I did a pin/stud repair a few years ago, and it's holding well. The biggest concern that was raised to me that I thought was valid was that punching holes in the end of the crank nose might lead to weakening it.
After a few years, no problems yet. The car doesn't owe me anything though, so I'm curiously waiting to see how long it holds for.
Doing the repair your way is certainly painstaking, glad to see you did it right the first time. If you're that skilled with a dremel I would have thought you'd go for the tdi pulley style and never have to worry about it again.
Glad to hear your pin/stud repair has held up well. if its lasted a few years, odds are that it will stay for good.
Regarding the TDi pulley; is it really that reliable?
It looks a better design than the original keyway one...however it seemed at the time like it would be more work to do.
With hindsight, that might not have been the case!!
the TDI pulley coupled with the clutched alternator pulley make the crank nose problems a thing of the past. the problem is that the crank sprocket needs to go on very tight. if you can loosely put it on, then its not snug enough. you should need to hammer it on with a mallet. if there is any play, it will eventually work itself loose, slowly but surely. it might take up to 300,000km... but it will happen.
my TDI 1Z with about 100,000km or so had a pretty loose crank nose that had to be repaired. just goes to show that the TDI fix isn't going to remedy the problem 100%
personally though, i would like to see a 12 point crank nose... that thing isn't going to move a mm let alone slip!!! :lol: that thing would be 100% permanent.
so proper preparation, installation, etc. is a big part of the successful fixing of the crank nose.
i would imagine that the 4 pins will indeed save your motor, but they must be very tight. there can be no play in them to allow the crank bolt to work its way out. and then the pins themselves could potentially damage the crank nose as well, furthering the destruction.
