Luxury Tools

[Wildthings]

[Sodo]

[xflyer]

Silicone sealant starts to cure as soon as it is manufactured. When the tube is opened this accelerates the curing process. Eventually no matter what you do it will cure to a solid mass. Keep it away from moisture and that will extend the life. Also moderate temps will help. Above 75 or below 40 F will make it cure faster.
An unopened tube will usually last 5 years. If opened a year and a half is average.
My last job was at a company that manufactured and overhauled aircraft components. Lots of silicone sealant was used. Every tube got a label put on it when received with a date of expiration. Usually two years and it would be thrown out. I retrieved some of those tubes from the trash and the sealant was still usable some years later. The test was to push out a line of sealant about two inches long and see if there were any hard spots in it. If no then leave it to see if it would cure in a specified time.
Any sealant will eventually become unusable.
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1989 Campmobile, 1984 7 passenger beater Vanagon
Both with cool A/C

[MayorMcCheese]

I needed to remove my crank pulley and I really didn't want to put too much effort into it so I ended up with this. This is nicer than locking the flywheel or standing on the brakes imo.

[xflyer]

MayorMcchese, Nice tool! When you got the bolt off did the pulley come off easily?
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1989 Campmobile, 1984 7 passenger beater Vanagon
Both with cool A/C

[MayorMcCheese]

It came off very easily, but this engine was built and installed less than a year ago. I only needed it off to install the crank trigger stuff for the mansispeed EFI.

If yours has been on there for 30 years you might have a lot of trouble.

[fxr]

Nice one. This is what I made from a gash bit of 3/4" ply and a couple of 1/2" bolts on our EJ22 to undo the crankshaft nut:

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Jim Crowther
1984 1.9l EJ22 Westy Wolfsburg Edition
Vespa GTS 300

[xflyer]

McCheese. Yup have had to deal with rusted on pulleys. Some of the worst were on the Beetle air cooled engines where the key got distorted from hammering and then the pulley was jammed on. I have a special puller for those. A modified Snap On tool. Usually works fine. Had a few where had to wait until the crank was out and then put it in the press. Yup, that bent the pulley, but usually they were already ruined from being removed previously with a hammer and large screw driver used as a punch.
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1989 Campmobile, 1984 7 passenger beater Vanagon
Both with cool A/C

[ragnarhairybreeks]

Jeeze mayormccheese! Nicely done!

Did similar last week. Didn’t finish it completely before I used it successfully yesterday. That reaction arm welded to the horseshoe shaped part rested on engine carrier .

Alistair
[/img]
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'86 7 passenger syncro, converted to westy pop top, project still in progress
'82 westy, diesel converted to gas in '94, now gone...
https://shufti.blog/
Old address still works...
http://shufti.wordpress.com

[xflyer]

Maybe a photo distortion, but in the 2nd to last photo, the hose from the water pump to the pipe looks damaged.
Otherwise good execution of the tool. I had an offer to buy the Matra or Zelenda version decades ago, but the price was so high I passed on it. Even when I was doing repair work full time did not often need that tool.
Method to get the pulley bolt out was a 1/2" Chicago Pneumatic impact, a long extension, and a swivel joint, with 165 Psi.
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1989 Campmobile, 1984 7 passenger beater Vanagon
Both with cool A/C

[ragnarhairybreeks]

Hi, that bulgy short rubber connector? I stare at it wondering if I should replace. It’s not leaking nor cracking. I should anyway

I just replaced the rear carrier ( all sandblasted and powder coated and new rubber) so it’s not like I’m rushing to get van on road again


Cheers

Alistair

PS my engine mounts rubber are 480,000 plus km


Link

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'86 7 passenger syncro, converted to westy pop top, project still in progress
'82 westy, diesel converted to gas in '94, now gone...
https://shufti.blog/
Old address still works...
http://shufti.wordpress.com

[sanchius]

We use these magnetic socket organizers both at the race shop and at home; always red for SAE and green for metric.
Previously, I usually bought Lisle, but have have trouble finding these colors lately.

I was picking up a couple more and came across these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D2KY2MR6 Reniteco Magnetic Socket Organizer Set, 3-Piece Portable Magnetic Socket Holder Tray, Heavy Duty Socket Racks For 1/2-inch& 3/8-inch& 1/4-inch Drive, Hold 76 Sockets - Fit Shallow&Deep Sockets

At $56 - $5 coupon for 3 (1/4" + 3.8" + 1/2") in four different colors (blue!), this feels like a prepandemic shopping experience.

We also used this style of wrench organizers, again always red for SAE and green for metric. They make it easy to instantly see if a wrench is missing. They come both in the V shape (shown), A shape, and narrow versions for stubby wrenches to maximize space usage in your tool box wrench.

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The Syncro years (2005-16) - The 2WD years (2017-23) - In Hoosierland (2023-now)
Westy & WBX rebuild spreadsheet - Sanchius & Tuna: The Video
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[Sodo]

[sanchius]