131mirafiori forum

Guys,

I have a 2 liter engine sitting in the garage which is to be taken apart and rebuilt. The head is off, as are all accessories. But now I am by no means able to remove the pulley shown in the picture below. I understand I have to block the drive shaft where the pulley is sitting on. But how? Also, no chance to block it using the cam belt with strong tweezers, I tried that too. At the moment, I'm at my wit's end. Anybody a good idea?

Cheers,
Robert

Try using an air gun and a good quality socket
or buy a pulley clamp but these are expensive

Maybe that bolt is a left hand thread ??? ::).Usually a gud hammer blow should undo it.Same as removing a chuck on a hand drill.If this doesnt work,i would make up a jig to clamp around the pully to prevent the pully from turning.Hope this helps.Eugene

Can you not lock the shaft behind it? The correct sized rod strategically placed against the lobe that drives the fuel pump should stop the shaft (and therefore the wheel) from turning.

Impact wrench is perfect for this.

Guys, thanks for your suggestions! Theo's idea did the trick - took some probing, however, to find the point where the tire iron I finally used blocks the shaft effectively. Having no other tools present, I used a cut muffler as an extension for the wrench  :o

@eugene: luckily it's not a left hand thread  ;)

Robert dear God be careful how you open these pulleys as they are plastic based, Tomas's idea is a good one but wind the gun right down but dont listen to the Cork butcher Hammers are for animals and not professionals. There is a specific tool for this job off Fiat and I will try and upload a picture later as if my late father saw me with a hammer near the timing belt area I know what he would do with the hammer ::) ::) ::)

Dave,it depends who's hands the hammer is with.I am not a butcher either.Sometimes a shock will release a bolt and i wonldn't use an air gun anywhere in the timing area.
You say there is a special tool for this job.Ok that's fine,but if the tool costs more than the engine is worth,is one supposed to buy this tool,when someone else come's up with an alternative tool....ie one simple tap of a hammer ;D.Eugene

I cant beleive anyone opens bolts on a PLASTIC pulley in a timing belt with a hammer, I can only imagine how you set the points in your car, pack of Major and the fine tuning hammer  :o :o

I cant believe anyone would ask the question in the first place?

Sid there is no such thing as a stupid question but only stupid answers  ::)

I think Dave theredx has an attitude problem ::).
Robert asked for advice and now he has the pully off.Dave you gave your advice when Robert had the pully off.Your help was excellent for Robert.
All you do is criticize.For example.Take Mirafioriman.
Dave(Mirafioriman) is entitled to do as he pleases with his cars.They are his cars and he can cut them up should he wish to,but there is no need to take the piss.
You also say in another thread that you love to ram a merc from drive and then into first and listen to the engine scream.The only person who would do something like that is an idiot and anyone who would do that should be kept away from cars completly.Also that means not even being allowed in a car as a passenger.
So will the real butcher please stand up ;D ::) ::) ::).Eugene

Well I must defend this as the Merc was my car which I did not like and only cost a couple of hundred quid so no loss there. As for me working on passenger cars I had the pleasure in helping to prepare one of the cars on the 3ma09 which seem to make the trip faultlessly but it is a beautiful machine credit to the owner. But with the kettle calling the pot black I have not issued any threats? :o :o, oh you might remember this comment "What you have done Dave is a very serious crime.What punishment should be meated out to you,well i will let the other forum members decide on this .Eugene". All I ever say is in jest or to help people from making terrible messes of their engines or cars through any poor advice which is handed out by anyone on the site as I am one of the few people with the special tools, manuals and ability to work on these machines and I have never held back on any 3 of these qualities? ;D ;D ;D. Oh and for your last comment I am sitting down comfortably so I hope you have stood up and taken a bow  ;D ;D ;D
Pleasent dreams? ;D,
Theredx19 "protector of all Fiats"

You maybe the protector of Fiats,but i can't say that you are the protector of Mercs only the Wrecker for them.
Eugene

Maybe I am the wrecker of Mercs but damn it there is only one country that ever made great cars and that is Italy and sure if this not the case why else would we be here :-\ :-\

BOYZ!!!!

I got the pulley off.
I didn't use a hammer.
The pulley's fine.
And you guys are having a barroom brawl now? Crazee Irish lads, ain'tya.? ;D

By the way, owning 2 Mercs I am a little pissed off hearing how they are treated on your island? :( I'll make up for that by weighing in my 2 italian beauties and saying: there were only two countries that ever made great cars, and they were Germany and Italy. And now there's nothing left; the last real Mercedes left the factory at the end of the 90's and the last real Italian car...left a Turkish factory in 2002?

