47 I need tool VW #xyz. Is there a suitable replacement?
Description
This article is from the Watercooled VWs General FAQ, by Jan Vandenbrande with numerous contributions by others.
47 I need tool VW #xyz. Is there a suitable replacement?
A: Often yes. Here are some:
Remove grease cap from rear axle tool:
Adjustable pliers, screwdriver
Timing belt tensioner pulley tightening tool:
Bend a section of coat hanger into a U shape of the proper size for
the holes in the pulley. or (lousier) two nails & a screw driver.
Upper strut bolt tool:
Air impact wrench, or grab a socket with a vise grip with the allen key
through the top.
From [Ken_Tsai@qmgate.arc.nasa.gov]: The Oxygen Sensor Socket from Lisle
will work. The socket has a hex at the top so you can use a combination
wrench to loosen the strut nut while holding the center rod stationary
with a 6 or 7 mm allen wrench.
Spring Compressor:
ALL SUBSTITUTES ARE DANGEROUS! Buy the real thing for ~US$40.
Remove radio tool:
use a coat hanger, make 4 cuts, so each piece is a "U". Stick them in
the holes, and move the hanger pieces "out" to the left and right,
while pulling the radio out by the tape entrance.
Remove Valve Adjustment Shims:
For changing valve shims, a valve depressor is necessary, but the funny
special pliers are not. All that is needed is a small "jeweler's"
screwdriver. File the blade until it is narrow enough to fit flat into
the slot in the shim bucket. Then file it until there is a nice knife
edge on it. Depress the valve, and stick the screwdriver through the
slot on the bucket and under the shim at the same time. It will just pop
right out, though oftentimes it helps to wiggle the valve depressor
around to help out. [Borowski]
Pin Wrench:
From: tedcrum@garnet.berkeley.edu (Ted Crum): A pin wrench (pin spanner)
is needed change strut cartridges, adjust [W] cam belts, etc. I've used
this trick from Popular Science for years: Make a pin wrench from an
adjustable ("Crescent") wrench with two holes drilled into the sides of
the jaws, near the tips. With pins placed in these holes, it is a strong
adjustable pin wrench. A second set of bigger holes can go a little down
from the tips and further from the nut-turning faces:
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/ o |
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Timing plug removal tool:
Use the handle of a stubby craftsmen slot screwdriver (or the lug wrench
from an old Bug).
Transmission plug tool:
I use a 17mm wheel lug bolt... They're plentiful: if you don't have any
spares, [some] bone-yard will be more than happy to let you paw around
their wrecks and carry away as many as you can hold.
You can either snap a pair of vice-grips onto the bolt's shaft
(tightly, mind you- those plugs can be VERY tight...) or do what I did,
and weld a nut onto the end of the bolt.
This allows you to use a socket and breaker bar or flex
handle to loosen the plug, then switch to a ratchet to spin it off.
It also allows you to use a torque wrench to re-install the plug to
manufacturer's torque specs.
[David M. Duma]:
Go to the section of the hardware store where they sell angle iron and
threaded rod. Buy a "coupling nut" for the threaded rod (basically a very
long hex nut). I found that the nut for 1/2" rod was 11/16" across the
flats, which is about 17.5mm . Walk over to the tools aisle and check the
coupling nut with a 17mm wrench to be sure. This fits my car's transmission
plug perfectly. If yours is snug a few minutes with a coarse abrasive stone
should produce a custom fit. You can then put the coupling nut into a
socket or box end wrench whenever you need it.
The same principle allows you to buy some of those power screwdriver bits
and put them into a 1/4" socket to use with your ratchet handle.
I'm still looking for a BIG nut to fit into the timing mark hole plug on the
transaxle.
>>>COME ON, THERE MUST BE PLENTY MORE
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