Tekton wrenches USA

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Does MB have a special tool you could buy or fabricate? Can you drop/lower the front sub frame while holding the engine with a cross fixture?
No special tool was listed in the Mercedes WIS.

I’ve already tried the fabrication route, turning a combination wrench into a line wrench - too long to fit. Bending a combination wrench to fit, but the angle is too acute, so the open end starts to slip. Can’t afford to damage the pressure line hex fitting. So, backed off the fabricated tool route and went after the “making more room” route.

Lowering the subframe and lifting the engine are the same thing in terms of clearance. My cross fixture doesn’t work on this engine because the lift point is so far forward that the fixture sits on the headlights (not good) so, it’s either cherry picker to lift engine, or bottle jack with wood brace under the oil pan to hold engine while the subframe is lowered. Either method works for moving thr engine, honestly. Lowering the subframe (which I’ve done to replace engine mounts) requires fighting the suspension as the control arms pivot, so, engine lift was my next step.

Home next week. If I can get leverage with the 17mm Tekton, I can save the whole engine/subframe hassle.
 
You probably already tried this but I have had good luck using the Astro line crowfoot, I fit it on first so I can see the square drive from somewhere, upper, lower so I can get a long extension in there with maybe a swivel then just hit it lightly with the cordless impact.
This loosens them up with ease so you can finish removing it with a stubby, it is also the best/easiest way I have found to remove stuck O2 sensors using a socket like this one. It just walks the O2 around slowly making it easy to remove by hand.

https://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-47749...s=Oxygen+Sensor+Wrench&qid=1633088731&sr=8-20
 
With the crowfoot on the fitting, the drive square in the crowfoot is covered by the rack housing on one side, and there is about 3/8” clearance between crowfoot and subframe on the other side.

No extension, drive, or ratchet fits on the crowfoot as a result.

The rack is bolted to the subframe, which appears to have been molded around it.

The pressure line has a 90 degree block in it just prior to the hex fitting, so a line wrench won’t fit. Proto, SK, and SK crowfoot line wrenches won’t go over the block because they are too thick to fit between the block and the fitting.

You actually can’t see where the fitting is. Too tight. Too tight to get my hand in there. Ive been using a mirror and my endoscope to see.

Trust me, I’ve tried everything.
 
Tekton's customer service is second to none. I ordered a socket set and got 2 12mm sockets andno 10mm. I emailed customer service, received a reply in 10 min req a pic, sent the pic to them and had a 10mm shorty in 2 days from MI to TX. Order their stuff on their website and get 10% back on every order plus a bunch freebies. They alsolist the COO on every tool.
 
Brake line wrenches don’t fit..too thick. Crow foot 3/8” drive don’t fit...the drive is too big to fit in the space. Combination wrenches don’t fit...too long. My stubby combination fits, but I can’t get enough leverage to break it loose.

Trust me when I say it’s difficult. When I’m considering lifting the engine, you know I’ve tried about everything.
Keep us posted on what needs done. I might have to do that same job sometime. 😶
 
With the crowfoot on the fitting, the drive square in the crowfoot is covered by the rack housing on one side, and there is about 3/8” clearance between crowfoot and subframe on the other side.

No extension, drive, or ratchet fits on the crowfoot as a result.

The rack is bolted to the subframe, which appears to have been molded around it.

The pressure line has a 90 degree block in it just prior to the hex fitting, so a line wrench won’t fit. Proto, SK, and SK crowfoot line wrenches won’t go over the block because they are too thick to fit between the block and the fitting.

You actually can’t see where the fitting is. Too tight. Too tight to get my hand in there. Ive been using a mirror and my endoscope to see.

Trust me, I’ve tried everything.
One last suggestion.

The crows foot brake line thing as mentioned above and this? 3/8” end and you put a 9/16” box end on the nut side.

A pain to use, but you can hot glue stuff together as a more permanent temporary solution. Soak in isopropyl to remove the glue when done.

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Brake line wrenches don’t fit..too thick. Crow foot 3/8” drive don’t fit...the drive is too big to fit in the space. Combination wrenches don’t fit...too long. My stubby combination fits, but I can’t get enough leverage to break it loose.

Trust me when I say it’s difficult. When I’m considering lifting the engine, you know I’ve tried about everything.
you can make any thick wrench a thin wrench in just a few minutes.
 
you can make any thick wrench a thin wrench in just a few minutes.
Did that. The wrench itself bent and began to slip under the torque.

The new Tekton wrench got a good grip, but the hex on the line fitting began to distort under torque.

I lifted the engine, then lowered the sub frame and removed the rack with the pressure line still attached.

Once on the bench, I removed the line with heat and a better wrench.

The fitting in the line had actually begun to distort under the torque. It didn’t come out smoothly. It wouldn’t spin smoothly on the line. An open end would fit on each of the three sets of flats, but a box end or socket wouldn’t fit, because the fitting was no longer symmetrical. I reshaped it in my vise, so that a box end would fit, but in the end, I bought a new line to go with the new rack. Better than re-installing a fitting that had had that level of stress.
 
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