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Old 05-19-2005, 11:57 PM
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Strife Strife is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: KY USA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pcmaher
...I'll bet a Dremel tool could be used to carefully grind off a rivet head instead of spending $250 for the separating tool.
It sure can (on a 117). Stuff everything with clean rags so that there is no chance any metal would fall in. I was so paranoid that I vacuumed the area and the rags before removing them.

Instead of buying the rivet press, I used a master link and e-clips. Some people don't like this, but this what was shown in the MB service manual. My fingers + pliers: 3.00. Tool cost: $200.

I think that tools make jobs both faster and idiotproof. There is a real possibility of dropping an e-clip. The swaging(?) tool to install the link makes the job foolproof. Two tools I would not do without, though, were the valve compressor and the pin puller. Other, more handy people made their own versions of these. The pin puller did the job perfectly and quickly.

Note that Performance Products (among others) rents tools.
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