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barelylegal69
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homemade crank pulley tool
Page 1
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Crankshaft Pulley Holding Tools
 |
| Homemade Tool |
When
changing
the timing belt on Honda automobiles, often the most difficult
step is removing the crankshaft pulley bolt. It is
difficult because the unusually fine threads of the pulley bolt
make it more prone to galling and seizing, particularly given the
extreme
conditions under which the bolt must function. The pulley bolt is
called a "special bolt" in official Honda documents because the threads
are non-standard. They have a smaller pitch than is customary
for even fine-thread metric bolts. The torque necessary to loosen the
bolt can rise to over 300 ft-lbs. The groups.google archive reports
difficulty breaking the bolt free with compressed air-driven
wrenches rated over 500 ft-lbs.
One
option for freeing the pulley bolt is to use a special tool for fixing
the crankshaft pulley in place and then applying the necessary torque
to the bolt. The tool to use will depend on the particular year and
model of Honda. The evidence is that there are three categories of
pulley designs, and so three different tools. The pulleys within a
category do not all look exactly the same; rather, within a category,
all the pulleys do have common characteristics. The three categories follow.
1. Fifty mm Hex Design
See pictures below. From top left proceeding clockwise: (a) Pulley and
bolt; (b) pulley holder tool and 19 (or 17) mm socket & ratchet
on bolt; (c) tool. This is used on a few early 1990s Honda models and
newer Hondas. To purchase or fabricate a tool for this pulley, click on
either http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net (search for Schley honda pulley holding tool) or Jamieson's, Curly's and Safety Steve's homemade tools.
Amazon and Ebay also often have this tool at a very competitive price.
I have built "Safety Steve's" version of the tool (no welding
required), using plumbing parts (1.5-inch threaded T, 1.5 inch length
of pipe, 1.5-inch adapter with approximately 2-inch hex). I bought the
parts at my local Habitat For Humanity Re-Store, paying $5.50 in 2009.
The cost at Lowe's or Home Depot for these same parts in 2009 was
upwards of $15.
2. Lip Design
See pictures of the pulley and a tool below. This is what a 1991 Civic LX and some other circa 1990 models use. The
"lip" is for the power steering belt. Compare it to the non-lip design
below. This pulley bolt requires a 17 mm socket.
3.
No Hex, No Lip Design
See pictures below. This is used on older Honda models c. 1980s.
Note how the commercial tool on the right below has a prong that
inserts into one of the holes near the pulley's circumference.
To
purchase a tool for (2) or (3), try Amazon and Ebay. Two variations on
this tool design are available, as shown in the pictures under (2) and
(3) above, but both work the same way, inserting into the holes around
the periphery of the pulley. In mid-2008 the tool was seen on Amazon
selling for as little as $25. One can also purchase this tool at Skywaytools Pulley Holder tool.
To fabricate a tool for (2) or (3) at a cost of around $15 (2004 dollars), purchase and then assemble as follows:
- Two 7/16-inch diameter, 3-inch long, Gr. 8 fine thread bolts, True Value Hardware = $3.50 (or thereabouts). 2009 price is similar.
- Two 7/16-inch diameter, Gr. 8 fine thread nuts, True Value Hardware = $1.50 (or thereabouts). 2009 price is similar.
- Four inches of 1/2-inch ID, 3/4-inch OD 200 PSI Goodyear hose. Cut into two pieces. Lowe's = $0.50 (or thereabouts). Omit if your pulley is category (3).
- One 3/8-inch thick, 2-foot long, 1.375 inch wide flat steel bar (a surveying stake, technically), Lowe's = $3.27. Unfortunately as of 2006, my local Lowe's no longer carried these. 2009 Update: Try Lowe's 1/4-inch thick, 3-foot long, 1.5-inch wide welding steel flat bar in the "Metal by the Piece" section. Cut in half and double up so you have effectively 1/2-inch thickness. This bar cost about $9 in 2009.
- One 7/16-inch diameter titanium coated drill bit. Autozone has this for around $6.
