Doing a belt change at the moment. I have done one on a TS V6 so I'm now an "expert"! (NOT!)

Just had fun with the outer belts, locating and backing off the pulley tensioners for those so the belts could come off, was a hurdle. Nothing like the TS V6 at all, why can't Mitsu carry over designs? Anyway, I need 2 new belts there.

Question really is - does anyone have a design plan for a home made crank pulley holder? I don't want to use the "socket and big lever and then hit the starter motor" method, as you can't put it back on that way, and a rattle gun doesn't give you the right torque. I made up a pulley holder for the TS V6 that worked - just - but its no good for the TJ. Different pulley design. *groan*

Anything available from Supercheap or such? The bolt has 180-190 Nm on it, so the tool would need to be fairly rigid.

I just use the rattle gun for these, have done so for years with no issues

If I come across one that is extra tight, I take off the inspection plate on the sump, rotate the engine until one of the bolts for the torque converter is accessable, remove it, put in a longer bolt and this will hold the engine.

There is nothing that I know of commercially available unfortunately

OK, seeing I don't actually own a rattle gun, I better make up the tool. lol I know what the proper Mitsu one looks like. "Y" yoke, two pins. Also used for holding the cam sprockets, using different pins.
If that doesn't work, I can always lock the crank using your method. I've seen it in the manual, but didn't think it would be that easy. Thanks for that.

Yep, well, made up a tool to hold the pulley itself and it failed miserably. Might just go and invest in a rattle gun as a next step. What's a good one, and what psi do they operate at?

Supercheap has a $40 rattle gun supposedly capable of 310 Nm. No mention of PSI or air consumption. Adequate for the job? Only one way to find out, really.

They also have a 3/4" drive one that goes up to 600 Nm, but my compressor couldn't feed that. lol It needs 134 L/min.:eek2:

you can get electric rattle guns from some shops, also, i do mine by putting a breaker bar on it, and just turning the car over enough to break the nip off the bolt. works every time. but if you dont wanna do that.......

Max, a guy on 3si (3000gt/stealth international) sell's a DIY crank pulley holder which is very cheap. I'm finding the link now.
Just made for mitsubishi crank pulley's

http://www.3si.org/forum/f4/crank-pully-tool-450060/

$54 US + shipping. This was on the cards next week for the diamante but yeah, not anymore lol.

the torque converter inspection plate works for me. the only 2 ive ever had major problems getting off have been the 2 uppermost gearbox bolts. rattle gun didnt work for those either.

Right! I'm now the proud owner of a 90 psi 310 Nm SCA rattle gun. Of course, the bolt is still on as tight as ever. Another SCA tool fail, even at 110 psi. lol I will flick it off (loosen it, not break it hopefully) with the starter motor, and use the rattle gun to put it all back together. Problem solved, in theory.

Edit: I don't like applying sudden force to any mechanical device but when you are ANGRY violence is the only option. Bolt is off, thank you Mr Starter Motor. lol Did it the same way on the TS V6 without breaking anything, so it was worth the risk. At least I can put it back on with the rattle gun now that I know its not going to break the bolt. Wimpy POS. The bolt was tight the whole way out, threads are covered with some black stuff. If that is some anti seize compound it sure didn't work! Anyway, now for the actual belt job . . . .

Thanks for your support fellas! TuffTR, the idea of a tool still appeals to me and I will chase that one up at some stage.

Another edit: Just broke a 17 mm socket on the middle bolt on the top of engine mount. I will need a deep socket anyway for the other two. I'm surprised how tight all the bolts are, even the 10 mm ones holding the plastic covers on. A bit of heat welding there I think, over the last 9 years. I'm definitely the first to touch this part of the engine since it left the factory. Slightly overdue on the cam belt change there, Mr Previous Owner! Looks like the alternator needs to be removed to get the bottom half of the engine mount off too.

