Mystery nut/socket combo

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Of course, once I got off my lazy ass and researched more at the source instead of going straight to Google I learned a great deal more!
Ok, so first off, I mis-read the specs of the original engine pretty horribly. It's not a 1400cc engine, it's a 1400 CID engine. Big difference! That would certainly explain the dual bolts on the con rods, to say the least. And as for the vehicle source, it wasn't a car, bike, or a plane... it's a tank! A German Panther tank, to be exact, circa 1944. The engine is a Maybach 230. Here's the site with the thread for the curious:
    http://corner-carvers.com/forums/showthread.php?t 756
(For those of you unfamiliar with that particular site, it's an automotive forum generally dedicated to professional and amateur racing, not of the "on street" variety. Lots of... shall we say... "dominant" personalities there, and while they do come up with some interesting stuff from time to time, even by their own admission it's not a particularly friendly and sociable place for those who aren't already in-the-know.)
So much for my ballpark guess on torque specs for the thing. Probably also ruins any chance of finding some kind of official tool name for it, but at least it gives a better direction for research. Tank engine guts... any war machinery historians out there?

From the picture I wonder if this is an engine I heard of once where there is no big end bearing in the normal sense, instead the crank web is round and runs in bearings on its outer surface. I was told it was German but used in a patrol boat, might still be the same basic engine.
The Hurdy Gurdy Man wrote:
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"The Hurdy Gurdy Man" wrote in message ...
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...................... a TANK ENGINE ..............!
Now it turns out that this is an "inside joke" in my family; It's funny and ; I laughed out loud...
When an uncle of mine came accross the German for Allenwrench:
Winkelschraubendreheri Inbusschlüssel
He maintained that one of the reasons that Germany lost in WWII was because they could not get tools or parts for their equipment on time - It took to long to write out the requests... ;-}
The "tank engine" that required both this castelated nut, and its wrench, support his belief. I would love to see the original "tank manual" reference for the tool and parts listing... Thanks, JHbs

wrote:
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The mechanics manual for BWM motorcycles used to be printed in four languages in parallel, including German and English, broken down by steps. The English was typically about half the length of the German.
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There's a possibility you might actually get your wish. Armored fighting vehicles and associated printed material have been collectors items for a long time. There are a lot more Panther tanks in existence than there are Maybach automobiles. I believe that a lot of the manuals and such have been preserved as well.
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--RC "Sometimes history doesn't repeat itself. It just yells 'can't you remember anything I've told you?' and lets fly with a club. -- John W. Cambell Jr.

The Hurdy Gurdy Man wrote:
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given.
source
horribly.
That
least.
it's a
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a
automotive
the
personalities
time
and
Probably also
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but
guts...
OK, so it's a tank diesel, that'd explain the heavy lower end. It also explains the special nuts. In a couple of book I have on armor and tank development, the authors mention that the Germans originally designed their armored vehicles to be shipped back to the factory when they needed service. Not much of a problem in western Europe where railroads are plentiful, kind of hard in Russia where railroads were fairly rare and a wider gauge to boot. So chances are the wrench for those nuts was a non-standard specialty item and was probably only to be found in the factory.
Stan

The Hurdy Gurdy Man wrote:
  Quoted Text Here  
given.
source
horribly.
That
least.
it's a
  Quoted Text Here  
a
automotive
the
personalities
time
and
Probably also
  Quoted Text Here  
but
guts...
OK, so it's a tank diesel, that'd explain the heavy lower end. It also explains the special nuts. In a couple of book I have on armor and tank development, the authors mention that the Germans originally designed their armored vehicles to be shipped back to the factory when they needed service. Not much of a problem in western Europe where railroads are plentiful, kind of hard in Russia where railroads were fairly rare and a wider gauge to boot. So chances are the wrench for those nuts was a non-standard specialty item and was probably only to be found in the factory.
Stan

On Tue, 04 Jan 2005 23:13:23 GMT, The Hurdy Gurdy Man
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It may well have come off a Maybach V-12, but if so it wasn't a 1400 cc engine. Maybach's Zeppelin line of luxury automobiles was powered by V-12s, but they started at more than 6 liters. AFIK the smallest engine Maybach ever made was between 3 and 4 liters and used in cars in the late 30s. However I don't think it was a V-12.
I don't think Maybach ever built motorcycles.
14 liters maybe.
--RC
"Sometimes history doesn't repeat itself. It just yells 'can't you remember anything I've told you?' and lets fly with a club. -- John W. Cambell Jr.

OK you have a Mercedes specific nut so you need a Mercedes socket. Try calling (800) 741-5252 or check out http://parts.mbz.org .
I have found that this is the cheapest place to get Mercedes parts, and if an aftermarket tool exists they will probably sell them.

The Hurdy Gurdy Man wrote:
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If that's your understanding, don't ever take the back off a self winding watch!

The Hurdy Gurdy Man wrote:
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Well I don't know how you searched Google but there's plenty of mention and illustrations of spanner sockets.. As for the spanner sockets in question, they're still in my 90s Snap On cat. Look at the sizes involved and the drive size, they aren't for the average auto! :-)
Tom

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I typed in "spanner sockets" and hit search. Which returns lots of pictures of those two prong pin spanners, not something that would be the inverse of the nut pictured. I spent a good hour or so clicking on just about every link, and I think maybe one or two turned up something like the socket picture, but it was never a page that had a clear description and a proper name. Usually some crusty and esoteric page on an old server in the UK somewhere. I was hoping it'd turn up in a tool catalog online someplace, but no such luck.
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I noticed that, which leads me to believe that the socket picture from the old Snap-On catalog is for a different type of nut with a similar design. Supposedly the nut in the photograph is slightly over a half inch in diameter, and is used to hold together a connecting rod in an engine.
While searching around a bit more later, I did have better luck searching for "castellated socket" and "castle socket." Those turned up something closer... mostly references to a tool used for suspension components on some motorcycles, but no pictures and no links to sources of the tool. Also it turned up links for tools to remove the knuckles from certain 4WD vehicles. Still no luck on finding the "actual" tool for the nut in question, though.

On Tue, 04 Jan 2005 01:45:00 GMT, The Hurdy Gurdy Man
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Try "spanner wrench". The easiest way to get one is to take a piece of steel, drill the ID, and saw the "teeth" into the other end. Drill another hole for a bar to turn it. I used to make them from pipe for automotive work. A die grinder with a 1/16" x 4" wheel works just fine. I couldn't wait for the SnapOn or MAC guy so I made my own. One I had to make an actual spanner wrench for was the headlight switch bezel nut on some old Chebby. Old 4x4 3/4 ton front wheel bearing nuts were the same problem. If you didn't have the 4"-ish socket, you might be SOL.
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