Thread: Specialist tools.

This is a great Idea Dave, well done and if you need any collaboration, don't hesitate to ask.

JC

For all the real grease monkeys out there Id like to know what specialist tools you have for doing rover work, Pics of them would be good pics of them in use will be better.

my plan is to start out with a set of posts like that one then follow up with a set of here it is in use...

That will be more applicable to things like the timing gear holder for the TDI's.


It may be a bit of an ask but IDealy Id like to have it moderated in the final version so that its only the posts on what tools are what in a sticky thread under projects and tutorials

Love it...can't wait for more

great idea Dave.

I'll post up a pic of my 300Tdi TDC timing pin tool.
Brass BSP plug and socket head cap screw with the end turned down to fit the flywheel slot. Works a treat.

and just to let everyone know, Mal at Maxi Drive makes 300Tdi crank holding tools very reasonably. I went and bought steel, had it turned up and welded only to then look in my Maxi catalogue and find Mal sells them cheaper than what I made mine for...........

Here is a specialized "TOOL"

A "John HOWARD" used exclusively for phuking up the Industrial relations of a country

httestplug.JPGhttestplug2.JPG
The HT testing plug is a vital tool when in the early diagnostic stages of the electrical system on a petrol vehicle that has coils and coil packs. Due to the nature of magneto type ignition systems they may work but will not be as reliable as the reccomended neon "flashers"

Who should have one? Any one who owns a petrol engined vehicle and/or does maintenance/repair work on petrol engines. They typically cost less than $10 to make and usually less if you have a good odds-n-sods box.

Hows it work? simple really, by widening the gap on the plug you simulate the effect of compression in the combustion chamber(more on that later), which makes the ignition system work as hard as it should be when running the engine. As its got a clip on it you can simply pull a lead from a plug, put it on the test plug and wind the engine over if all is good you should get a nice thin arc running from the tip of the electrode back to the body of te plug. Which is a much nicer way of doing things than pulling a plug out (exposing your combustion chamber to the entry of the crud in your engine bay on the intake stroke) and having a mate hold it onto the engine while you turn the key (but the latter method is much funnier).

Why have such a large gap? When the spark is fired in the combustion chamber the combustion chamber on most pertol engines will be in the vicinity of 8-10 times normal atmospheric pressure this means that theres 8-10 times the amount of air in the arc path of the plug. Thats very hard to achieve outside the combustion chamber of the engine so simply making a massive gap for the spark to jump puts 8-10 times the normal amount of air in the arc path. Thats important as a coil throwing a very weak arc on a normally gapped spark plug may not throw a spark under combustion conditions in the engine.

Why have it at all? With modern electronic ignition engines the voltages that get thrown around are significantly higher than older engines and a lot more sensitive to "spiking" If you crank the engine over with out giving the HT side of the coil somewhere to dump its voltage there is the chance of damaging components elsewhere in the system if the coil feeds back into the LT side. as mentioned previously its also easier to use and its easier to see a large spark than the little on that a normal plug will throw. In the event of a non starting engine pulling the lead from any spark plug and installing the test plug then turning the engine over at least 2 full turns should show a spark, IF it does you know that all the electrics are ok.

How do I make one? Its simply a case of grabbing any old plug (preferabley one from your vehicle but so long as it fits your HT leads any other plug will do)clean it of any deposits, grind off the arm that you bend to adjust the gap when servicing attach a largish battery clip to a hose clamp and tighten the hose clamp around the nut section of the spark plug.

What can I use in place? Well any spark plug really but if you have a hall effect triggered timing light (the type that clips over a spark plug lead) you can also use that although that will fire at a voltage significantly lower than is needed to throw a decent spark in the combustion chamber. If you can get one you can also use a Neon "flasher: which is a small plastic item with a clear glass windo and a small neon light in it, an induction plate in the back inducts the HT current from the HT lead into the neon light and makes it flash. one in good nick will normally flash reliabley at about the right volts needed to make a good spark and as a bonus if you put one on in a dim room it will flash brightly enough to see the reflection on the underside of the hood.

dti.jpg
What is it? Its a very accurate measuring device used for measuring lots of things from wheel bearing play to crankshaft/camshaft warping and wear.

Who should have one? Not everyone but definately anyone who wants to tweak the pump on a tdi engine or does lots of maintenance work on wheel bearings, brakes or is stripping an engine/gearbox/tcase down to rebuild it.

Hows it work? Attach the magnetic base to a stable reference point, put the arm of the DTI onto the face of the surface you want to check for trueness/movement (the closer to perpendicular the better) and slowly move the surface. Really good ones will measure 1/1000th of a millimeter and the cheaper one will measure 1/100th. When you get to something like tapet adjustments youd normally use feeler gauges, if you get the chance this is an ideal opportunity to use a DTI. Attach the mag base on the head where its stable and in reach of the rocker to be adjusted, place the needle on the non adjusting side of the rocker and set it up so the dial is about mid way and zero the gauge. Now push down on the rocker and the DTIs indicator will move, all you need to do is adjust the rocker untill that movement is at your required clearnace. say 10 tho inch for a series engine. Once youve got it all locked of and the dial reads 10tho worth of movemtn grab your feeler gauge for 10 tho just to confirm its right. (you wouldnt normally need to but this is for the experience)


Can I use something Else in place? yes you can verniers, Micrometers, feeler gauges, a reference table with machined v blocks and a vernier height gauge will, when used in conjunction with each other, do the same thing as a DTI but without the ease or versatility.

This is one of those tools thats very easy to use and easy to work out. As its a radial dial readout theres no need to go into the depth of explination that would be required to read say a micrometer or analog verniers.

pressure tester.jpg
What is it? As the name implies its a small pump and gauge used to test the integrity of your cooling system. With the attachements that come with it you can also test the radiator cap.

Who should have one? Just people who do lots of cooling system work or people who want to be able to test their cooling systems integrity without running the engine up to full operating temp.

Hows it work? plug it onto the radiator (or coolant tank) neck where the normal pressure cap would go an pump it up to the required test pressure of your system +10-20%. once pumped up it should hold pressure almost indefinately. By using the other attachments that come with it you can repeat the process on the cap to find out if its ok.


Im not a big fan of these as there are leaks that will only show up when the engine is at operating temp. But for inital testing to make sure all the clamps on hoses are up to scratch and that youve got all the plugs on these are great.

What can I use in place? Ive been known to use a small pressure regulator and a one way valve off of an air compressor t pieced into the system on a heater hose. it works but is a bit more cumbersom to set up. Howver as I also use the tpiece attachement for blowing HP air into the cooling system during flush outs to agitate the flushing mix and help lift out any crud its normally already in place when I need to use the pressure tester.