I had to do the timing chain job recently (AGAIN), and I also had to change the cam gears. I got tired of doing the "big screwdriver through the hole in the cam gear" thing, which is tricky to position and can slip, and I looked for the "real tool" to do this with. The cheap ones looked flimsy, like for 4-cyl ricers, and the good ones were expensive. So, I took a Harbor Freight bar clamp (maybe the 1 foot model, which happens to be on sale), cut the tips off, drilled holes, and installed 8.8 bolts and tightened the nuts with locktite red after measuring the tool so that I would be able to use the tool and unscrew the center bolt. After measuring, I put in a smaller screw/bolt to lock the moving jaw, although this might not have been absolutely required, because the moving jaw is designed to lock against serrations on the back of the bar clamp - I just didn't want it to slip while I was removing and torquing the cam bolts. The tool is strong, took about an hour to make once I had what I needed, and I don't think I have $7.00 in it.

Come to think of it, another silly, but useful tool I had to make was a spacer used to remove the inside LH head chain guide pin closest to the engine centerline and the top of the head. All it was was a 3x2x1/4" piece of aluminum with a hole drilled in it, big enough for the pin and it's lip but small enough so that the screw-type puller tool wouldn't fall through. This was useful, because the way the 116 head works, there isn't enough room for the tool to fit perpendicular to the head while pulling, which guarantees a bent screw tip and risks breaking the tools threaded tip in the pin, which could definitely ruin your day.

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
86 560SL
With homebrew first gear start!
85 380SL
Daily Driver Project

http://juliepalooza.8m.com/sl/mercedes.htm