EPL Stage 2 Install gone wrong, WAY wrong... HELP Needed! - Western, MA

[Zackb911]

I've been working on installing my EPL Stage 2 pulley using the CTS Turbo install kit and just had the CTS Turbo pulley removal kit break mid-install!

Everything was going fine until removing the stock pulley, it was becoming a bear to turn even with plenty of leverage. I had it half way removed and then about 5 minutes ago the center bolt for the CTS removal tool just snapped on me!!!

I was able to remove the tool from the pulley but the pulley is half removed now (meaning the belt wouldn't be aligned properly if I put it back on as it is). The center bolt won't unscrew from the tool either as I can no longer get a sufficient grip on the bolt. Basically, I'm stranded unless someone is local and has a tool to remove my pulley... Not to mention I have no other car and need to travel for work on Monday.

Any tips, help, or ideas would be appreciated. I'd pay handsomely if anyone is local and wants to save the day .

[jimrobbington]

Damn! Good luck!

[beans912]

You could try a puller like this one autozone rents. I have a better one and am in marlboro if your can get a ride to pick it up you can use it. The one pictured is like the one I have.

http://www.autozone.com/loan-a-tools...?checkfit=true

[def]

Not sure if the ecu will throw any codes but I'm pretty sure in a pinch you can drive without the SC belt. Had to do that on an older car of mine once. Other than being gutless I wasn't stranded.

[Tony@EPL]

I unfortunately have seen this happen before... And have seen other tools failed as well (actually most brands fail after a few uses).

The easy solution is grind what's left of the center bolt flat on 4 sides and used a large adjustable very slowly to finish the removal.

If we supplied the tool I will supply at 100% refund on Monday.

This is why we no longer supply tools for removal and why we are designing and producing our own....

[lowjonathan]

yes u can drive without SC belt but keep the rpm low
the CEL will pop up in 80miles

once u clear it, u still. can drive it

[rtl5009]

Rent a car or drive with out the charger.

[BlownOne]

The easy solution is grind what's left of the center bolt flat on 4 sides and used a large adjustable very slowly to finish the removal.

That's a hell of a solution Tony! Op this is the easiest option you have...use a metal file if you don't have a grinder and make the bolt either square (4 flat sides) or rectangular (2 flat sides) if you can turn the bolt far enough each rotation.

Will

[JoshDub]

Get a pair of vice grips and slap them on that bolt tight. They make some with allen or hex adjusters in the handles that adjust tightness.

[Zackb911]

That's a hell of a solution Tony! Op this is the easiest option you have...use a metal file if you don't have a grinder and make the bolt either square (4 flat sides) or rectangular (2 flat sides) if you can turn the bolt far enough each rotation.

Will

I gave this a shot with a bench grinder and then taking vice grips(to the point my hands are bruised), but no matter how much leverage I put on it the bolt will not back out of the tool. The bolt will just not move in either direction rendering the $160 tool junk and no longer useable in any fashion.

I also rented a puller like the one posted above from AdvanceAuto but given the room and setup it won't work for this job.

At this point I need another pulley removal tool ASAP if I'm to finish the job at home. If I can't get it removed I'll see about driving it the ~80 Miles w/o the S/C belt to Excellerate Performance in CT and having them install and flash APR Stage 2, though I'm not 100% sure driving that far without the S/C belt is a good idea. Third option might be to pull the Supercharger off the car and take it to a shop for removal of the pulley...

[jimrobbington]

I gave this a shot with a bench grinder and then taking vice grips(to the point my hands are bruised), but no matter how much leverage I put on it the bolt will not back out of the tool. The bolt will just not move in either direction rendering the $160 tool junk and no longer useable in any fashion.

I also rented a puller like the one posted above from AdvanceAuto but given the room and setup it won't work for this job.

At this point I need another pulley removal tool ASAP if I'm to finish the job at home. If I can't get it removed I'll see about driving it the ~80 Miles w/o the S/C belt to Excellerate Performance in CT and having them install and flash APR Stage 2, though I'm not 100% sure driving that far without the S/C belt is a good idea.

I'm guessing it's similar to what I would do on the A4 when I blew an intercooler hose. Unplug the MAF and it would run sans turbo. However, 80 miles seems like an awful long way to limp...

@Tony@EPL, is it safe to drive that way?

