tw2

I got a eurocharged 83mm supercharger pulley and tune. Uploaded the tune no problem. But I cannot get the pulley bolt undone so I am wondering if it will be fine to drive around with my tune for 83mm pulley but with the stock pulley instead?
Drive easy or fine to still drive hard like normal?
Any tips for getting this horrible thing undone?

I have tried this method both with a crows foot wrench + breaker bar and also with 24mm spanner + hammer. I can see why they recommend raising the engine and using an impact gun. Both this guy and tavarish make it look easy.

drothgeb

1. I don't see having the tune but no pulley as an issue. Just lower boost pressure, if that was an issue they would have to worry about altitude with the tunes because I'm down like 4 psi from sea level folks, but they didn't give a squat about it haha :-P
2. My air impact would not get the nut off. I had to use the hose clamp method with a big *** breaker bar, some PB blaster and some hammering also. Make sure not to use a rubber mallet get that metal on metal.

sjc246

If you can heat up the bolt gently with a torch, that will help release the thread locker, but I haven't found that to be necessary. As others have said, use two large hose clamps and a wrench. If you don't want to scratch up the clutch with the hose clamps, you should wrap it with a thin layer of something (I have used rubber cut from an old inner tube). You will need to cheat with a pipe on the wrench or by doubling up with 2 wrenches (http://images.fieroforum.com/2011/mini-IMG_3850.JPG). Use a decent wrench: this may break a harbor freight special. The hose clamps should hold it very securely and with double wrenches, you should have plenty of leverage. (I've done 3 with the bolt as it came from the factory and re-done mine countless times (with new thread locker each time), and I never had any difficulty with the above method.)

Strigoi

Is doing the double wrench thing not common knowledge with car people? Been doing that for years when a bolt needed a bit extra.

tw2

Thanks, I had used some thin rubber non slip matting but it ended up slipping under the strain and scratching it to hell anyway unfortunately. I used three large brand new stainless hose clamps done up with my 1/4" socket wrench until I was afraid any tighter and the worm drive of the clamp may start slipping. Despite this and the clamps gouging into the clutch it still slipped with my 1/2" breaker bar.

I can always try some rubber similar to inner tube which I have between the clutch and clamps? Otherwise I am dreading having to pull apart the radiator fan shroud to allow for an impact gun. Or worse try and undo the engine mounts. Anyway I have a set of the crows foot wrenches which I thought might help.


Three new clamps and the non-slip stuff which didn't work at all.



I tried this and I also have a pretty chunky 24mm spanner which I can put an extension on but it is a 12 point one and I am worried about destroying the nut. I did try hitting it with a hammer though.

supreame

You need to heat that bolt or use an impact wrench. Weird that it is on so tight, mine came off fairly easily without heat, impact or breaker bar. Make sure you apply some Loctite 243 when you put the bolt back in, and torque to 60 Nm.

StarvingArtist

The treads have teflon on them from the factory. It's the flange on the bolt head that holds so tight. It has a narrow outer edge that bites into the washer, and the washer is pinned to the shaft. Heat on the bolt head can make a big difference. If it's not stock you may have loctite on the threads also. Heat will help with that too, but give it plenty of time to soak in, don't rush it and over heat it.

FunkTron

I picked up a super shallow 6-point 24mm socket used for oil filters when i give this a go (picked it up at Orielly's or VatoZone if I do recall). I'll be throwing the breaker bar at it.


something like this....



24mm 3/8" shallow socket

VictoryRoadPerformance

Yes youll be fine until your new pulley comes in. you need a few GOOD clamps and something to protect the clutch back from scratching

tw2

So I thought I would try again. I cut some 2mm rubber into a 45cm strip to wrap around. Tightened all 3 clamps with the socket set. I even washed the rubber in detergent earlier to get rid of any possible oil, dry and squeaky clean. I can lean my whole bodyweight on the breaker bar with a 2ft extension on the end, the clutch still just manages to turn instead.

I don't think I have a choice but to go to a garage. I found threads where many people needed to alternate heating it and using a very high powered impact gun to undo it. I don't have access to a heat torch or impact gun at home. I wouldn't mind a proper electric impact gun but they are $800-1500 here for a decent one that could do the job, can't really justify that. The problem is that the car will require a bit of work to make the bolt accessible where ever I take it. Here I was thinking this was a nice easy upgrade The C32 was a piece of cake, mind you I think it took a 10 or 12mm socket.

