jim beam wrote:

> spent today messing about with my new crx & had a bunch of fun & games
> with the pulley bolt. i confess, reading elle's story about her timing
> belt [and other comments from other contributors], i was a little
> dismissive - i've never had much problem with these things when i worked
> as a mechanic before, so wasn't anticipating much difference here. of
> course, i'd had the benefit of air tools then too.
>
> i'd taken the precaution of buying the pulley holder tool first, but
> trying to use a standard 1/2" drive? forget it! that guy was on there
> tight. my crx was a tow-home, so no chance of running it up to the
> local shop for an air tool loosening. ended up investing in a 3/4"
> breaker bar, & more importantly, the 3/4" extension, [actually closer to
> 1" diameter shaft - solid tool steel]. /no/ wind-up there! now the
> bolt broke free right away.
>
> so, for anyone that plans on doing this job more than once, but doesn't
> want to go the air tool route, i recommend a quick trip to napa auto
> supply [or equivalent]. in fact, even with the cost of the pulley
> holder & the 3/4" tools, i still think i'm ahead of paying a shop to do
> the work for me. thought i'd share the joy.
>

I was able to get the same bolt on my '91 Civic with 1/2" drive tools,
but the 20" 1/2 drive extension twisted severely (at least 90 deg?)
before the bolt gave. I don't have a lot of experience stressing tools
and testing their limits, but I made sure I had some safety goggles on
at least. I thought it was a fun experience, as I'd never seen metal
twist like that before and rebound back to its original configuration.

Mark