Serpentine belt: What tool can be used instead of fan locking tool?
 

I'm trying to change my serpentine belt. The repair manual calls for some special tool that gets inserted behind the fan pulley. What tool or device that I might have around the house, can I use in place of the "special tool"?

Thanks,

Jeff

1991 300d

Jeff, I got your PM and posted some info on the "special" tool over here:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/1211640-post8.html

Do you have anybody neaby that could counter-hold the water pump pulley while you remove the bolt? Heavy gloves would help to grip the pulley while you apply torque.

Would a large common nail work? Might be worth a try.

Tool
 

Thanks for the info. I tried an allen wrench, but it just goes in and doesn't seem to "lock in", or do anything. Is the tool supposed to have a feel that it's locked into place or something?

Thanks,

Jeff

1991 300d

just losen the belt. stick it through a pipe.
this will clamp down on the pulley tight enough to
loosen the bolt. kinda like the belt gripper that sears
was always advertising.

george

Jeff, the locking tool just jams against the ridge on the water pump housing...not terribly elegant but it works.

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/9161/hole9pa.jpg

The Sears belt wrench is also a Harbor Freight belt wrench - very inexpensive and works very well, for this a number of other jobs.

Diesels can't use a special tool
 

After trying a long time, I finally found out the diesels do NOT have a hole on the back of the pulley that goes the whole way through. I had to take it to a mechanic (good thing I did, I would have never figured all that stuff out, and how much torque was required to get that fan bolt off; the whole engine moved when he cranked on that bolt, I would have thought I was going to break something). He used super large channel locks on it to hold the pulley while he cranked on the fan bolt.

1991 300d, 90k

my appologies as i just remembered that there is a tool
that is two flats curved to fit the pulley.
but the belt trick or sears tool works.
i do not like channel locks for this as they damage
the soft pulley and if this is not checked it will damage the
belt.

george

I used a very large pair of channel locks for mine as well, but I wrapped a piece of rubber around the pulley first. The teeth on the channel locks would surely damage the pulley if there wasn't something put between them. I also didn't want to squeeze very tightly otherwise I thought I might deform the overall shape of the pulley as well.

If you have an old serpentine belt, cut a piece long enough to go around the pulley plus a couple of inches to clamp with vice grips. Works really good.

I made my own
 

One time I bent a 10-d (10-penny) nail and used that. The latest time I needed to use this tool, I was changing the water pump on my 89 W124.

I ended up going to a hardware store, buying a 36-inch long piece of steel stock (round), cutting it off with a Dremel tool and then bending it so that it fit the groove and went into the hole in the pulley. I spent too much time messing around trying to "make something work". Then I ponied up the $4 for the steel rod and in a matter of minutes, had it done.

Holding fan pully
 

Jeff - I know of some people who have taken an old small screwdriver (phillips) and simply bent the tip at a 45 degree angle with a vice - as for me, I went to the hardware store, got a small section of 1/8" or smaller metal rod, cut off all but 8 inches and bent the end at about 45 degrees with about 3/4 inch.

If your 300D has a fan clutch like my 300E I finally learned that the dealers have a nice small hex socket that is a lot easier to fit into the bolt of the fan assembly - think that is 8mm? Anyway giving you more information than you need...

Bill

Install an electric fan.

I use an old piece of bicycle tire (cut away from the wire bead) wrap it around the pulley, and hold it with a locking chain wrench I got from Harbor Freight ( http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=36813 ) - then the fan/fanclutch bolt comes off with breaker bar.

http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/o...g?t=1240499471

I replaced the belt on my M103 without taking off the fan....its an art form. :D I just loosen and re-tighten the tensioner, that's it. There's a big enough gap between the fan and pulley to get the belt in and out.