[Coronita]

Though I thought about the idea of chucking the crankshaft pulley. I was wrong, it’s not $200…
That crankshaft pulley is $300!!!!!

http://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-B5_A4-Quattro-1.8T/Search/SiteSearch/Crankshaft_Pulley/

[Coronita]

…so… Some mobile mechanic quoted me $75.. His approach is
1) To use an impact wrench on the crankshaft nut to remove the pulley and gear behind it.
2) Once removed, use a bolt extractor…

Not sure if that would work. I can imagine the crankshaft nut will be on much more seized…..And he would need to secure the pulley so it doesn’t spin while he’s trying to remove the crankshaft nut.

Seems overly complicated, not to mention it would f up my gear timing sync I think..

Thoughts?

[Coronita]

[quote=Blogstar]I’d exhaust all options for getting the bolts out without messing with the female threads. You might have removed some material with the bolt extraction so the head might be too weak for the slot and screwdriver suggestion?
[/quote]

That’s what I’m worried about….

[quote]

I have gotten away with pounding a smaller socket or wrench on the bolt head once or twice in my life too. Easier on larger bolts.[/quote]

You mean on the outside, right? (I tried pounding in a bigger hex and torx socket and that didn’t work)
The thing I hate about these bolts is they are perfectly round. So I’m wondering if that would work…The other thing, I don’t have much room to work a socket in between the bolt and the shaft bolt in the center.

[Coronita]

[quote=moneymaker]#1 make sure you know which direction the bolt is supposed to be turned, not sure of the little guys but sometimes the big guy gets turned opposite i.e. clockwise to get out.[/quote]

I really really wish I was turning the bolt the wrong way. But if you see the picture above, I already got two of the bolts out (I replaced them with temporary normal hex bolts because I’m contemplating replacing these stupid allen bolts that some stupid engineers in Ingolstadt decided to use instead of a normal hex bolt ….)

[Coronita]

Ok…Hours later….

[img_assist|nid=20349|title=effed3|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=200]

0. Soaked bolts with pb blaster overnight..

1. Tried getting a vise grip on to the bottom right bolt before grinding the sides completely… No dice…

2. Tried to fit a bolt extractor (the ones that fit on the outside)…No clearance between the bolt and the center bolt to stick a socket in there….

3. On the left bolt, drilled a 5/32″ hole to get a bolt extractor in there….In the war between the bolt and the bolt extractor, the bolt won….

[img_assist|nid=20350|title=effed4|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=200]

Notice the extractor is pretty much bent and stripped at the tip. Yes, that’s a made in usa extractor. Not a made in china or elsewhere bit…

Well, at least this is happening in 2014…
However, I really don’t want to start 2015 this way :(… I guess indirectly, I’m adding more to my tool collection, though not exactly the way I wanted to….

*The pulley is tough steel (tougher then the bolts) so cutting through it probably isn’t an option. Plus I believe it’s a $250 part from the steeler….

*Folks suggesting I use a grinder to cut a lot in between to bolts and to jam a large screwdriver or something similar…You think I’ll be able to turn it that way before I destroy the top of the bolt? The bolt was fairly easy to drill into using a standard drill bit (not a fancy carbide drill bit or anything)….So I’m a little concerned it getting all warped…. Also, I don’t have an impact wrench, otherwise I would use a chisel and try to impact it out CCW.

* If I completely drill through.. How hard is it to tap a new thread (for someone that’s never done it)

*Any other suggestions? Or should I wave the white flag and have it towed to have it done….

BTW: This is what the shaft looks like with the pulley off, if that makes a difference as to the decision you would take……

[img_assist|nid=20351|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=300]

[Coronita]

[quote=kismetsdad]I would sacrifice the pulley and cut the shoulder of pulley off. This looks like it will give decent access for vise grips on bolts. Replacing pully can’t be too expensive Then lots of liquid wrench over couple of days.. I like the welder idea too. I would predict drilling bolts would only bring misery like a bolt broken off in crank

You can check out my previous timing belt work at:
http://www.shastaanesthesia.com/Lexus/Page1.html%5B/quote%5D

Thanks.. Unrelated question. Why kind of lift is that in your garage??? Nice….

