Water Pump Pulley Tool
What?
A mechanic’s hand tool for taking water pump pulleys off a car.
Why?
There’s almost no room around the pulley, so power tools don’t fit, and the pulley spins as soon as you try to loosen a bolt.
How?
A socket at one end locks onto one bolt so the pulley can’t turn, while the ratchet works through the long slot on the next. The slot fits different bolt spacings, so one tool fits many cars.
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A mechanic’s tool for dismantling water pump pulleys. Getting a pulley off a car is harder than it sounds: there is very little room around it, so electric and pneumatic tools often can’t fit, and mechanics end up using small hand tools or removing other parts first. On top of that, the pulley spins as soon as you try to loosen its screws, so everyone improvises their own way of holding it still.
This tool holds the pulley for you. A socket at one end locks onto one of the pulley’s bolts and stops it from turning, while the ratchet works through the long slot on the next bolt. The length of the slot covers the different bolt spacings of different vehicles, so one tool fits many pulleys.
The process moved from how the tool sits on the pulley, through proportions and side profiles, to how the hand grips it while pushing against the ratchet. I then shaped quick clay models to feel the forms in the hand before settling on the final one.
