Cheapest pin wrench source?
 

My timing belt is up for a service. Can anyone tell me where I can buy a cheap pin spanner to remove the rollers? I'm having a problem paying $35-50 for the specialty Porsche tool - especially when its only gonna be used 1-2 times in the next few years. Sears? Harbor Freight? Any recommendations?

Best person to support is Bruce at ArnnWorx... my tools came the next day... prices are reasonable, and you support the community.

That's my .02.

Agreed, ArnnWorx.

Hey I'm all for Bruce and his quality products but still - $45 for a one-off application? Maybe it will save me in aggrevation if I just cowboy up and buy his pin wrench, rather than some el cheapo POS. I'm torn. Thoughts?

Bruce also does a "small pin wrench" for $15 which you may be able to use for the rollers. It's no good for the balance belt pulleys as you cannot get a socket through it though. Look here

The only time I buy cheap tools is if they have no functionality. For instance, I pick up tie wraps, wire brushes, etc from harbor freight, but I will NEVER buy a wrench or socket from them. I like my knuckles too much. There are some that say they NEVER buy anything from harbor freight but I don't think I have to pay Snap on prices for hand cleaner. It also irritates me when I damage one of the parts on my car because the pin wrench bent and destroyed the holes in the pulley or some similar situation. It usually costs less to pay a little more for a good tool than a cheap one. Of course with that said, I don't usually buy snap on because of the price even though they have great tools. I tend to go with middle of the road like Craftsman but there are many other good choices. Good tools make the job much easier and safer.

If you only use it once, you can always sell it on ebay or here and get a lot of your money back. Good luck selling a harbor freight tool. My .02

Well then consider it $45 for the ease of removing / torquring the balance shaft sprockets and making adjustments to the spring tensioner. Sure you can adjust the spring tensioner (if you have it) with a prybar..but you can also water your flowerbed with a garden hose instead of a 2.5 inch fire hose...well maybe you would if your flowerbed was on fire, but you get my point. Its the convience of having the correct tool for the job. For $45, its worth it i think.

You can try wrapping a rag around the sprocket and using a large pair of channel locks, but damage the gear and you are down another $20-30 getting a replacement and probably going to go out and buy the specialized tool which you could have done in the first place. Another idea is to try one of those strap wrench things (i think used as an alternative to pipe wrenches) that Sears sells. But again, why try to make something work when you can get something that was designed to work with it?

Take a 2x4, cut to size. Use a hole saw to accommodate the socket wrench in the middle for the pulley bolt. Drill two small holes (normal-sized bit, probably 1/4" would work) on either side and stick in two equally-spaced 10mm bolts. You can then use the bolts to hold the pulley and the hole in the middle you cut with the hole saw allows the socket wrench to undo the pulley bolt.

I've seen this done before - total cost was basically zero, but man it's ghetto.

10-15 bucks for a 90 degree long set of pliers.....

Okay okay I'm looking at Bruce's pin wrench and its looking nicer by the minute. You guys are right - its better to get the quality tools first rather than spending an entire afternoon cussing your way to disaster.

Now, is there any recommendation for the called for 45 degree snap ring pliers to remove the thermostat in the water pump?

Are you taking the waterpump off the car? I had good success with snapring pliers from Sears, they have two tips at a 45 degree angle. The angle of the pliers is not really necesary i think if your taking the pump off the car, anyone would probably do.

The jury is still out on the water pump. I'm gonna remove the covers and listen/look for squeaks, leaks, or noises. If not, I'll just keep it on since it only has about 45K on it. I'll find out soon. You're right though - the special 45 degree ones will be besides the point if I pull the pump.

If you are just replacing the belts you do not need to remove the balance shaft pulleys.

If you are replacing the water pump you can cut the rear cover in such a way that you don't have to take off the balance shaft pulleys.

If the balance shaft seals are leaking THEN you take off the pulleys.

Had no problems with the pin wrench that Harbor sells.

To tell the truth, I DID actually buy my snap ring plier set from Harbor Freight. My local Sears has somewhat poor stock usually, and I haven't found snap ring pliers there in several visits. A Harbor Freight just opened up locally, so I stopped in since I hadn't been there.

8 bucks for 3 pairs... they worked just fine on my thermostat snap ring. I know they are likely to fail at some point, they aren't that great, but they did the job I needed. And I really have little other use for snap ring pliers anyway. I swear I have more specialized tools for the 944... nuts.

I also bought a cheapo 1/4" drive in-lb torque wrench. It's the same thing available everywhere else on the net... Michigan Hand Tools or something. Again I could have paid more, but for the types of applications I am using it on 10% variance is passable to me.

Well, I just bought the complete ArnnWorx kit which includes the pin wrench, 17mm spanner, flywheel lock, and a Krickit tool (which I cannot use on my S). I'll post the entire kit for sale at a reduced price here soon to recoup some cost - it was pricey. Thanks for the responses, guys. You're always a big help with valued opinions.SmileWavy


Now for the belt job.............