About
1.5
inches from one end of the steel bar, you are going to drill two
7/16-inch diameter
holes, spaced at whatever the length of the span is of, say, three
adjacent holes in your pulley. To get the distance right, lay the steel
bar on the pulley's edge so it covers two holes in the pulley (sort of
mocking up the planned design), and then measure the distance between
the holes' centers. For
my 1991 Civic LX, I used the span of three holes, and this turns out to
be about three
inches. See the photo at the top. The distance may be a little
different on your Civic or CRX. A little slop is okay, because the
"play" will assist you in
maneuvering the tool. Below are the tool parts prior to assembly.
For
category (2) pulleys, pass the two bolts through the two holes in the
bar; the hose pieces; the two holes of the pulley; and the nuts. Tighten
the nuts. From right to left as one is standing in front of the car,
looking down, it is: bolt heads, bar, rubber hose, pulley, nuts. The bar
should be oriented so it resists counterclockwise motion of the pulley.
Let the non-pulley end of the bar rest on a roughly 2-inch thick stack
of plywood on the ground. Here is a drawing of pulley (2)'s tool when it is attached to the pulley:
The
hose acts as a spacer to protect the power steering belt lip on
category (2) pulleys. The bar should not touch the lip at all. If it
does, you run the risk of damaging the lip. The first time I tried to
free the pulley bolt on my 91 Civic, I did not think of having any
spacers and chipped off part of the lip. The top photo above actually
shows my old pulley with a chunk of the lip missing.
For category (3) pulleys, omit the hose.
Attach
your 17 mm, minimum 1/2-inch drive socket to the pulley bolt, then two,
minimum 1/2-inch diameter extensions, then a minimum 1/2-inch drive
breaker bar at least 1.5 feet long. Support the end of the joined
extensions with a jackstand. I have to place a pipe about five feet in
length over the breaker bar to get the necessary torque. Here is a
photo of my rig:
I
do lay out pillows beneath where I am applying force to the pipe,
because when the pulley bolt gives, you could slip and fall a bit. But
just a bit. If you go slow and are careful, checking the whole rig as
you apply increasingly more torque, all should be fine. The bolt will
"crack" free and there may be a small cloud of dust near the bolt head.
It will sound like you broke something but in fact you just freed the
bolt.
Caution:
Do not attempt to use a single bolt or even two bolts levered against
the car body to hold the pulley. The pulley webs are not strong enough
to withstand the force that will result. The webs will break, and then
you will find yourself shopping for a new pulley.
If
you have a 3/4-inch drive socket, extensions, and breaker bar, then use
these. Using 3/4-inch drive tools will reduce the angular deflection
necessary
to break the pulley bolt free by a factor of about five. Sears and
Harbor Freight sell 3/4-inch drive tools. On
the other hand 3/4-inch drive tools are much more expensive than
1/2-inch drive ones. I have not had problems using 1/2-inch drive
Craftsman or similar quality tools for this job and so continue to use
the 1/2-inch drive ones for both my 91 Civic and 93 Civic.
To
the right is a photo of another person's similar setup. It is a view
kneeling next to the driver's side front wheel, looking at the
crankshaft pulley with the extensions attached. Note the jackstand in
the lower left. He didn't actually make a tool but he used the same
idea. His pulley is like (3) above, and he did not have to worry about
a lip. Click on the photo to get a full description of his approach.
Thanks
to Eric for posting the description of the tool he made for pulley (3)
above at the newsgroups rec.autos.makers.honda and alt.autos.honda,
circa 2004 and earlier.
I've yet to have a problem with just using an impact... But you never know...
I have run into 1 or 2 problem ones, but for the most part your right, impacts work great.
Sean really.....I'm about to go to amazon.com and get you hooked on phonics. You do know when you post, if there is a red line underneath it you spelled it wrong right?
HAAHAHAHAHHHAAA!!!!
You done just got schooled!!! Oh, wait... No, I guess you never were schooled...
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