All of my directions/manuals simply say, "Now loosen the bolt" ...

 

lefty loosey?
rightey tightey?

 

Translate that into clockwise or counter-clockwise facing the bolt, and do you know for sure.

 

i dont know for sure. i havent loosened that bolt before. i looked through the service manual for you but i didnt find anything on it. maybe you can find something i couldnt

Engine Assembly and Mounts

 

Well I found the special Honda/Acura 50mm crank pulley tool at Pep Boys for $40, so we'll give it another go next Saturday, out of time for today.

Honda and Acura Timing Belt Tips, Crank Pulley Tool

 

COUNTER clockwise looking at it like a regular bolt.

 

Excellent, that's what we were trying (crank spins clockwise normally, looking at the bolt). Oh man, I got to wait another week...

 

Check this, I bent the 50mm tool trying to loosen the crankshaft bolt the "proper" way:



Foiled again, the car was lifting up via the 50mm + breaker bar. Plus I bent the pin in the breaker bar. The 50mm tool is pretty damn thick. That's one mean bolt.

 

Holy crap!!

Are you are trying it with a warm/hot engine?

 

First I tried cold last weekend with impact and lousy breaker bar setup. This weekend I warmed up the engine to 202F and let it sit there for a while at 202F (fan kicks on at 204F), then hit the bolt with both impact gun and proper breaker bar + 50mm setup. The crank bolt was too hot to hold onto, so it was decently warm.

Next weekend I will try heating the bolt directly with a small propane torch or some such. After that, car shop!

 

DUDE i just hit mine with my craftsman 350lb torque impact wrench in my garage. Took 3 seconds 2 come loose. I didn't even use a tool to hold the crank, just hit the crank bolt with a stong impact gun.

 

Central Pneumatic 1400 ft-lb FTW!

 

^ good job! I know hwo fraustrating it is. A simple job turns to be disaster just of a stubborn bolt.