Well Peter, If those " hundreds of cars" were not YOUR cars then you can not say with authority that you did not cause problems at the time the power steering pump needed to be addressed....
I have said this several times....

The shaft of the power steering pulley is a TAPER... this means you are not just pressing the pulley harder against some shoulder ... but you are expanding the pulley insides.... onto the shaft.... in other words you are creating an " INTERFERANCE FIT" between the two.... so when you take off the nut you have to deal with this situation....
When TCane needed to take his off.... the previous owner having used the power steering pulley to turn the engine.... it took three heatings with oxy-acet torch and LOTS of hard pounding... the it in a 6 inch vise... we were not sure we were going to be able to do it without ruining the pulley and or pump...

The factory shop manual also says NOT TO USE THE P/S Pulley.... so while everyone can do whatever they want to on their own cars.... I find it discouraging that you are doing it to other people's cars....

Leathermang,

You worry too much. Yours was an isolated case where the pully would have been hard to remove regardless of what the PO did. Those pulleys are difficult to remove which is why I use my factory power steering pulley puller when must remove a pully. Did you use a factory puller? Many of those cars were mine, but I've been in touch with the others for years. I'm not worried about a P/S pump problem, because they almost never fail. I have thrown away many many many pumps, because there is no call for them. They just don.t fail. If I did everything the way MB says, I'd be torqueing screws on the glove box. I torque important things like rods, mains, heads, cams, calipers, front crank bolt, and not much else. You get the feel of things after many years of experience.The books are good for a quick reference when you need to look something up, but a professional mechanic doesn't work on a car with an open book on the fender as a rule.

Peter

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Auto Zentral Ltd.

I do worry ...
but I have always dealt with OLD cars....
and I wish I had had the internet car forums when I was learning this stuff...
So I think it is proper to share experiences with those just starting out.. particularly when the physics behind it is explained.
I have a very different view of the Factory Shop Manual....and having started out in Army Aviation... where it was Standard Operating Procedure to have the manual at one's elbow when fixing things.... I tend to trust the people who actually made the vehicles....and went to the trouble of printing the instructions on paper...

Dang, we could really open up this discussion if we had an OD forum.






j/k

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'83 240D with 617.952 and 2.88
'01 VW Beetle TDI
'05 Jeep Liberty CRD
'89 Toyota 4x4, needs 2L-T
'78 280Z with L28ET - 12.86@110
Oil Burner Kartel #35

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b1...oD/bioclip.jpg

I have used the remote starter to bump it, but I have also used the nut on the power steering pully--on several diesels over 20 years, and never had a problem with the power steering pully. One diesel mechanic I know always uses the power steering nut as well--it's right on top and so convenient.

Joe B.

I use a cheepie. For as little use it gets, it wasn't worth the $$ for the good one. Yes, the tip of the cam lobe should be 180deg out, but close counts. 10deg one way or the other really isn't going to make much of a difference. The odds are you're only going to have to make an adjustment every second or third inspection anyways. But do open it up every 10K mi to do that inspection.

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daBenz - 1970 220D

AHH Army. That explains a lot of things. In the Navy you have to fly by the seat of your pants and fix whatever is broke while you are in the middle of the ocean. I remember once when we couldn't fire our missiles from the forward battery, because a tuned cavity went South. We were told that it had to be redone in controlled conditions at the factory. My Chief talked to the Snipes who welded it. He then talked to the Chief cook who baked it in the oven to drive out the moisture. He then talked to the chief in charge of A/c and had the unit evacuated and sealed. We installed the tuned cavity and were on line and ready to fire the next day. Don't get me wrong. I think reading is the key to knowledge. I read all the time. I'm saddened by the fact that a new cell phone is out that lets you watch TV while waiting for whatever. Our young people must be entertained constantly. They do not know how to read or just reflect to pass the time. My own daughter goes crazy if she drives a car where the radio doesn't work. I find that a wonderful opportunity to devolop thoughts.

Peter

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Auto Zentral Ltd.

guys....maybe both of you are right.

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Audi TT

First you need to determine how much distance you have between the fan and the forward edge of the crank pulley....like the mechanism in a three jaw chuck...with lots of edge contact...and made from aluminum .....
If you want a ' turner' which does not require you to get down and install something in the middle of it to engage the 27 mm crank bolt you need a way to clamp to the edge of the crank pulley... and only the edge so you don't have to pull the belt.
Having adequate power from a motor small enough to carry around easily could be taken care of by using a ' centerless' drive.... a worm and gear would provide 30-plus reduction ratio...
So you will need a way to adjust the clamping part from the fender area and then turn on the motor.... being sure you design the whole thing to turn the engine the proper direction...I plan on mine simply nesting on the passenger fender well..... since the torque reaction would be ' down' no other holding arrangments would be necessary.

I knew the original topic would come around again . . . sooner or later.

So what he was writing about would not be powered by the vehicle's 12v system? I know the few times I have manually turned over my 603 I used the crank. Adjusting valves, of course, is not an issue so I guess I felt using the method shown in the manuals was best. Otherwise, I have used the simple remote starter button for years on a great variety of engines that did need regular valve adjustements.

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Steve
'87 300TD - 132K - Soon 4-Sale
'84 300D Turbo - 122K - Driving
'77 VW Type II - 77K - Restored
'08 250EX Ninja
English Bulldog (Brier) - My best friend. Passed away 12/02/04 while in my arms.

Doesn't bumping the starter a bunch of times risk busting the starter or ring gear? I've never liked the sound of the starter banging into the ring gear for only a second. My valve adjustment procedure has improved recently as my 10 yo son now lays underneath and does the crank it over work for me. I've used the PS pulley method too. If I ever actually have PS pump problems, I'd probably just replace the whole damn thing anyway as I have two in the garage. PS pump's easier to change than the starter.

"So what he was writing about would not be powered by the vehicle's 12v system?"

Well, he was asking about ways.... and what I am describing could be powered by a 12 volt dc motor... or 120 volt AC motor... depending on your wants, desires and Scrounging abilities....
I have a 12 volt which I may use..... which I gave $5 for ... but one must be sure to mark which way it needs to be hooked up to match the design of the ' turner'... because it will run the other direction if the leads are switched....

Well, if you want another idea: I purchased (company money) a hydraulic ratchet system for my guys for the 1800ft-lb bolts on a 7-story pilot plant. Lots of those bolts in strange places. The big boss questioned the $10,000 price tag, but now one guy in one day can do the work of two in four days. And two years and running for a workman's comp claim on this equipment. But you'll need a pump that can do 10,000psi. Surely something exists that you can use from a tractor's hydraulics.

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daBenz - 1970 220D