Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Barring tool stuck

[Man_of_Constant_Sorrow]

I have an OTC barring tool stuck in the barring hole on my 95 Dodge 2500 (automatic). To add insult to injury, I never got it to engage the flywheel. I kept thinking it must not be in far enough, so I'd turn it a little and tap it further in with a hammer. Now I have found some threads on forums that note sometimes barring tools don't fit and it sounds somewhat random, like quality control issues with the tools. I might have been smarter about it if I'd know that before. Oh well. So I have been prying on the tool from underneath, but it only comes out so far. The sleeve seems to be stuck, as the tool will rotate, but not the sleeve. I tried grabbing the sleeve with vise-grips and that mostly resulted in breaking off the edge of the sleeve. I sprayed it down with PB Blaster with little effect. Has anyone had this problem, or have ideas how to extract the tool? I hope there is some way short of dropping the transmission.

 

[GCroyle]

Be careful. That aluminum housing cost a few bucks. Is there any shoulder on the tool to pry back against? Pretty sure the tool is supposed to insert w/o force.

 

[GAmes]

I once forgot that I had the barring tool installed and hit the starter. Sure made a lot of noise but thankfully the engine didn't start. I unjammed mine by rotating the crankshaft with one of the damper bolts.

 

[DVolk]

If you can't get it off by rocking it back and forth ,what I would do is get a cheap extension from harbor freight etc and weld the extension to the baring tool ,at least then you can still use it it ,you could also take a propane torch and heat it up a bit

 

[Man_of_Constant_Sorrow]

Ah! "rocking it back and forth" ... good suggestion, Donovan. In a way, obvious, but I didn't think of it because I could not feel any play at all by hand. I used a pry bar, alternating between the 3 o'clock and 8 o'clock positions ... it would have been nicer and easier to pry at 12 and 6, but I couldn't find a tool to use at 12, working from under the truck on the ground and all that. After a time, the tool started to move and eventually came out. There was a chunk out of the plastic sleeve as a result of my previous extraction attempts. I then cleaned up the barring hole with scotchbrite and emery cloth. I oiled it and the tool, and tried again. The tool really does not fit. However, the sleeve comes off, so I tried it without the sleeve. A bit sloppy in the hole, but it did engage the flywheel teeth and turned the engine.

Thanks, all, and to sum up -- if you've never used a barring tool before, clean the hole, oil or grease the tool, check the fit -- if it does not go easily, don't force it, it may just not fit due to manufacturing variations. If it has a removable sleeve, try it without the sleeve.

 

[DVolk]

I just thought of a way to buy a little bit of room use a brake hone or a sand paper roll to clean the bore out for the baring tool , the one I have I bought from Cummins and works fine but is a touch snug

 

[Man_of_Constant_Sorrow]

I might need to do something like that. At first, I merely used the tool to counterhold the engine as I removed the vibration damper (harmonic balancer). Now I am trying to turn it and it turns a bit then slips. I'm afraid this may be the result of the slop from removing the sleeve, and that I may be damaging the flywheel teeth. The tool does not look damaged, but the black coating has been worn off uniformly around the tip of the splines. Perhaps that's normal, but I turn the ratchet handle about 90 degrees and then tool slips. I can see that the engine is turning, because I have the timing cover off to do the KDP repair. Is there any other trick / tip / finesse required to properly use this tool? It seems like it should be pretty simple, but that's not my experience so far!

 

[GAmes]

I had one like that. I bought a new one from Genos and tossed the one that didn't fully engage the teeth. https://www.genosgarage.com/product/tool-ltbt/tools

 

[DVolk]

I'd get ahold of some good quality wide tape and put a wrap or so on the tool and see what happens maybe that will take up the slop

 

[Man_of_Constant_Sorrow]

I sanded down the sleeve. Got it to fit reasonably well, and it takes up the slop. But it still feels like the tool slips. It may be like GAmes said, and the tool just isn't engaging the teeth properly. I am checking into my warranty options. I tried taking pictures of the barring hole, since I couldn't see in there directly. The pics aren't good enough to post, but it sort of looks like the barring hole doesn't line up exactly right with the bellhousing ... don't know if that could be true, may just be the difficulty of getting a straight view into the hole.

 

[Woodenhead]

Might also depend on if your barring tool was intended for a later model truck with the ring gear in a different spot. When I installed my Southbend dual disc clutch (DD3250) I had to use a spacer behind the starter because the ring gear was in a different spot (I think that's a 24V thing). Later when I went to use the same barring tool I've had for 15 years it would just bind with the ring gear and not turn, I ended up having to make a spacer to hold the barring tool out a bit. Maybe you have a barring tool for a 24V and it's having a hard time reaching your 12V ring gear? I'm just thinking out loud here, I've never actually seen two different barring tools.