more recently that I have will no doubt come along with details but it's very straight-forward.

Thanks.....I'm waiting. I'd rather do that than take everything off.

I think Mal did it very recently in order to take his waterpump of on his 1940 120.

PI calling on Mal down under!

G'day Richard,

The harmonic balancer on my '41 120 parted ways from the pulley a little while back as detailed in the Wade's Workshop Project Blog. However, if trolling through my trials, tribulations and finally triumph isn't for you, I suggest following the procedure below. Luckily for you, your '40 has better access with the fender line at the engine compartment being lower than the fixed bonnet(hood) side panel on my '41. Because of that I could just barely reach the pulley and its retaining bolt.

- Drain the radiator
- Remove the fan and water pump, this allows better access.
- Remove the generator, for access? you may not need to do this.
- Disconnect the radiator, hoses, the big nut holding the central bottom bolt and the sideframe bolts
- Remove the radiator, you'll probably need an extra pair of hands because the radiator is heavy.
- Put car in gear with the handbrake on.
- Use a socket on a breaker bar to loosen and remove the bolt holding the pulley to the crankshaft.
- Slide the pulley off the crankshaft snout, this is where I came to grief. It was impossible for me to slide off the pulley because of extremely restrictive access and I resorted to leverage with drastic consequences!!!
- Before installing the replacement pulley/harmonic balancer use fine emery paper and lightly clean the internal mounting surface of the pulley to aid in its installation. Also check for any burrs or irregularities on the crankshaft snout as well as the key and keyway which anchor the pulley.
- Align the pulley with the key and keyway and using a light coating of lubricant on the snout and pulley push the pulley onto the crankshaft snout. Getting it started is the hardest part.
- Once started, and with the pulley on a reasonable way, the bolt can be used to pull it in. May need to do so without the lock washer at first for a little extra length.

There you have it! Good luck.

One other thing maybe worth mentioning if you remove the water pump is if you have an old worn out rubber on the front motor mount it may have let the engine sag down far enough a water pump bolt cannot be accessed. You may have to use a floor jack and blocks under the pan or side rails to raise the engine slightly to be able to remove the bolt.

Also, if you take the pump off and since the radiator will be out it might be a good time to check the condition of the water distribution tube.

Howard,

All good advice.

Thank you all for your advice and instructions. All I need now is the right frame of mind to get started.