After discussing doing a valve adjustment on the plentiful Merc Diesels and the special bent spanners available, I came across some cheap 14mm spanners this afternoon and couldn't resist the temptation for a bit of DIY.
I saw the idea on Diesel Giant or Mercedes Source ( can't remember which one now) and it seemed like a good idea I just couldn't resist shamelessly ripping off.
The spanners were simply heated up and bent up and kicked back level. I bent each one the opposite way so as to give me different offsets for the best possible chance of getting the right angle on the nuts. I also bent the shafts slightly different lengths and put different size handles on them for working reference as to which spanner may fit which nut better.
The ones I copied from are painted red which I think is a good idea but being that what I normally make are photographic accessories and they are always black, the spanners got what was available at the time and that was it. So far these things have put a big dent in Helga's Monthly maintainance budget but that $10 is still good for a couple of filters and a can of red paint yet!
I ground the heads of the spanners down on the edges and on the faces. The nuts on the valves don't need to be done up with tremendous force ( and are drowning in oil) so the spanners dont need a huge amount of strength. As the tools I bought were combination ring/ open end'ers, I heated and flattened the ring section and than shrank fitted it over a piece of hollow tube. A quick run round with the MIG welder to lock them up solid, a reheat and quench on the heads, lick of paint and they were done. Nice quick and satisfying job and saved about $60 on what similar designed tools are available for on the web.
I can see how much easier these things will make the job and I'm almost tempted to open the valve cover up again and re-do my valves even though I only did them earlier in the week.... But not quite.
At least it won't be a job I put off next time and should be a lot quicker and less fiddly.
I saw the idea on Diesel Giant or Mercedes Source ( can't remember which one now) and it seemed like a good idea I just couldn't resist shamelessly ripping off.
The spanners were simply heated up and bent up and kicked back level. I bent each one the opposite way so as to give me different offsets for the best possible chance of getting the right angle on the nuts. I also bent the shafts slightly different lengths and put different size handles on them for working reference as to which spanner may fit which nut better.
The ones I copied from are painted red which I think is a good idea but being that what I normally make are photographic accessories and they are always black, the spanners got what was available at the time and that was it. So far these things have put a big dent in Helga's Monthly maintainance budget but that $10 is still good for a couple of filters and a can of red paint yet!
I ground the heads of the spanners down on the edges and on the faces. The nuts on the valves don't need to be done up with tremendous force ( and are drowning in oil) so the spanners dont need a huge amount of strength. As the tools I bought were combination ring/ open end'ers, I heated and flattened the ring section and than shrank fitted it over a piece of hollow tube. A quick run round with the MIG welder to lock them up solid, a reheat and quench on the heads, lick of paint and they were done. Nice quick and satisfying job and saved about $60 on what similar designed tools are available for on the web.
I can see how much easier these things will make the job and I'm almost tempted to open the valve cover up again and re-do my valves even though I only did them earlier in the week.... But not quite.
At least it won't be a job I put off next time and should be a lot quicker and less fiddly.
Comment