Variator Tool

mtheall · Post by **mtheall** » Thu May 28, 2015 11:26 am

I'm ready to change my variator, but I'm stuck on the part of removing the drive nut. I see there's a special tool that goes into the holes on the drive face pulley to lock it, and some have posted shots of home-made tools. I have seen in other places the suggestion of locking the piston instead.

Questions:
1. If I want to make a home-made tool, what size bolts are needed? This tool doesn't look like it will be usable with the NCY drive face pulley that I ordered.
2. If I want to lock the piston, I have seen people shove rope through the spark plug hole. Does that seem even remotely safe?

Dave Bo · Post by **Dave Bo** » Thu May 28, 2015 12:02 pm

I made a tool out of a piece of scrap plywood I had in the basement. It kind of looked like a slingshot but with a circle in the middle. The circle needs to be big enough to allow a socket through it. I then measured the distance between the two holes in the vario ( 80CM I think...) and drilled two small holes into the "arms" of the slingshot. Next, I found two 10-24 x 1 1/2" bolts and screwed them into the two small holes. Also, the "handle" of the slingshot needs to be about 8 to 10" long. After I inserted the two 10-24 x 1 1/2" screws into the two vario holes, I screwed one of the long transmission cover screws back into the middle tapped hole. The handle of the slingshot rested on that screw and I was able to grip the socket wrench with both hands to loosen that nut.

After I installed the new Vario, I covered the threads of the 10-24 screws with a couple of small pieces of tubing. Then I simply inserted then in between the fins of the new vario and did the above process in reverse...

I hope this helps...

Alibally · Post by **Alibally** » Thu May 28, 2015 12:27 pm

Found this on the tinternet

fish · Post by **fish** » Thu May 28, 2015 12:56 pm

Variator tool, ebay, $12
I bought one for my scoots, works great.
Fish
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VARIATOR-REMOVE ... 01&vxp=mtr

you you · Post by **you you** » Thu May 28, 2015 1:58 pm

fish wrote:Variator tool, ebay, $12
I bought one for my scoots, works great.
Fish
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VARIATOR-REMOVE ... 01&vxp=mtr

Same here

mtheall · Post by **mtheall** » Thu May 28, 2015 2:33 pm

Wasn't there something about this tool's pegs being slightly too large? Or was that a tool from amazon?

mtheall · Post by **mtheall** » Thu May 28, 2015 2:40 pm

Also can anyone comment on using the rope as a piston stop? How about the variator tool use on the NCY drive face which doesn't have the boss holes?

gn2 · Post by **gn2** » Thu May 28, 2015 3:14 pm

mtheall wrote:Also can anyone comment on using the rope as a piston stop?

Might be OK, might trash your engine.

you you · Post by **you you** » Thu May 28, 2015 3:30 pm

mtheall wrote:Wasn't there something about this tool's pegs being slightly too large? Or was that a tool from amazon?

Who know, do you?

fun2scoot · Post by **fun2scoot** » Sat May 30, 2015 6:15 am

mtheall wrote:Wasn't there something about this tool's pegs being slightly too large? Or was that a tool from amazon?

I don't know if all the cheap variator tools at auction sites are the same, but the one I bought* had pegs too large to fit the PCX OEM variator. Used my grinder to reduce them easily enough. For variators with no holding inserts you will need a strap wrench or a chain wrench. Lowes has a very good quality strap wrench with nice, sticky rubber.

* Full Disclosure: Ebay refunded my money when I filed "item not as described". The seller "Josh"-ed me with the old bait-n-switch. He has (still has) a picture of a shiny high-quality U.S.-made tool, but ships the Chinese knockoff. Ebay's new policy is if seller and buyer cannot resolve, Ebay defaults to the buyer and just takes the refund from the seller's account. He proved to be a nasty, unsavory bloke who wouldn't pay return shipping, so I just ground the tool down to make it work.

maddiedog · Post by **maddiedog** » Mon Jun 01, 2015 10:50 am

mtheall wrote:Also can anyone comment on using the rope as a piston stop?

Terrible idea.

It's fine on 2-strokes, but you can get rope in your valves, bend a valve, and kill your engine. I'd just use the variator tool.

http://www.amazon.com/Motion-Pro-08-000 ... B000HS4NA8 is what I use. It works well. You put the pegs between the fins, and don't hammer on it to avoid breaking fins. I've never had trouble, but have heard of people breaking fins from being too enthusiastic with their application of force. You just hold with the tool, and apply the torque to the wrench on the nut, not the tool.

mtheall · Post by **mtheall** » Mon Jun 01, 2015 10:13 pm

Thanks maddiedog. I went ahead and bought some rolled steel and built my own tool. It was cake to take off the variator set. I bought the NCY set but I have only received the drive face and the rollers; the variator is apparently still on the sea, so I probably won't see it for a few weeks. In the mean time, I replaced only the rollers (new ones are 13g). The rpm's seem like REALLY high, but I'm used to full stock so maybe what I'm experiencing is normal. I assume I need to drive it for like 60-100 miles before the ECU "learns" the new dynamics? Will the new drive face + variator make much of a difference over just changing the weights? Should I go back to stock weights until I have the full set? I will say I went 0-40mph super fast (felt like 5 seconds maybe?), but I never really gunned it before on stock. Please tell me all of the things!

P.S.: I used 1/4" bolts instead of M6; they fit perfectly in the variator holes; there was no wiggle room like the M6's had, but it wasn't so tight that I had to thread it.

tbln930 · Post by **tbln930** » Thu Jun 04, 2015 5:29 pm

A bit old but yes the popular tool on Amazon had nubs that are too large for the OEM variator and the NCY doesn't even have holes. I still used it very carefully against the fins and managed to reach the proper torque but it is not the right tool for the PCX NCY upgrade.

mtheall · Post by **mtheall** » Thu Jun 04, 2015 6:10 pm

I did try a strap wrench first but it always slipped. I could not find a way to make it not slip.

maddiedog · Post by **maddiedog** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 9:38 am

mtheall wrote: In the mean time, I replaced only the rollers (new ones are 13g). The rpm's seem like REALLY high, but I'm used to full stock so maybe what I'm experiencing is normal. I assume I need to drive it for like 60-100 miles before the ECU "learns" the new dynamics? Will the new drive face + variator make much of a difference over just changing the weights? Should I go back to stock weights until I have the full set? I will say I went 0-40mph super fast (felt like 5 seconds maybe?), but I never really gunned it before on stock. Please tell me all of the things!

The ECU adapts to changes in fuel and air, but won't change anything because of a drivetrain change.

If you're accelerating super fast, the weights are probably too light.

A variator and drive face will change the acceleration throughout (may accelerate faster between some speeds, slower through others), can change top speed, and will change how the engine RPMs are at speeds. It takes some trial and error to find a combination that you like.

mtheall · Post by **mtheall** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 11:39 am

Thanks. Still waiting for the variator to show up. Once it arrives I'll install it and see how it goes. Hopefully it'll kind of balance out the lighter weights. If not, I'll just try some new weights; at least that part isn't really expensive, and I won't have to wait a month for them to show up.

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