Tool hire for VANOS replacement

[Dr. Zed]

Hi all,

So I was speaking with someone a few days ago when I was discussing doing some work on the VANOS and when I mentioned that I needed a torque wrench that goes down to single digits they suggested I look at hiring any of the tools that I don't have.

He said that he's heard of companies that act as tool 'libraries' where you check out the tool and then return it.

Has anyone else heard of this (I certainly never have), and if so would it be better than simply buying the tools I need?

I had a read through the VANOS instructions and I think I have all the tools except torque wrenches since stuff needs to be torqued to 30 or 40 (can't remember) and also as low as 7Nm or something.

Any input is appreciated!

 

[enuff_zed]

I'm sure you can hire tools, but if you have enough mechanical nous to be taking on the vanos then I think you should be capable of 'tweaking' to 7Nm.
Also, with figures that low I'm not sure I'd trust the accuracy of a torque wrench that's been tossed around by every man and his dog, to and from a hire company.

 

[Rockhopper]

You can buy one for £24

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TOJWMTWSV2/jobsworth-pro-torque-wrench-set?gclid=CjwKCAjwmK6IBhBqEiwAocMc8i1WL8uF3K4u3liuvo6u7_dKot39SFwsd1eSb43aVGaeNO7z85IUUBoCyY8QAvD_BwE#TOJWMTWSV2

 

[bigwinn]

Hi all,

So I was speaking with someone a few days ago when I was discussing doing some work on the VANOS and when I mentioned that I needed a torque wrench that goes down to single digits they suggested I look at hiring any of the tools that I don't have.

He said that he's heard of companies that act as tool 'libraries' where you check out the tool and then return it.

Has anyone else heard of this (I certainly never have), and if so would it be better than simply buying the tools I need?

I had a read through the VANOS instructions and I think I have all the tools except torque wrenches since stuff needs to be torqued to 30 or 40 (can't remember) and also as low as 7Nm or something.

Any input is appreciated!

Where are you based?

Reason for asking is that in September I’m meeting a forum member to help/do his vanos and associated stuff like water pump at the z-shed facility near Lincoln?

Stuart

 

[Dr. Zed]

I'm sure you can hire tools, but if you have enough mechanical nous to be taking on the vanos then I think you should be capable of 'tweaking' to 7Nm.
Also, with figures that low I'm not sure I'd trust the accuracy of a torque wrench that's been tossed around by every man and his dog, to and from a hire company.

The accuracy of a wrench at low digits like that is something I had thought about previously. It's just the fact I need torque settings for several bolts during the process.

 

[Dr. Zed]

You can buy one for £24

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TOJWMTWSV2/jobsworth-pro-torque-wrench-set?gclid=CjwKCAjwmK6IBhBqEiwAocMc8i1WL8uF3K4u3liuvo6u7_dKot39SFwsd1eSb43aVGaeNO7z85IUUBoCyY8QAvD_BwE#TOJWMTWSV2

That surprises me! Been looking for a while, this one seems decent. Doesn't go quite as high as I need it to but it's a decent bit of kit for the price.
Thanks mate!

 

[Dr. Zed]

Where are you based?

Reason for asking is that in September I’m meeting a forum member to help/do his vanos and associated stuff like water pump at the z-shed facility near Lincoln?

Stuart

I'm in Swindon so quire a distance! Would have been convenient for sure.
I've never heard of the z shed either though.

 

[bigwinn]

Where are you based?

Reason for asking is that in September I’m meeting a forum member to help/do his vanos and associated stuff like water pump at the z-shed facility near Lincoln?

Stuart

I'm in Swindon so quire a distance! Would have been convenient for sure.
I've never heard of the z shed either though.

Always here for remote support bud!

 

[Dr. Zed]

Always here for remote support bud!

Cheers mate! You recommend I do my own water pump when doing the vanos? And is it difficult to do?

Edit: any other suggestions for work to carry out while doing the vanos?

 

[enuff_zed]

I'm sure you can hire tools, but if you have enough mechanical nous to be taking on the vanos then I think you should be capable of 'tweaking' to 7Nm.
Also, with figures that low I'm not sure I'd trust the accuracy of a torque wrench that's been tossed around by every man and his dog, to and from a hire company.

The accuracy of a wrench at low digits like that is something I had thought about previously. It's just the fact I need torque settings for several bolts during the process.

The very low torques are I believe for the tiny bolts in the centres of the drives, which are also a left hand thread if I remember right?
When you undo them you will get a feel for just how tight they are (not very), then just tweak back up the same.

 

[Rockhopper]

You can buy one for £24

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TOJWMTWSV2/jobsworth-pro-torque-wrench-set?gclid=CjwKCAjwmK6IBhBqEiwAocMc8i1WL8uF3K4u3liuvo6u7_dKot39SFwsd1eSb43aVGaeNO7z85IUUBoCyY8QAvD_BwE#TOJWMTWSV2

That surprises me! Been looking for a while, this one seems decent. Doesn't go quite as high as I need it to but it's a decent bit of kit for the price.
Thanks mate!

