Wanted: crank pulley tool so I can change the timing belt on my Civic VX

[theholycow]

That's great that you wear gloves. I am so uncomfortable in gloves that I rarely wear them...I wish I would wear them more often.

Using a torque wrench as a breaker bar is a bad idea, you'll likely ruin the torque wrench.

My breaker bars are from Harbor Freight. I worry that the cheap steel will break, but I think they're still the strongest wrenching tools I have. I have good luck with Harbor Freight tools.

If your 12" long 1/2"-drive breaker bar is of good quality, I suspect that a strong pipe to extend its leverage would be fine. I doubt that a longer breaker bar has a stronger head; it must be more efficient to manufacture them all the same, just cutting the handles to different lengths. Maybe someone with better knowledge of the issue can say otherwise, but that's my logic.

[GasSavers_Erik]

I commonly use long "cheater" pipes on my breaker bars- long enough so that the 1/2" breaker bar will sometimes begin to flex.

That's when I bought a 3/4" breaker bar...

[monroe74]

Sorry I've been quiet for a few days. I was traveling.

hondaguy, I hope you didn't waste too much time looking for that tracking number. The package arrived today! You packed it up beautifully, and the tool is beautiful. I can't wait to try it out. I probably won't be able to do that until Monday. I'll post here to let you know how it goes. Thanks again for being so helpful.

hondayguy and holycow, thanks for the tips about not using my torque wrench as a breaker bar. That makes sense. I probably shouldn't risk messing up the calibration. It's a Sears tool, which means it's OK but far from indestructible.

My 12" breaker bar is a good one. It was made by Herbrand around 1945! I inherited a bunch of excellent Herbrand tools from my dad. You probably never heard of them. They were a pioneer in high-quality tools, before Snap-on and SK even existed, I think. You can see my antique breaker bar here:

http://home.comcast.net/~alloy-artif...ped_inset3.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~alloy-artif...chrome-p3.html

I think I've never put a big pipe on the end, but I bet it's pretty safe to do so.

I am so uncomfortable in gloves that I rarely wear them

I know what you mean. For certain kinds of jobs gloves just don't work. I probably wouldn't wear them if I'm doing, say, a valve adjustment. But if I'm handling wheels/tires, I always have them on. Or setting up my hydraulic jack and jack stands. Or mowing.

These gloves are exceptionally comfortable, and they provide great feel and grip. The ones I have look similar to this:

http://www.amazon.com/Regular-Weight.../dp/B00383EK66

Don't be fooled by that price. It's $38.76, but that's for a dozen.

That item is not exactly what I have, so I can't vouch for that exact item. I wish I could remember where I got the ones I have. Maybe a yard sale.

I think kevlar gloves are a pretty recent invention, and I find them much better than any other work gloves I've ever tried. So if you haven't tried them, maybe you should, and you might be surprised at how easy it is to work with them on.

I have good luck with Harbor Freight tools.

Same here.

I doubt that a longer breaker bar has a stronger head; it must be more efficient to manufacture them all the same, just cutting the handles to different lengths.

That makes a lot of sense. I'm not sure they actually cut the handles, but it makes sense from a manufacturing perspective that all the 1/2" breakers bars would have the same head, regardless of the length of the handle. Anyway, my Herbrand breaker bar has survived for about 65 years, so I bet I will not be able to kill it by putting it between a pipe and a Honda.

Anytime I use a cheater pipe like that I think there's a risk of it slipping and then I get hurt, but I think I just need to be careful.

[benfrogg]

One other thought worth mentioning is that you can do this work primarily with your feet if you wanted to.
I put the car on jackstands about 18" higher than it normally rides. I used my tool up against the floor. I then situated the breaker bar so it as above the floor and I could stand on it to break the nut loose. If using your hands is too risky, I recommend this way of doing it. You're breaker bar looks just like mine. You may end up needing the torque provided by your body weight.
Your hands will be safe and sound holding onto the body of the car. Not to mention the fact that the motor/wheel well area blocks most of your body from projectiles that might come from a sheared nut/breaker bar failure, etc.

Anyway, it sounds like you'll have this baby back on the road soon. You've got the best tools for the job. Good luck!
B

[benfrogg]

Oh and as a sidenote-
If you must use a cheater bar pipe on your breaker bar, duct tape them together in the strongest possible point. No chance of slipping then.
B

[hondaguy72]

Haha! It was the ugliest 5 minute pack job I've ever done. I wasn't too worried it would get damaged, as all the materials are very strong. Glad it made it to you so quickly.

My guess is that you will need to use your leg muscles to break the bolt loose. I'm 6ft 220 and I couldn't do it with my arm muscles, even with a 24" breaker bar.

[monroe74]

Hey guys, thanks for those extra tips. I'll be keeping all that in mind when I do the job.

There's another tip I've seen, that strikes me as a good idea. Take a look at this page:

http://www.denlorstools.com/home/dt1...pful_tips.html

Play the video on that page, and jump to 0:48 in the video. Watch from 0:48 to 0:56. He's using an extra jack stand to essentially support the end of the breaker bar. I can see how that will help direct the force to where it needs to go.

[theholycow]

I like old tools...not for everything, but I would certainly be as happy with an antique breaker bar as you are with yours.

Honestly I've never tried really good quality gloves. I ought to invest in some...I think I'll add that to my list.

Using a jack stand to support the end of the breaker bar and keep the force going in the right direction: Very good idea.

[monroe74]

Most people I know would probably think I'm a little weird for getting excited about my vintage breaker bar and kevlar gloves. So I'm glad that kind of weirdness is considered semi-normal around here.

My advice would be that you shouldn't spend a lot on gloves, and don't buy them unless you're pretty sure you really like the way they feel.

My attitude about gloves used to be just like yours, that it just didn't feel right to have them on when doing most jobs. And then somehow I stumbled across these kevlar gloves at a yard sale, or somewhere, and I discovered that it felt surprisingly natural to handle tools with them on.

Be careful what you get. I just noticed these kevlar gloves at Harbor Freight:

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalog...esult?q=kevlar

They look wrong. That vinyl facing over the fingertips would ruin the feel. Mine look more like these:

http://www.amazon.com/BladeX5-Classi...9489019&sr=8-1

Mine are soft, grippy fabric all around. I assume these in the picture are like that.

I also have a second pair that I got somewhere that looks like this:

http://www.amazon.com/1670XL-Resista...9489371&sr=8-6

Covered with little rubber dots all around. The feel of these is pretty good, but not quite as good as the other pair.

This thing at Sears looks pretty good ($12):

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...&blockType=G17

They have something else that looks exactly the same for $58. I don't know why. That seems like way too much.

Also be careful because sometimes when buying kevlar gloves they're just selling you one. The idea is you wear it in the kitchen while the other hand is holding a sharp knife. But I would always want to wear two, if I'm wearing it at all, so check the price and make sure it's for two.

OK, enough with my kevlar obsession!

[theholycow]

How is the grip? They look slippery.

How do they handle grime, oil, grease, and solvents/fuel?