Tool to hold crankshaft pulley
 

Picked up a 740 turbodiesel with 210k a while back. It's actually in half-decent shape, considering what I paid for it, and I love the uniqueness of it.
I was looking through the monstrous stack of service records a few months ago and noticed the timing belt was last done in 1995!?!?!?!

I haven't driven the car since; I'm sure that thing is ready to snap.

I have the green book and access to every tool I need to do the job except for the tool that holds the crank pulley. I can't find one anywhere. I've checked with Tasca, who show it as available but can't get it, and my local dealer, who says the same.

Is there any way I can do the job without this tool, use another tool that will work, or make my own tool?

Any advice is appreciated, I want to drive this thing!

Its done numerous time without that tool. I wonder at not at half of people here doing it have any sepcial tools for it.
If its manual, get someone to help you, put gear to 4th and ask your helper to push brake as hard as he/ she can,
while you open bolt with big wrench/ anything available. Just turn engine by hand to point where
you feel it dont have " any pressure", by that you minimise engine will against valves. Then just change belts,
get marks right, and again ask your helper to pull brake with 4:th gear, and torque bolt with " locking grease"
as much as clutch will hold, and its enough.

If its automatic, you need pneumatic tools to open bolt. Of course easier to do with manual too by that.

But, no special tool needed.

I too was wondering how people were doing it; it seems if the tools were really this scarce, there would be none of these engines left on the road.

It is unfortunately an automatic, so I guess I'll need to get my friend who has an impact wrench to crack it for me. I had heard that it wouldn't even break with impact.

I assume the radiator will need to be removed to fit an impact gun down there?

Yeah, not enough room. If it wont open with impact wrench, well, then you dont have big enough.
Or not enough air pressure.

Where are you located?

I have an extra crank counterhold tool that I could loan you by mail. You really don't want to try to do the job without it. Much more difficult to try to get an impact in there, and then you don't have any way of getting precise torque on it when you reinstall. Much more pleasant and effective job if you have the right tools.

Is there anything else you are missing?

That would be awesome! I'd definitely be willing to leave a deposit via PayPal or something, too.

I live in Ohio.

I don't think I'm missing anything else, I have access to a lot of stuff through a VW diesel enthusiast and European shop I know well, but that darn crank tool is rare here, probably because I'm the only D24t I've ever seen on the road in Columbus.

Do you have the 5199 cam pulley counterhold tool, or a generic equivalent, and the special 19mm wrench to loosen and tighten the rear cam sprocket bolt? Those are the other two tools that really cannot be done without on this job, or at least they make the job many times easier. Getting the injection timing set accurately without the 5199 or equivalent is difficult.

And you need to also be sure to have a way to get the crank pulley bolt loosened and tightened. A strong breaker bar with jack handle slipped over it does a good job loosening. You need a torque wrench that goes up to 332 ft-lb for tightening, or else be willing to lean on the same breaker bar w/handle.

Let me know when you want to do the job. I'll take a deposit and put tool(s) in the mail.

Just side note- good impact wrenches, atleast i use to use on work, has announced torque-rates
with different gears. They vary like 20Nm, like 110-130nm with gear 1, but that kind of
inaccuracy is well acceptable.

v8volvo, I tried to PM you but your box was full.

I checked and I do not have access to either of the other special tools you mentioned; I might be able to get a generic counterhold tool, but I'd rather go with what's known to work.

I'd like to get the job done before it gets cold here, but I also have to do some bodywork on my other car which takes the priority. Hopefully I'll get that done this weekend, and could do the t-belt job the following week. I already have the parts, it's the tools that are giving me the trouble!

I have a verified, 10+ year old PayPal account and will gladly place a deposit & shipping... I really appreciate your willingness to share because it would pain me to see the belt snap and ruin a pretty cool car.

The crank counterhold tool is a must IMO, that bolt needs to be tight. I have used a pair a vice grips on the cam shaft to hold the cam while tightening the rear sprocket, the torque value isn't that high back there anyway.

Jason