Just started to rain and the car is in the open, so that's me done for today. lol

Old belt is off and the new one on. All marks aligned. Lots of slack in the old belt before I took it off, water pump pulley could be turned easily by hand with the belt still on. Now I just need the hydraulic tensioner retaining pin and tool to turn/hold the idler pulley on that end of the engine. I have been searching for the thread where TuffTR mentions where he got his, but no luck so far. Any ideas?

How about this one? Is the pin spacing on these pulleys a standard dimension?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330504022382&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en

$50 or so landed. If correct pin spacing, I will get one. Emailed seller about it. 3sx tool ends up at about $120

Check the angle grinder spanners in Bunnings - they appear identical to the Ebay one...they have various sizes and I've seen an adjustable one and are under $10 from memory.

Brilliant idea! I actually have a couple of those already.

EDIT: No go, only 14 mm between pin holes on the idler. I will have a look at Bunnings though.

It's impossible to get it right without the tool I found, the idler moves as you tighten the bolt and the belt is loose.

Meh. I can wait. Car can't be on the road for another 3 or more months due to waiting lists at the inspection centre. Just as well I have patience on my side! lol

Max,

Is it the timimng-belt idler pulley you need a pin-tool for? The one you have to twist to apply correct tension to the new Timing Belt?

As for the pin holding back the hydraulic tensioner plunger, it can be a nail or pop-rivet etc. Take hydrualic tensioner off car and use vice etc to gently take plunger back until the pin can be used to hold plunger back - then re-intstall.

If you have changed the timing-belt idler pulley with the holes for the tensioning tool, use the old idler as a size-guide. Look for a socket of suitable size that the walls of the socket will line-up with the holes in the idler. Grind (pref using a bench grinder with newly-dressed wheel) the socket down so that 90% of the edge of the socket is gone, leaving you two pins. Buy a cheap new socket to suit this purpose, or use an old one which might be a "orphan". Voila! You now have a tool with two pins, and the bonus is that it can fit onto a tension-wrench so you know that belt tension is close to spec.

If you use the tool to apply specified tension to the new timing-belt, nip up the bolt to secure idler in this position/tension. NOW, the test of your method is that the nail/drill-bit/pop-rivet you used to hold back the hydraulic tensioner plunger should be easy to remove. ie: If there is sufficient tension on the belt, the plunger of hydraulic tensioner should be pushed back enough to take off some of the spring pressure, and there should be little friction in removing the "hold back pin".

If I have tuffy's tool link, I will post it in here again - I "almost" bought one of the US tools (but its about 100K until I would need it - I got Mal to do all 3 of our cars for belt/watre-pump/rockers/plug-tubes).

EDIT:
This - or something very like it - was what TuffTR posted up from US

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MITSUBISHI-TIMING-BELT-TOOL-DSM-ECLIPSE-4G63-EVO-3000GT-/140486337377?pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&hash=item20b5a36361

Cheers

Yep, all good. Thanks about suggesting the pop rivet, tried fencing wire (bent) and screwdriver (too short) so a pop rivet is the go.

I'm clear on checking the clearance, rivet should slide out easily and the tensioner should protrude 5-6 mm above its housing after turning the engine 2 crank revolutions clockwise(to get the slack in the belt at the tensioner side) and waiting 5 minutes (for the tensioner to fully extend).

The only problem is that I can get the idler in the right place by hand, but in tightening the bolt to 48 Nm the idler tends to move with it and loosens up. I thought I could get away without it, but I really need to be able to hold the idler steady while the off-centre bolt is tightened. I might try two 3mm drill bits with their shanks in the pulley and a screw driver to provide some leverage, and then the cut down socket trick, then the Bunnings trip, by then should have a reply about the tool from the USA. lol

It's all good. First time I did the belt on the 12 valve V6 it took me ages, working out how to do bits the easiest way, second time was a doddle. It's a learning experience. lol

I found tuffy's links but they are out of date.