As far as the tune goes, I believe the open loop changes to the ECU will make it a bit richer since it is expecting more airflow? And of course driving around in closed loop like (what my wife calls) a normal person will be exactly the same with oxygen sensor feedback.

hayseed

iTrader: (2)

my understanding the pulley only adds another 10-15 hp FOR THE 83MM ,, the tune itself makes the car a lot more enjoyable so leave the pulley off.... some of the aftermarket ones seem to have some issues -- just get another tune for stock pulley/boost and remove the potential issue -- if your going to do it anyway then you should look into the scatter shield (its existence which in it of itself should give you reason not to go this route) -- IMHO the additional 10 HP not worth the risk

tw2

I believe they fixed a lot of the issues with earlier pulleys grenading, but yes there is some risk regardless. You will see a scatter shield in the 2nd picture above. Although I agree with you, you are correct about the HP, don't forget torque. My understanding is the pulley will give a lot more low to mid range torque which is where the enjoyment for daily driving comes from. There is one garage I trust other than the dealer. I will see how difficult it is to undo and slightly raise the fan shroud. If that doesn't pan out I will see if eurocharged can do a retune for a stock pulley.

tw2

So I thought I should follow up what happened. I drove around for 2 weeks while I waited for my next day off booked into the local garage to get this stupid bolt out (today). The tune seemed to add a fair amount of mid range torque despite being dialled in to support higher boost. It did seem to have less torque around 1500-2000rpm for some reason, my guess is that they may have taken away some timing due to the increase in boost? No idea, only Jerry can answer that. Anyway I drove pretty hard like usual and experienced no issues, I even had to take a 200 mile trip out of town which included lots of overtaking.

Anyway I pulled the front under cover off and dropped the car off at the shop, explained how to get the fan shroud up (to get socket and extension on the bolt) and showed my mechanic what I wanted. They could not get the pulley off with their rather powerful snap on impact driver. In the end they had to use a huge strap wrench to hold the clutch. At first even that didn't hold until they lined it with sandpaper (I already scratched it to hell anyway). This held and they had two guys with a spanner and 4ft extension. Finally got it off and very kindly repainted the outside clutch surface we both damaged. The clearance was 0.58mm before and about 0.50mm afterwards with all the shims removed. The bearing on the stock pulley was toast (only 27,000 miles on the car) and had had some glazing on the surface somehow.

In conclusion, if you are taking the bolt out for the first time, the hose clamp trick might work for you but be prepared to have to go crazy on it or take it to a shop. From all the threads I have read I estimate about 1/4 of people will not have an easy to undo bolt at least if it has never been undone. Oh and the 83mm pulley and tune is crazy, traction light won't stay off!

PieRat

My Mechanic used the old belt to hold the pulley in place and get it off LOL. Can't remember how he did it but I thought it was very kiwi style when I saw him do it. Sweet as bro!

MACEDON

Did you try taking the bolt off with a warm engine?

Beefe55

Hello guys, I will elaborate since I just completed this job about a month ago. I had issues taking bolt off including much frustration, swearing, and doubting. But with persistence I got it out. It is not necessary to lift the engine, nor take out fan shroud. It isn't necessary to torch the bolt either. Also, when tightening the hose clamps, make sure to clamp with bolt head facing left. There is an uneven surface that they rest on, with one point touching lower than the other. when attempting to loosen bolt, the first clamp should slip a tiny bit until both are contacting the surface simultaneously.

+1 This is the method I used. A problem I had at first was that my wrench was slipping off the shallow bolt head, which was damaging the head of the bolt and causing me to become nervous. I had a friend come and put forward pressure on my wrench (Being careful not to lever off of fan shroud) with the end of a big adjustable wrench, which was enough to hold the bolt on while I torqued. My car is same year as OP with probably more miles. I suspect this is more than enough leverage needed on most cars. Put your back into it!

Eurocharged includes the stock file to any updated "tune" file they send you. They state this clearly when sending them your logs. You are able to revert to stock at any point.

+1 This will help loosen the stubborn loctite. It is the same method I had used

Lastly, if this mod is ran without any supporting cooling mods, then be prepared for S/C shutoff by computer after a couple spirited pulls. And not very long pulls at that as IATs get high very quick. I plan on installing a larger pump and HE as soon as I finish replacing the timing chain guides on this damn e39 540i

tw2

I find the tuning process a bit nerve wracking. I don't like to reload them unless absolutely necessary. I know people have occasionally bricked the ecu if they have a battery on the way out etc. Slightly irrational I know.

PieRat

Unplug ur radiator fan during flash. its what draws all the pow3r

tw2

Thanks, this I did know. I never managed to find the fan plug on the CLK55 and assumed it would be even harder to access on the E55 (and didn't bother looking). I found it the other day by accident so I will do this in future. Regardless, the pulley and tune are now matched and the improvement is immense, I highly recommend both. Your 77mm must be pretty crazy.

Beefe55

Not irrational.. Eurocharged demands you hook up to battery charger during re-flash

Beefe55

BTW I think it would benefit some to note what it costed at an indy for R&R of the pulley. In my frustration I debated the option myself..

tw2

I did that on my old C32, the tune failed and eurocharged fixed it by remote. No charger and it worked perfectly.
Yep they charged me US$200 but that included raising the fan shroud and if you look at my description above there was no way anyone could have got the pulley off themselves. Most are not too difficult, I would definitely encourage anyone with some decent tools and some mechanical skills to give it a go first as I did. The occasional one is extremely hard to remove.

tw2

Hey guys, just thought I would add the following. When I pulled the steel support off the top I found these grey flat plastic push clips were difficult to get out without damaging. Anyway I thought I would post the part number since it took quite a while to find. I got them from fpceuro, they are under "Mercedes Glove Box Clip" - Genuine Mercedes 1239900092
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/mer...lip-1239900092 $1.79 each. Oh and I am still getting used to the added torque the pulley added, absolutely awesome upgrade.