Can't get to distributor bolt on 91 suburban

[mattman9696]

What is the correct tool to use? I've checked my timing and need to adjust a littlle bit but I cannot get a wrench on the hold down bolt. I've tried two different distributor wrenches but between the MAP sensor, the heater hose and the dang fuel lines almost right over it, I can't get to it. I can't believe it is this hard.

 

[1985_K5_Silverado]

Have you tried something like this?

 

[81K5GUY]

ditto that what I used on my 88 silverado

 

[BigBen]

Me too. Probably one of the best $10 I've ever invested in my tools......

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?cat=Mechanics+Tools&pid=00947683000&vertical=TOOL&subcat=Automotive+Specialty+Tools&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

 

[mattman9696]

thanks, that first one looks better. I have the Sears one but it doesn't work. I can get on the bolt but due to everything described, I have no room to turn it. The first one looks shorter than the Sears one and may work better.

 

[ryoken]

There are many shapes and styles of dizzy wrenches..... I usually am too lazy to go back to the shop and grab one out of my box and just use a shorty combo wrench most of the time out of my rigging bag...

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/tools.asp?tool=all&Group_ID=1327&store=snapon-store

 

[dremu]

thanks, that first one looks better. I have the Sears one but it doesn't work. I can get on the bolt but due to everything described, I have no room to turn it. The first one looks shorter than the Sears one and may work better.

I bought one much like the linked one (not the Craftsman) ... I ended up having to cut the socket part off, which wasn't all that strong, and weld in the bottom half of a 9/16 socket I'd ground down.

Woulda been easier, in retrospect, just to take a piece of 5/16-3/8" rod, bend it, and weld on a cut off socket.

Point being that, if you have the ability or know someone who does, making your own tools often works out better.

-- A

 

[dremu]

There are many shapes and styles of dizzy wrenches..... I usually am too lazy to go back to the shop and grab one out of my box and just use a shorty combo wrench most of the time out of my rigging bag...

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/tools.asp?tool=all&Group_ID=1327&store=snapon-store

Jeebus, fifty bucks for a wrench? I know Snap-on is nice, but for that price they better come with a reacharound. Sheesh.

-- A

 

[ryoken]

The link was more for reference than anything else.. And hey, he did ask what the "correct" tool was.. But I'll defend the expensive tools..

Time is money, while other guys battle with inferior, improper tools to hack thru a job, the right tool gets it done quickly and properly.. in the time it takes you to rig/weld some thing together, I could adjust 10 dizzy's and make x amount of money.....

Believe me, I have many modded/made and cheap tools, but when you do it daily you need freakin everything and having the best DOES make a difference... Anyone who says otherwise is a fool or blinded by their cheapness... A flank-drive Snappy compared to a Harbor Frieght combo? Personally I like my wrenches to grab a bolt properly, not flex and strip heads..

believe me, my box is crammed and I have some seriously off the wall tools that have saved our ass on many occasions... sh*t, I own a freakin boroscope...

At the new place, the guys love me, they've been hitting me up for all kinds of stuff they didn't realize was out there... Heck, I've had the guys hit me up for different sizes of these

probably a 1/2 dozen times... They work awesome for stretching water/toilet/exhaust hose for tough nipple apps... Even better than those are the 2" to 3 1/2" crowsfoot set I own... Killer for shaft logs and thruhulls...

ramble, ramble...

 

[beater_k20]

ryoken is dead on. try making your living with your tools, you'll quickly realize that your Harbor Freight tools are not going to cut it. i work with a guy who is insanely cheap. we're talking digging half eaten hamburgers out of the trash cheap (and yes, i have witnessed him do this!) he's constantly asking to borrow tools, and most of the time the story is "mine is broken". looked in his box a few weeks ago for something i didnt have, and amazingly, NONE of his tools had a brand name on them of any sort. unless "China" and "Tiawan" have started a line of tools.

so i've started a "borrow it 3 times, buy your own" policy.

 

[81K5GUY]

I use craftman at work because thats what the company buys for us.I have a snap-on box at home that I bought years ago off a guy that needed the $ bad.I have nothing but good things to say about both.I got a set of benchtop tools that the wifey bought me 5 years ago(bless her heart she didnt know any better) from k-mart and I have to say they have held up great.

 

[sled_dog]

eh to keep beating the offtopic horse I agree with Beater_K20 and Ryoken. Make a living with your tools, or even work with them a little more than just the slight weekend warrior and you really see how the $$ pays off. Hell I just spent $60 on a 1/4" 5" long ratchet!! My Craftsman one broke after like 10 times of using it(in light applications). So I said screw it and bought a fine tooth Matco one. Man that thing is awesome. lets me turn so much less than the craftsman, never slips, its just great. Don't get me wrong, I have thousands of dollars of Craftsman tools, but basically anything I buy from here on will be Snap-On or Matco.


That said, this is what I have for Distributors on TBI rigs.

http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?categorycode=3491&mfrcode=APO&mfrpartnumber=T71255

Cheap piece of crap, but it works and fits. Dad has one hes had forever, I have I think the exact one I linked to that I bought because I needed it one day out at school for my 89 Burb.