PlanenX pricing bounces up and down - i think i paid £15 for mine but i notice that today its at £29.95!

 

[GuidoK]

plenty on ebay under £20

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224160460148

maybe even cheaper on alie, if you can wait...

 

[enuff_zed]

Anyone want to bet on how accurate a torque wrench is straight out of the box?
Back in my RAF days, we used to set the torque on a calibrated tester before every use. Easy as we had the kit and I know aircraft engineering may be a tad more stringent but from that experience I know that not once in 23 years did I get a brand new torque wrench out of it's box and find it to be anywhere within 10% accuracy.
So I would suggest that, if you do use a torque wrench you should still do it mostly by feel, not just blindly yank it round to the setting you want.
Also bear in mind that in an ideal world you should do the fastener up in stages, and only use the torque wrench for the final little bit.

 

[bigwinn]

Always here for remote support bud!

Cheers mate! You recommend I do my own water pump when doing the vanos? And is it difficult to do?

Edit: any other suggestions for work to carry out while doing the vanos?

Deffo consider doing the water pump and thermostat at the same time- not a horrid job

If you want a write up I’ll happily do one?

 

[enuff_zed]

Always here for remote support bud!

Cheers mate! You recommend I do my own water pump when doing the vanos? And is it difficult to do?

Edit: any other suggestions for work to carry out while doing the vanos?

Deffo consider doing the water pump and thermostat at the same time- not a horrid job

If you want a write up I’ll happily do one?

Most people suggest you can remove the vanos unit by levering on the front cross member a little (several descriptions on the forum).
However, I did vanos, water pump, thermostat and drive belts all at the same time. To get the water pump off you need to move the engine up slightly to clear a bolt. I unbolted the driver's side engine mount from below and put a jack under the engine, load spread using a block of wood. I found that I could then move the engine up and down as needed to gain clearance for both the water pump and vanos.
This proved particularly useful when reassembling the vanos as by raising it up an inch or two I could get much better access to those fiddly little bolts.
I decided to change the belts while I was in there too as I had no record of their history and for the cost it wasn't worth not doing it.
If you do this then draw yourself a diagram of the routing first!

 

[Dr. Zed]

The very low torques are I believe for the tiny bolts in the centres of the drives, which are also a left hand thread if I remember right?
When you undo them you will get a feel for just how tight they are (not very), then just tweak back up the same.

You are correct yes if I remember correctly myself from reading the instructions yesterday.

Your post about the accuracy is something I considered previously. When you're at 50Nm a 10% +/- isn't a massive issue but down in single digits then that can mean the difference between breaking the bolt and getting it tight enough..

I have read about the trick of lifting the engine slightly yes. Seems people need to do and some don't. But if I'm doing the other bits then I'll use your trick of jacking the engine from under.

The water pump and thermostat seem easy enough but the belts is another beast!

 

[Dr. Zed]

You can buy one for £24

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TOJWMTWSV2/jobsworth-pro-torque-wrench-set?gclid=CjwKCAjwmK6IBhBqEiwAocMc8i1WL8uF3K4u3liuvo6u7_dKot39SFwsd1eSb43aVGaeNO7z85IUUBoCyY8QAvD_BwE#TOJWMTWSV2

PlanenX pricing bounces up and down - i think i paid £15 for mine but i notice that today its at £29.95!
[/quote]

I did notice that. It was 30 the day you first linked it. Seems a bit random for it to fluctuate like that!

 

[Dr. Zed]

plenty on ebay under £20

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224160460148

maybe even cheaper on alie, if you can wait...

Nice one, I'll have a look. Can't wait too long I'm afraid (we'll depends when this actually happens I guess but I know shipping time can be awful!).

 

[Dr. Zed]

Deffo consider doing the water pump and thermostat at the same time- not a horrid job

If you want a write up I’ll happily do one?

If you don't mind doing one for it. Might even end up being a sticky on the forum.
I had a quick look on YouTube for the location of the water pump which showed the pump and thermostat location. Seems the work is easier than the price of the parts would suggest.
If you happen to do a write up when you're doing it yourself then yes please mate. Sling me a PM if/when you do it although I will likely see the thread anyways.

 

[enuff_zed]

The very low torques are I believe for the tiny bolts in the centres of the drives, which are also a left hand thread if I remember right?
When you undo them you will get a feel for just how tight they are (not very), then just tweak back up the same.

You are correct yes if I remember correctly myself from reading the instructions yesterday.

Your post about the accuracy is something I considered previously. When you're at 50Nm a 10% +/- isn't a massive issue but down in single digits then that can mean the difference between breaking the bolt and getting it tight enough..

I have read about the trick of lifting the engine slightly yes. Seems people need to do and some don't. But if I'm doing the other bits then I'll use your trick of jacking the engine from under.

The water pump and thermostat seem easy enough but the belts is another beast!

Actually the belts are easy. No need to worry about upsetting timing or anything like that. Only awkward bit is taking the tension off first, but even that is pretty straight-forward.
Maybe what you need to do is book yourself a weekend in Norfolk and I'll give you a hand. :wink: