Was wondering if anyone has ever had this happen with their crank pully holder tool. I just got the tool in the mail last night from IPD and installed it to get the crank bolt off when after 2-3 good pushed without a breaker bar the center of the tool decided to twist as you can see in the pictures.




I called IPD this morning and they were shocked to hear what happend and are ovenighting me a replacement. Guess I was the lucky one in a million shot of that happening.

UPDATE -

Well I recieved the new tool from IPD today and decided to take some pictures to show the difference between them.

The top one is the original and the bottom is the new one.




After attempting to use the new one it broke and bent also as you can see in the pics the welds broke this time.

Again the original is on top and the replacement is on the bottom.





I contacted IPD and they said that they have had a few come back with the same issue and they issued me a refund. I also noticed that IPD had now taken the tool off their website.

I just put a order in for another tool from FCP Groton which uses a different manufacture for the tool so I hope the one from FCP Groton works.

I'll be sure and update everyone once I recieve the tool from FCP Groton.

 

I had that happen to mine a week or so ago the second time I used it (I got it about a month ago). I think I did not have it properly engaged with the pulley. I put it in a vise and twisted it back to straight. After hearing your story, I am beginning to wonder if the newer ones are made of softer steel.

 

I ordered mine a couple months ago and the center also twisted after the second use of the tool. I'll post pictures of it later tonight, and send this thread off to IPD. I seriously doubt if I over tightened the crank bolt .. if anything I didn't tighten it enough.

 

I didn't even get my crank bolt off when mine twisted. I hope I have better luck with the one coming on Monday.

 

OH, great, I just got mine, now something else to go wrong!! well there is always the rope trick as back up!

 

Get a breaker bar long enough to reach the left hand chassis rail from the crank bolt. Line up socket onto bolt and turn crank by hand till breaker bar is resting on chassis rail.
Go to driver's seat and tap starter, bolt is now loose.

Regards, Andrew.

 

The old tool was heavier gauge steel; never had a problem with it.

 

Yea I noticed from the pictures on FCP Groton's website that it looks to be alot heavier gauge steel.

 

I have had the tool for many years now, and have used it a few time. it is still solid.

 

Those look to be two different quality tools! This is an example of IPD not being quite the stellar parts supplier for older Volvos that they used to be. Can't really blame a company for not going the distance for 20-30 year old cars. Still, this is really pathetic. As Andrew suggests, it really isn't too tough to get the crank bolt off using the starter...and trust me it works! The issue is getting the crank bolt re-torqued during installation; unless you have an impact...you need to stabilize the rotating assembly. I've used the rope trick once and it worked great. I can't see me bragging on the IPD crank pulley tool to anyone! Of course, I had a similarly bad experience with their adjustable cam gear...spent a lot of time on the phone arguing with Cameron as to why it is insane to reverse engineer a cam gear from a belt!! Meh...I get no respect, I tell ya...

 

From my need to get it done, dirty tricks book. To tighten a crank bolt with no means of holding the crank back, use breaker bar again, and pound on the end of the bar with a mallet. It's sort of an impact driver, and probably just as accurate as far as torque goes! You can calculate torque fairly well if you note how many degrees you end up rotating the bolt.
It won't be a precise torque setting, but I've never had a crank bolt come loose, unless I wanted it to.
As for the IPD tool, the design looks the same and materials look close enough to the same size. I am betting these tools didn't go through their tempering process after assembly.
The long lever needs a gusset or a return full length, to not only help support the arm, but so vertical welds can be put into the round, toothed part of the tool, to resist the torsional loads occurring there.

Regards, Andrew.

 

Well, I used my IPD crank holder tool this weekend. It is just like the bent ones shown in previous posts, and it held up. I did have use of an impact wrench, with that combo it worked ok.