How to tighten crank bolt on 300TDi?

[Peaklander]

Let me have a think and a wander to my local garage tomorrow. If either thinking or the garage doesn't work then Vulcan I will take you up on your kind offer - thank you very much.

[monkie]

You make a good point about being occupied with undoing the bolt that you didn't consider any difficulty in doing it back up again correctly - this is what I think when people recommend undoing the bolt by resting a bar against the chassis while filcking the engine over on the starter, it only addresses half of the problem.

If you take up Vulcan's offer, it will make the job a breeze.

I bought the tool when my local garage said they used to lock the flywheel using a chisel on the ring gear. If anyone in the Southwest is doing this job and needs to borrow the locking tool, send me a PM.

[Peaklander]

11 hours ago, Eightpot said:

No, you won't break the ring gear, for one its very strong, second the leverage is much less at the ring gear than on the bolt.   Locking the crank through the transmission does work but the tyres ultimately absorb a good bit of the torque.    Locking the flywheel makes a much easier job of it, 

Don't know if it was the Shredded Wheat this morning but I thought I'd try to use this method even though I don't have a second pair of hands available. I pulled the engine round to a compression position and managed to hold a screwdriver into a tooth, wedging it on the compression by reaching up and pulling it round a tad with a rachet.

Then marked the bolt head and pulled it by 45 deg on a 50cm 1/2" bar which started to bend near the knuckle. After that I put a piece of pipe over it and just managed to get to to 90 without the bar snapping. I think that as the pipe touched the bar at the joint it maybe took some of the turning force. Anyway it is now at 90.

Thanks to everyone for helpful suggestions and guidance!

 

Hi Monkie - thanks for your post too. Yes that's all I was thinking about! Hopefully anyone reading this in the future will get a prompt that they have to think about the task at the end!

Edited April 18, 2017 by Peaklander
Added Monkie's reference

[pete3000]

It's always worth cleaning the threads in the pulley before going mad with the bolts supplied with the locking bar/tool, Think it's a M8 tap but others will confirm.

I've done mine and others a few times now, and the time between belt changes allows rust and crud to build up on crank pulley.

[Bowie69]

Fill the holes with a smudge of grease afterwards

[Peaklander]

Greased!

[dailysleaze]

Yeah that 90deg takes a lot of effort. I had the crank tool from ebay and a 3/4 breaker bar with a pipe on the end. Just about got there - the 1/2 breaker bar just wasn't up to the job

[Peaklander]

I cut a pipe long enough to just clear the ceiling and only just managed to not break the 1/2" bar. As i said, I think that the pipe acted in part, down near the joint and so prevented some of the twist. Still it was a fingers out of the way moment as I pulled it down towards the nearside wing.

[cackshifter]

I do think it helps for anyone doing this if you can do the 90 deg in one movement - or failing this do a bit, then restart, but aim to complete in the second movement. I think the further you are on, the harder it is to restart. So if you have a limited movement, do say 30 deg, then reset and finish in one, rather than have to stop and do the the last 10 deg. I use a torque multiplier and it still makes me wonder whether the breaker bar will break.