++ ATOT official NEF thread part IV ++

[bigboxes]

 

[bigboxes]

moo

 

[bigboxes]

moo

 

[bigboxes]

 

[bigboxes]

moo

 

[bigboxes]

moo

 

[bigboxes]

 

[bigboxes]

A little update on my water pump replacement job. It did not go smoothly, at all. First off, I used my torque wrench to avoid over tightening the bolts and nuts on the water pump. Welp, I ended up breaking both studs and one of the four bolts. FML.

 

[bigboxes]

So, I had to remove these broken studs and bolt from the block. The bolt had hardly any material to grab on to, so I just filed the remaining bit down to almost flush with the block. Then I took a punch and slowly worked it out. When I had enough to grab onto I just used my fingers to get the last out.

I headed to Toyota and ordered a couple of studs and four new mounting bolts. The studs had a torx head. I had torx drivers, but no wrenches. I ended up buying a set of torx sockets from Harbor Freight just to do the job of driving in the studs. Slapped on the gasket and just snugged the fasteners this time around.

New tool to scrape the old gasket off

Torx socket set

New studs installed into block

New gasket for water pump

I had to break out my tap and die set to straighten out the threads on one of the nuts that screw on the studs

New AC Delco water pump installed

 

[bigboxes]

Thought I was almost done. All I had to do was to attach the pulley to the water pump and lessen the tension on the belt tensioner to put the belt back into place. Welp, it was not to be. The tensioner wasn't moving so I gave it a big tug and snapped the bolt head off the belt tensioner. That's right. Boxes broke the metal part off the corner of the tensioner. FML.

 

[bigboxes]

Now, I had to replace the belt tensioner. Another order to Amazon and wait on the part. This was three times the cost of the water pump. This was an even harder project than the water pump. I had to take off the front passenger side wheel, remove the fender liner and splash guard to get access to the bottom mounting nut for the belt tensioner spring. Once I loosened that I had to take off the dog bone engine mount. Then I jacked up the engine about 2-3 inches to get the tensioner out. It was a real bitch. There was no clearance. It's obvious that they put on the tensioner before they dropped the motor in place.

New AC Delco belt tensioner

Fender liner and splash guard removed from wheel well

See that coil spring? That's what gives the tension to the tensioner! Just need to loosen that nut holding it on.

Dog bone engine mount removed

 

[shortylickens]

The only reason I know any of those names is because of Car Mechanic Simulator 2015.

 

[bigboxes]

Anyways, I had to wiggle the engine around just to pull out the tensioner and pivot bolt. The bolt was too long to get back in place. I took it to a machine shop today and had them cut 5mm off of it and rethread the end. It took a couple hours to wiggle and bang that part back into place. I still wasn't done. I had to get a friend to come help me get the damn belt back in place. They didn't believe me when I told them that it was very hard to do. It was hard even with two people and he is a certified mechanic. I still have the wheel off. I ordered some fasteners from Amazon and am going to replace my fender liners on Monday. Fun.

 

[bigboxes]

boxes is tired

nite moo

 

[Red Squirrel]

Sounds like a pain, though it's always nice to find an excuse to buy new tools.

I'd like to have a large heated garage, I'd probably take the time to learn more about cars. But I tend to bring mine to the shop even for simple stuff as I don't really want to work on it in the cold. The extent of my work is changing tires which I can do whenever I get a good day. I could probably put my summers on soon actually, it seems we're getting an early spring. Of course we tend to get hit with a few late storms but it melts fast enough.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Almost bed time nef

 

[sdifox]

Lulz. Way to make a job bigger.

 

[eldorado99]

ni

 

[bigboxes]

Lulz. Way to make a job bigger.

Just pile on, sid.

 

[eldorado99]

ned

 

[bigboxes]

Sounds like a pain, though it's always nice to find an excuse to buy new tools.

Yessir. Love da tools, but money is tight at this point and it sucks when I have so many tools to find something else I need. I also had to buy a set of offset boxed wrenches just to get break the tensioner pivot bolt. I go to the parts store to "borrow" the tool. They pull out this tiny bucket, say "no, we don't have that one" and point to the aisle where they sell an overpriced chrome plated set. So, I sigh and head over to harbor freight and save $4 on a set that has three more pieces. It may not look as pretty, but I may never use them again. But I have new tools!

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Nothing like an impulse-purchased set of HF tools

 

[WaTaGuMp]

burp

 

[WaTaGuMp]

My tensioner on my work truck, 1 bolt removal, nothing else needs to come off, could take longer to get a new one than to remove and install it.

 

[Bubbleawsome]

nef