So, with my duratec engine, tonight i've managed to:
1) more or less jury-rig the draper universal flywheel locking tool to undo one of the star-bolts with little fuss (may have also been the holts releasing fluid and my new breaker bar
2) spot a small bolt hole behind the crank pulley, and put a bolt in to jam the pulley
3) get the rest of the flywheel bolts off easily (admittedly i had to hammer the socket onto one bolt that deformed mysteriously )
4) get the engine on the engine stand
5) get the front engine mount off with said breaker bar (£18 from unipart - a bargain)

I decided against taking the crank pulley off - I'll just clean it up with a cup brush - lots of aggro for little gain. Duratecs are supposed to be bomb proof, so if the bottom end isn't broke, i'm not fixing it. Saying that, when I run a compression test if it turns out to be low then i will end up stripping the crank out to change the rings and get the block checked

So, I nominate my tool of the day to be the .... breaker bar

Breaker bar = good bit of kit.

You've probably realised it but be careful with the bolt throught crank pulley because the hole behind doesn't have any real strength. This set up is really just for aligning the pulley not holding it while you tighten it.

If you get a chance it's worth checking the crank pulley and camshafts are timed correctly. I've seen two Duratecs now where the crank pulley was out by around 10 degrees (plus camshafts out).

Hi pjay

I realised it, by knacking it. When I looked round the front, the bolt wasn't at anything like 90 degrees.

I could retap it if/when I need it.

I will check the timing. It's going to go off for a full setup and i'd assume cam timing would be checked. I'm currently checking the budget to see if i can stretch to a set of cams as well - my only concern there would be having to get the pistons out and pocketed. Even if I do that I still don't need the crank off.

thanks for the advice - wish i'd known that before hand and I'd have used the flywheel locking tool a bit more dilligently.

Sorry to hear that. As you say you could re-tap the thread although as long as the bolt can go in reasonably well you should be okay (it's all about aligning the crank position sensor at the end of the day).

In terms of cams you could look at ones for the Fiesta ST150 since they don't normally need pocketed pistons but are more 'Fast Road' category so +10-15 BHP (you may be looking for more though?).

Hi.

If I can leave the bottom end unmolested then the crank sensor should be ok. I'be not removed it when stripping the block.

I'm putting it on 45 jenveys and a free flowing exhaust so am hoping to get 190 without cam changes.

Then, cams may give me that edge.

Note that the front crank pulley and the timing chain gear have no keyway in them and if you slacken the crank pulley bolt the cams may move and pull the timing chain and upset the timing.

Steve.

Thanks Steve, I'll bear that in mind.

I'm currently thinking of either of the two following options and value your input:
1) keep all mods external and just tidy up the block, so throttle bodies and exhausts
2) put a set of stage-1 cams in there as well, in which case i'd need to repair the hole and retime the cams.

What are your thoughts?

I have a new tool of the day!

I replaced the surfactant fluid in my parts washer with solvent instead. Fantastic. I used it to clean a crank and set of bearings, and it only took seconds.

It's certainly not cheap (£90 for 25L from machine mart) so I'll look for a cheaper supplier locally but it totally does the job. I have lots of parts soaking in there now.

And I smell of complex hydrocarbons.