spent today messing about with my new crx & had a bunch of fun & games
with the pulley bolt. i confess, reading elle's story about her timing
belt [and other comments from other contributors], i was a little
dismissive - i've never had much problem with these things when i worked
as a mechanic before, so wasn't anticipating much difference here. of
course, i'd had the benefit of air tools then too.

i'd taken the precaution of buying the pulley holder tool first, but
trying to use a standard 1/2" drive? forget it! that guy was on there
tight. my crx was a tow-home, so no chance of running it up to the
local shop for an air tool loosening. ended up investing in a 3/4"
breaker bar, & more importantly, the 3/4" extension, [actually closer to
1" diameter shaft - solid tool steel]. /no/ wind-up there! now the
bolt broke free right away.

so, for anyone that plans on doing this job more than once, but doesn't
want to go the air tool route, i recommend a quick trip to napa auto
supply [or equivalent]. in fact, even with the cost of the pulley
holder & the 3/4" tools, i still think i'm ahead of paying a shop to do
the work for me. thought i'd share the joy.

jim beam wrote:

I was able to get the same bolt on my '91 Civic with 1/2" drive tools,
but the 20" 1/2 drive extension twisted severely (at least 90 deg?)
before the bolt gave. I don't have a lot of experience stressing tools
and testing their limits, but I made sure I had some safety goggles on
at least. I thought it was a fun experience, as I'd never seen metal
twist like that before and rebound back to its original configuration.

Mark

jim beam wrote:

harbor freight sells 3/4" drive tools, and theyre cheap. should work,
though.