[Coronita]

Alright.. Round #2 this afternoon….Thanks for the suggestions. Had to move the car into the garage since it’s suppose to rain…..That was fun moving it with almost no coolant and no power steering, if only for a few seconds…

[Coronita]

I’m getting older.. Time to start enjoying my old age…

[Coronita]

[quote=spdrun]Cuss. Swear some more. Throw a few tools.

[/quote]
Done that…

[quote]

Dremel two flats on the outside of the fawked bolts, use a pair of big locking pliers to grab the bolt, then use another pair of locking pliers to turn the first pair. If you orient them the right way, you can also slip a pipe over the handle of the second pair without releasing them to get more leverage.

Oh right, and spray the things with PBlaster repeatedly and let it work in overnight before touching anything.

[/quote]

Attempted that too. There isn’t enough clearance for a larger vise grip pliers to reach the bolt without hitting the center shaft bolt, and a smaller vise grip that fits won’t grip tight enough.

[quote]
If none of this works, buy/beg/borrow/steal a wire-feed welder, weld a nut or bolt to the bolts, and use a socket to turn the new, unbuggered head.[/quote]
Interesting…. Need to find someone that has a welder.

[Coronita]

[quote=svelte][quote=flu]
That’s more than the previous stimulus given to people…And we know that the majority of the people in this country are going to spend it.

Also, I think airlines will do will, travel will pick up, and transportation will do well (Fedex and UPS probably will have fatter margins)….
.[/quote]

Hmmm. I like your thinking…I’m going to mull it over.

I have noticed oil company stocks haven’t went down as much as I would have expected given recent oil prices, so they don’t appear to be the best place to profit.[/quote]

Oil refining should actually do pretty well imho. I expect that as gas prices goes down, consumption will go up…We’ll see more escalades, surburbans, explorers, expeditions,sequioas….etc…

[Coronita]

BTW: expect a 10-15 cents/gallon increase in gas in 2015 for CA….

We have this cap-and-trade policy for gasoline and diesel fuel

http://www.pe.com/articles/trade-756971-cap-gallon.html

[Coronita]

[quote=svelte]The real question is – where can we piggs put our money to best profit when oil prices begin to rise again?

Prices this low may last a month or a year, but they won’t last forever.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/oil-stupid-range-expert-140614930.html%5B/quote%5D

I was thinking make the best way to profit from oil isn’t so much trying to profit when oil prices rise, but profit while oil prices are low…

Here’s my take.. Regardless of whether people want to admit it or not, lower gas prices does mean your average person has more discretionary income. For example, consider a person filling 16 gallons/week for an SUV saves $1/gallon….Times 52weeks, that’s an extra $832/year. And that’s just for one person. Probably more for a couple.. That’s more than the previous stimulus given to people…And we know that the majority of the people in this country are going to spend it.

Also, I think airlines will do will, travel will pick up, and transportation will do well (Fedex and UPS probably will have fatter margins)….

Probably other things too….Haven’t thought much of it.

[Coronita]

..No rubles?

[Coronita]

[quote=scaredyclassic][quote=flu]Man, I guess I’m missing out all the fun… As an enginerd I think I have 1 suit… And the last time I wore it was to a fundraiser dinner with my kid..

The last time I wore a suit for work was….Jan 2002 for an interview…And then afterwards, all my interviews were just in semi-formal collared shirt and dark pants….And even then, I think I was slightly overdressed.

So how much does one expect to spend for a “decent” suit….roughly?[/quote]
used on ebay, 75 to 250

new, 200 to 600.[/quote]

I’m so out of touch with suits, it’s not even funny.. $200 to $600 seems like a big difference.. What do you get with a $600 suit you don’t get with a $200 suit? More importantly, how do I know if I were to spend $600 suit, it’s really not a $200 suit that’s marked up to $600? What are the things to look out for that would scream “this is a cheap suit”?

[Coronita]

I guess this one isn’t cheap, but not something one would want to wear to a job… 🙂

[Author]

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