[dizzlesizzle]

how much harm could really be done if you don't have the belt connected? I can see much less HP but what could actually harm the motor?

[Zackb911]

It appears from threads for other makes (AMG Mercedes, Pontiacs, Cobras, etc) with similar roots S/C engines that it is ok to run without the belt. Only issues are massive loss of power and that the S/C now acts as an air restriction so keep the RPMs low.

I sent CTS Turbo a message and link to this thread yesterday, I'm curious to see if they respond next week and stand behind their product. According to Tony this isn't the first time, wish I had known that before I attempted this myself.

[Tony@EPL]

I gave this a shot with a bench grinder and then taking vice grips(to the point my hands are bruised), but no matter how much leverage I put on it the bolt will not back out of the tool. The bolt will just not move in either direction rendering the $160 tool junk and no longer useable in any fashion.

I also rented a puller like the one posted above from AdvanceAuto but given the room and setup it won't work for this job.

At this point I need another pulley removal tool ASAP if I'm to finish the job at home. If I can't get it removed I'll see about driving it the ~80 Miles w/o the S/C belt to Excellerate Performance in CT and having them install and flash APR Stage 2, though I'm not 100% sure driving that far without the S/C belt is a good idea. Third option might be to pull the Supercharger off the car and take it to a shop for removal of the pulley...

If you bring the blower... I will have the install done at no charge to you.

[Bsimms]

Not sure what the threads look like, but can you do the double nut trick? Always worked on studs for me


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[jimrobbington]

Not sure what the threads look like, but can you do the double nut trick? Always worked on studs for me


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That makes perfect sense, but would never have thought of that.

[jsh139]

Not sure what the threads look like, but can you do the double nut trick? Always worked on studs for me


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That's a damn good idea right there.

[dizzlesizzle]

yeah it would have been before he took the bench grinder to all 4 sides.

[Joker S4]

yeah it would have been before he took the bench grinder to all 4 sides.

Beat me to it, I wonder what it looks like right now. OP, is there any way you could get nuts on there anymore?

[Zackb911]

So no more messing around with the CTS Turbo tool, it's toast. No amount of lubricant or leverage was moving that bolt. I have no idea why it won't even unthread, it's just completely stuck. I did send CTS a link to this thread so we'll see if they contact me or offer a replacement.

The car is back together and driving without the S/C belt on it. It actually runs and drives totally fine, just without the power and whine of course. I flashed it back to stock and drove it ~20 miles to AdvanceAuto to return the pulley tool I rented without issue, it's a little creepy with the engine being so quiet... (I did reinstall the belt and start it initially to see how bad the alignment was, but the belt was hanging off the tensioner by a few millimeters so I removed it rather than risking it.)

The plan is to hopefully drive it to Excellerate Performance in CT next week for a Stage 2 install. Just have to wait until they're open on Monday to see if they can squeeze me in later in the week.

[Rez90]

no way to get another bolt at a local auto parts store or HD or Lowes?

[Joker S4]

no way to get another bolt at a local auto parts store or HD or Lowes?

I'm a little confused as to what this would accomplish. Am I missing something?

[14S4GWM]

I'm a little confused as to what this would accomplish. Am I missing something?

You're not missing anything, won't do a thing.

[Rez90]

grab the broken bolt with a pair of vice grips....unscrew and remove it......and screw the new one in and finish the job?

[Midnight_Rider]

I'm all for Autozone tool rental. But, if anything, get someone else to let you borrow the tool. I would advise against starting the car.

Only thing that popped in my head is that screw wasn't going in straight, and you forced it, thus breaking. I mean, that's the only thing I can speculate.

[DannyDeez]

So no more messing around with the CTS Turbo tool, it's toast. No amount of lubricant or leverage was moving that bolt. I have no idea why it won't even unthread, it's just completely stuck. I did send CTS a link to this thread so we'll see if they contact me or offer a replacement.

The car is back together and driving without the S/C belt on it. It actually runs and drives totally fine, just without the power and whine of course. I flashed it back to stock and drove it ~20 miles to AdvanceAuto to return the pulley tool I rented without issue, it's a little creepy with the engine being so quiet... (I did reinstall the belt and start it initially to see how bad the alignment was, but the belt was hanging off the tensioner by a few millimeters so I removed it rather than risking it.)