By the way, the crankshaft pulley (still to be removed), this is a 38 mm nut, yes? My tools finish at 32 mm, all above seems to be truck tools... or tractor... maybe they used materials from the Fiatagri division?? ;D

Good man Robert atleast you hammer but I dont remember much of the 90's thanks to the good old beer so I cant remember the good real Merc's  ;D ;D ;D but to make good I did sell it to a lad who loved them and wanted to restore it but the gearbox was f%$^ed before I got it  ::) ::). But are you removing the pulley to do just the timing belt as you can slip the belt out without taking it off or you can get the 38mm socket which you will probably get in half inch for use on an air gun "impact socket" and lock the back wheels up and put in 4th gear "strongest gear in the gear box" and pull hard as it is standard thread, hope this helps  ;D ;D ;D and good man for helping to keep these cars going...

Dave, too much Irish beer mate!? ;D Read Robert's original post.? ;)


The engine is out of the car and stripped so a bit difficult to engage 4th gear and lock the wheels!? ;D

By the way, I found that not all 131s have sufficient room to slip the belt off with the crank pulley in place.

Robert, I was going to mention the crank pulley nut as that is normally more difficult to remove than the auxiliary shaft pulley nut. It's a good idea to invest in the correct size socket; I did and it's come handy many times even for simple jobs like turning the engine by hand for checking tappets, setting TDC etc.

PS My Mercedes is 2003 so I suppose it doesn't count  ;D

Theo, thanks for helping me out as to where the engine is located at the moment - I was about to write roughly the same, but more clumsy  ;D

And yes, I understand the necessity to get a 38mm nut. Will do ASAP, thanks for the advice! Actually, the belt will not come out on this particular engine without removing the pulley. I tried, but to no avail. Wouldn't mind to cut it, as it is old and won't be reused.

--------------------

And here, expecially for Dave who had enough Irish beer in the 90s, so he forgot:

The last real Mercedes was the W140 ("the dinosaur"). Production stopped in 1998. Will buy one of these some day, I think.

(http://www.busch700.de/gallery/20080809_Sternschuppen_FST/DSC_6289.JPG)

And this is mine, the last-but-one real Mercedes:

(http://www.oelprinz-online.de/images/rallye2008/fst2008_03.jpg)

Thanks Robert the red s class brings back memories of destroying a Honda with it, alot of smoke off the back axle and the owner in the passenger seat telling me to go harder :o :o :o. But as regards removing the nut if place a nut and bolt in the lateral holes of the block where the gearbox bolts on and hold a good lever bar tight into the flywheel this should work for, if you can avoid an airgun on the crank as they can snap, sure drop me a pm if you are still in difficulty  ;D ;D

I know this is "off marque" but what is the definition of the last real Mercedes?? ????

What changed in subsequent models...?

The build quality for a start. Newer Mercedes can rust alarmingly and not just the outer body either. Some E classes for example suffered badly from subframe and suspension component failure.

I also found that the way the company treated customers was poor and spare parts back up not as good as it was too.

I think the new Mercedes now are getting better, but are frighteningly complicated. Even franchised dealers struggle to fix them ::)

That's right. And one more for Kev: All following Mercedes models, were they small or big, suffered from (in some cases massive) electronics breakdowns and RUST (as if they were now built by Fiat workers  ;D). The dinosaur (the W140) was the last classic Mercedes where Engineers had the lead over controllers. All subsequent models were designed with a focus on building cheaper cars that don't last instead of well engineered cars. Sorry to say that, but this is the truth, confirmed by some sources in Mercedes engineering.

Exactly right I have also heard this from sources high up in Mercedes (now retired). Here is my Mercedes:

(http://media0.dropshots.com/photos/105899/20060626/205707.jpg)

My Father has a W140 S320 L too but I don't have any photos on the net of it at the moment.

In order to remove crankshaft nut you need to get a proper socket that will fit inside hole of the pulley(not as easy if you have power steering version). I have a socket made from a piece of steel tube and worked perfectly. If you do not have power steering then any socket will fit. In order to lock the crankshaft put the flywheel back to the crankshaft and then put a bolt from gearbox into the block as deep as possible(use longer bolts) and put a 17 or 19mm wrench through that bolt(not on the head but as close to block face as possible so that you will not make a big leverage on the bolt and lock it on a M8 bolt that holds the pressure plate(use any kind of bolt but screw it as deep as possible so that the thread will not be damaged in the flywheel. This is a good and proven way to lock the crankshaft. Then you can use either an impact wrench or a standard socket but probably you will need about 1-2 meters of bar or use hammer to hit the wrench on the nut.
If all fails then you will need to use a gas torch and heat the nut quite hard and then let it cool before you unscrew it as it may seize.
As for Merc, in my opinion 190 EVO is the best :)

Ah now I have a confession I have a soft spot for the old 80's 500 sel....

all i can say about the original subject is:
when in doubt - get a bigger hammer!

Well djape when working on fine high powered Italian cars there can never be any doubt in your mind to what you are doing  ;D ;D ;D

where did the phrase come come lets drink loads of beer and get hammered or did they mean lets drink loads of beer bring the hammers and fix some fiats  ;D ;D ;D ;D

there's several similar proverbs in serbian tradition. here's another one for you all:
don't force it! get a bigger hammer.