Been hunting the official camshaft locking tool for my engine and finally hit the wall. Rang the manufacturer, rang two distributors, even emailed the parts department directly. Same answer every time: trade accounts only, and they won't open one for a private buyer. The tool is basially two shaped plates and some bolts. That's it. A bloke on another forum reckoned dealers sometimes sell the kit to customers, so I tried my local one. They quoted me for the full kit plus labour to fit it, no tool on its own. So I measured the slots on the cam ends, traced the profile onto some 10mm plate offcuts, and cut them out with the angle grinder. Took an afternoon and a pile of snapped cutting discs, but it lines up true and holds both cams dead level while the belt comes off. Part of me gets why they gate these things. They want the job done properly so warranty claims stay low. Still stings a bit that a lump of cut steel counts as a trade secret.
Spent two weeks chasing a factory tool the company flat out refuses to sell me
Oct 10, 2026
Last reply: 3 hours ago
6 Replies
Same wall here, diffrent tool. I wanted the crankshaft sprocket holding tool for the timing chain job on my old Honda, and the supplier told me flat out it was a dealer-only item. Rang three factors, all of them said the same thing, it only sells with a trade account and they would not budge. The daft thing is it is basically a flat bar with two pegs welded on, maybe twenty quid of steel at most.
What worked for me in the end was asking a mate who does mobile mechanics. He ordered it through his account and I paid him back with a case of beer and helped him bleed his brakes the same weekend. Worth trying if you know anyone in the trade, even a gardener with a van account sometimes gets trade pricing at the factors.
I also had a go at making one first, out of some 6mm bar and a couple of bolts through drilled holes, and honestly it worked fine for holding the sprocket while I cracked the bolt. Not pretty, but the engine never knew the difference. I do get why they do it to an extent. These tools stop people rounding off cam sprockets with a screwdriver and a hammer, wich causes them grief down the line. But charging dealer money for a bent bit of steel and refusing to sell it to the person whose engine it fits does feel a bit rich.
Same frustration, but my way round it was secondhand. Needed the flywheel locking pin for my VW estate a couple of years back and got the same trade-only runaround from the factors near me. What worked in the end was keeping an eye on the local auction site listings for months until a retiring mechanic shifted his whole toolbox lot. Got a proper kit with three pins I will probably never use for less than the dealer wanted for one. The trick is being patient and casting the net wider than your own town. Garage closures happen all the time and the family clearing the unit ussually has no idea what the tools are worth. I also ask at the counter of my local motorfactor whether they know anyone who is packing up, which got me a lead on a full engine support beam that way too.
Fair point on the making-your-own route though. Mine would have been beyond an angle grinder, some of those locking pins are stepped and tapered in ways I could not copy in the shed.
Had the same sort of thing with a suspension compressor plate for my old estate. What saved me was a little fabrication shop round the corner. Took a photo of the tool from the manual, they made it up from scrap in an hour and charged me less than a takeaway. Cheaper than a mate's trade account too, and no beer debts. Might be worth asking any local welder or engineering place, most of them find it a laugh more than anything. Mind you, mine didn't need precise slots like your cam plates do, so the grinder route was probly the only real option there.
Not buying the 'it stops bodgers' arguement from the first reply. A bloke with a screwdriver and a hammer doesn't check wheather the proper tool exists before he has a go, so gating it changes nothing for him. It only inconveniences the careful ones who'd actually use it right. When I needed the injector puller for my old diesel, I found the part number in the exploded diagram in the service manual and asked the dealer parts desk to order that code on its own. Took two goes and some chin-wagging, but it turned up in a week for sensible money. The gate is a door, not a wall, once you know the code.
Did the same thing but with wood in the end. Cam lock plates for a belt change on my old hatch, traced the profile onto an offcut of 18mm ply and cut it with a jigsaw. Ten minutes instead of an afternoon, and since it only ever holds the cams steady against a hand-turned sprocket, the ply has lasted three belt jobs now. Only tip I'd give is cut it slightly oversize first and file back to fit, because the cam slots on mine were a couple of thou bigger on one end than the other and the first version wouldn't seat flat.
Update: took the fab shop idea from the reply above and rang one near the industrial estate about making a proper second set, since my grinder efforts are ugly but workable. They asked for dimensions I don't acutally have, just the traced outline. Does anyone know if the workshop manuals usually list the plate thickness, or do I measure off the tool I made and hope it's right?
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