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Old 11-03-2008, 01:03 AM   #15 (permalink)
Twerp
Modified Driver
 
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Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: South Western middle of nowhereish New Hampshire
Posts: 104

Frozen Tundra - '03 Toyota Tundra 4WD SR5 Access Cab
90 day: 26.51 mpg (US)

Red Skateboard - '91 Honda Civic DX
90 day: 45.49 mpg (US)
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Thanked 6 Times in 5 Posts
Actually, I managed to get the damn bolt out. I went ahead and ordered that special tool that holds the pulley. I found it for less than $10. Can you believe that there are places that sell the same thing for near $80? I also got a 24in breaker bar for about $10.

I connected the special tool to my old breaker bar and rested that on the garage floor with the other end connected to the crank pulley. I hooked up a beefy socket to a beefy extension to my new beefy breaker bar. I had a cinder block and some patio pavers supporting the extension so that it was just pure torque going to that bolt. I bounced on the breaker bar a couple times and then added a foot and a half long pipe to the back of the breaker bar. I had about three feet of leverage at that point. After pressing on that for a while, I eventually got up and stood on the thing. A couple of bounces from my 190lb heft broke that bolt loose.

Yeah, when I suddenly came crashing to the floor, I thought I had broken something else, but after checking the special tool, the extension, the socket and all, I determined that everything was fine. I flipped the breaker bar around and good tug on the thing confirmed that indeed, I had achieved victory.

The whole ordeal was actually kinda easy once I had the proper tools in place. The moral of this story? If there is a special tool required, just go out and acquire the tool. Of course, now that I've installed the aftermarket pulley, I will have no use for that special tool. So if anybody else is doing the same project, just let me know and I will be happy to send the tool to you.

Epilogue: I managed to complete the timing belt change. I put the underdrive pulley on and with a combination of a rubber strap wrench, fifth gear, a parking brake and all wheels on the ground, I managed to torque that bolt in at about 110ft-lbs of torque. It should be easier to get off next time. It took me forever and a lot of trips to the parts store to figure out the right belt to use with the new pulley. With everything together and some fresh antifreeze, I managed to get the car started and the thing actually ran. Not only that, but it ran well. I took it for a zip through the neighborhood and it seems to have a bit more low end grunt than it used to. I'm going to have to take some fuel economy readings to see if the pulley will save me any gas.
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