The plan is to hopefully drive it to Excellerate Performance in CT next week for a Stage 2 install. Just have to wait until they're open on Monday to see if they can squeeze me in later in the week.

Curious why you're not taking Tony up on his offer? Seems like he's trying to make it right for you.

[Joker S4]

grab the broken bolt with a pair of vice grips....unscrew and remove it......and screw the new one in and finish the job?

That's just it though, he can't get the bolt out. He's tried several ways. So a new bolt won't help anything.

[Joker S4]

Curious why you're not taking Tony up on his offer? Seems like he's trying to make it right for you.

x2. Tony said to bring it by and he'd fix it. Are you not willing to run the EPL tune anymore because of this?

[Rez90]

That's just it though, he can't get the bolt out. He's tried several ways. So a new bolt won't help anything.

I see. didn't read that part.

[14S4GWM]

Op, did you chase the bolt through the threads before starting to see if it was snagging on anything and running freely? I think it's cross threaded very badly.

[saxon]

with as fine as the threads are you really need to lube up the bolt/threads of the tool before using it

once i lubed up the tool i had it made it much easier to use

[Zackb911]

The bolt was well threaded into the tool when it locked up on me(there's a good ~1/2" sticking out the other end), so I don't think it was cross threaded. I didn't fully run it through the threads before using it though so it's entirely possible there was some defect to the threads in the middle.

Tony has been very helpful and offered tips and even offered to install the pulley for free if I removed the S/C and brought it to him. He also offered a full refund if I wanted it. I took him up on the later as I've had a several other little issues in my EPL experience that has frustrated me. At this point I just want to go APR and call it a day. I have to give Tony credit for being in contact on the weekend and standing behind his product with a satisfaction guarantee. He's the best bang for the buck when it comes to tuning on this platform, but for me I'll feel more comfortable paying more and going the APR route.

Saxon's tip is spot on. I think when it was starting to fight me, backing off and applying more anti-seize may have helped, I just never expected the bolt to snap like it did. ECS supplies Liqui-Moly with their kits, go nuts with it!

[14S4GWM]

I know it sucks and your going through a painful experience right now but the service you're going to get from Tony will probably be way better then APR in the long run.

[dizzlesizzle]

I know it sucks and your going through a painful experience right now but the service you're going to get from Tony will probably be way better then APR in the long run.

I will have to agree with this, your better off going with Tony over APR.

[Zackb911]

I know it sucks and your going through a painful experience right now but the service you're going to get from Tony will probably be way better then APR in the long run.

I would agree. My decision isn't a rational one, it's born of frustration. I had scheduling issues, communication issues, product shipping delays, flash loader issues and now this. Most of the issues were small and forgivable but If I'm spending thousands, I want/expect zero issues. I'll spend a lot more for APR, but I doubt I'll have any issues.

[doug97gxe]

I would agree. My decision isn't a rational one, it's born of frustration. I had scheduling issues, communication issues, product shipping delays, flash loader issues and now this. Most of the issues were small and forgivable but If I'm spending thousands, I want/expect zero issues. I'll spend a lot more for APR, but I doubt I'll have any issues.

i would choose a dealer much closer to you.. no matter what the tune is.. my buddy with his MK7 GTI had 2 APR tunes till he got frustrated it wasn't working right and Excelerate refunded him both times for his tune.. he however had to pay for labor .. but he lives 10 mins from them

[Zackb911]

I should add that Tony has been in touch with me via PM all weekend and he's willing to do whatever it takes to make me happy. I'll be in touch with him next week and we'll see what happens.

Also just to be clear, this thread was simply looking for ideas or assistance in fixing the pulley situation. In no way am I trying to disparage EPL or dissuade anyone from going EPL.

[treejs4]

Unfortunately I had dealt with a similar scenario 2 weeks ago when my awe downpipe removal tool snapped in two pieces on the last bolt. Worst feeling ever.

[shonseb]

Sometimes applying heat will help loosen. If you have a heat gun you could have tried heating the bolt and then loosen.

[Acejam]

Sometimes applying heat will help loosen. If you have a heat gun you could have tried heating the bolt and then loosen.

For a stuck bolt you typically want to apply heat to the surrounding component the bolt is stuck in - not the bolt itself. Heat expands = bolt expands = stuck even more. However, apply heat to the surrounding pulley, and the pulley will expand, releasing it's tight grip on the bolt.