car mechanics help!! where to buy a specialy tool fast

[alphatarget1]

hello all,

I'm trying to change the timing belt on a 1996 honda accord EX v6 and I can't remove the crankshaft pulley bolt without a special tool (no impact gun here but i need one to torque it back to the specs). It's a 50mm hex holder thing and I went to carquest, kragen, autozone and some orther part stores even the honda dealer and none of them have it. do you all know a place where i can rent them around the bay area?

thanks

 

[HappyPuppy]

Maybe you should try going to a real tool store instead of an auto parts store.

Just a suggestion.

 

[olds]

First you say you need the tool to remove the pulley then you say you need to torque it to specs. Which is it?

 

[alphatarget1]

both.

i can probably find an impact gun to break it loose but when i have to tighten it i need the holder to torque it.

 

[alphatarget1]

it looks like this but I can't wait for shipping and I'd prefer to rent one anyway.

 

[olds]

A torque wrench won't work?
Wrench.

 

[Iron Woode]

When I removed mine, I used a breaker bar with the correct size socket.

Of course this was my 318 V8 mopar. Same basic idea.

To put it back on maybe a pain. I had to lock my flywheel/flex plate in place to torque it correctly using a Tourque Wrench.

What you should get is a manual to help you and maybe some advice from a honda mechanic.

 

[olds]

I would imagine that you could do it without that tool. You'll probably have to take the wheel off to get the room.

 

[alphatarget1]

i have a manual, but i just can't find the tool anywhere.

 

[alphatarget1]

i have no way of holding the crankshaft pulley so that it won't move when i try to break it loose...

 

[Iron Woode]

Originally posted by: kenleung
i have a manual, but i just can't find the tool anywhere.

Improvise like others do.

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: kenleung
i have no way of holding the crankshaft pulley so that it won't move when i try to break it loose...

It won't matter with an impact.

With an impact gun it shouldn?t be necessary to hold the pulley. The movement happens quickly before the pulley has a chance to move. If needed, you may be able to place a breaker bar or other such item thru the pulley and lodge it against a strong part of the block. This way they pulley can?t move. You have to be careful to not break the pulley or an engine component. I have even used a hammer to sharply and quickly hit a wrench to ?jar? a bolt loose.
Now all bets are off if that bolt is torqued to 200lbs.

 

[alphatarget1]

ok thanks for the help guys

 

[BentValve]

No offense man but if you have to come to this forum to ask a basic question like that then you should not be changing the belt yourself.

 

[Iron Woode]

Its a good thing you don't need a crank puller like I did. I had to borrow one from a friend.

 

[thedarkwolf]

If you can get to the fly wheel you can jam something in there to keep it from moving to get the bolt on and off. I haven't seen a car yet without a dust shield or something that you can take off to get access to the flywheel.

 

[notfred]

If you put the car in gear you shouldn't be able to turn the crank pulley.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: BentValve
No offense man but if you have to come to this forum to ask a basic question like that then you should not be changing the belt yourself.

Come on dude. Have some respect... You should be giving him mad props for changing the timing belt himself. At least he's trying. It's not like you haven't ever ran into a problem and come here for advise.. :frown:

 

[olds]

I think it's great he's trying it. Now, not knowing how that model is set up let me add this. Before you get the belt off mark the postion of the pulley and the gear that drives the cam(s). If it doesn't go back together correctly your timing will be off and you risk running the pistons into the valves.

 

[BentValve]

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: BentValve
No offense man but if you have to come to this forum to ask a basic question like that then you should not be changing the belt yourself.

Come on dude. Have some respect... You should be giving him mad props for changing the timing belt himself. At least he's trying. It's not like you haven't ever ran into a problem and come here for advise.. :frown:

I could see if he came in here and asked what the procedure for setting the timing on his car is, or wanted to pick some brains about a specific drivability problem or something like that , no that is not the case.

I could offer him advice from my heart and that would be stop right now and call a tow truck. Tow it to your nearest trustworthy mechanic and let him finish the job.

I have had literally hundreds of customers that have tried to do something themselves , screw it up and then they end up spending 2 to3 times what it would have cost them if they had brought it to me in the first place.

I really try and avoid these car talk threads , I see them all the time, guys giving out crap advice , people that think they know what they are talking about rambling on and so on...also I fix cars for a living so I really don't want to talk about them in my spare time.

This is from my heart, from my experience....
Seriously, take the car to a shop and let them finish the job.

 

[BentValve]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
I think it's great he's trying it. Now, not knowing how that model is set up let me add this. Before you get the belt off mark the postion of the pulley and the gear that drives the cam(s). If it doesn't go back together correctly your timing will be off and you risk running the pistons into the valves.

That 2.7L would be an interference engine, there is only one modern Honda engine that I know of that is not.

 

[mastertech01]

Even in professional dealership shops a tool like that may be a shop owned special tool. Some tools are used seldomly and its not smart for every tech to buy every special tool to do thier job. So maybe a couple techs may own one out of the entire shop or maybe it will be a dealership provided special tool. Likely not something you will find easily and may cost as much as having the repair done professionally especially if you screw something up.

 

[Nocturnal]

Try a Snap On vehicle.

 

[alphatarget1]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
I think it's great he's trying it. Now, not knowing how that model is set up let me add this. Before you get the belt off mark the postion of the pulley and the gear that drives the cam(s). If it doesn't go back together correctly your timing will be off and you risk running the pistons into the valves.

i can scan the manual if you want to know what it looks like

 

[BlackOmen]

Can you see the flexplate/flywheel from underneatch the car? Is there a shield to remove so that you can access the flywheel/flexplate?

If so, you can wedge a larger slotted screwdriver into the teeth and have the body hold the screwdriver handle in place. It worked on my friends v6 camaro when we needed to get the crank pulley off. It would help to have a second person watching the screwdriver to make sure the flywheel/flexplate teeth aren't getting damaged. On the Camaro, it took a few tries in placing the screwdriver before we were confident enough to put the breaker bar to pulley bolts.

Now, if you have any home mechanic friends with a large selection of tools, Snap On makes a flywheel holder that grabs the ring teeth in two spots and someone holds the flywheel in place with the tool while pulling the crank pulley, flywheel bolts, whatever. Good luck, I'll be doing this soon on my gf's 92 accord.