Truck wouldn't start. The kids were a bit distraught----they knew the truck wouldn't last forever, and thought maybe this was goodbye. We bought it shortly after we were married and before we had any kids...Anyway, it had been sitting for awhile and all it needed was a can of carb cleaner sprayed through and it ran great.
With THAT done, and the cabin made ready for the renters (with lots of help from the kids) there was a Cuyamaca Lake issue that required some attention and a trip to town. So jumped in the Subaru--AnnaMarie and the kids just got back from a trip to Camarillo, and she told me she heard the fanbelt squeal when she had started it up...Odd, since I had just adjusted it....Well, the car started just fine, but all the warning lights were on and the power steering wasn't working. A check under the hood showed one belt VERY loose and the other belt lying in the driveway....Thank God it did it after she parked, at home, instead of somewhere on the road.
It was weird, though. All the belt pulleys seemed right, the belts looked fine, everything turned OK. Why would BOTH belts have an issue though? There's only one pulley they share, the one on the end of the crankshaft...Gave that a good yank and the pulley itself came apart. The outer ring had delaminated from the middle part. There's a rubber ring between the two, probably due to some harmonics issue or something.
The thought of having the car towed an hour away for the fix sounded expensive so got to work pulling out the radiator just to get at it. The main bolt came out without too much trouble but pulling the wheel was another matter---everything around it is plastic shrouds so there's nothing to pry against. So, pulling, wiggling, and grunting, it gave just enough to let me know it'd come off if I just kept at it.
"Yeah, we have them in stock. $189. They're notorious for delaminating like that. You'll never get the wheel off without the special tool though" Uh, I already did. "If the woodruff key is intact then it's an easy fix from here" (Nothing wrong with the key) So when I get home from work tomorrow I just have to put the new one on and button everything up and it SHOULD be good to go
2 comments:
Honestly? No call to Byron? And yes, anything involving your car being towed anywhere is more expensive than you want to pay.
We got Lee's Dad's old Toyota Camry ('93). It runs great, but little things are needing repair. So far, two of the four electric window motors have had to be replaced. Less than $50 if I order the part on ebay. More than $350 quoted if we take it to the shop.
The guy on ebay even provides a video on how to replace it :)
Byron's bailed me out quite a few times over the decades, and most car fixes at ;east involve asking myself "What Would Byron Do?" He, and my Dad, went beyond just fixing stuff---they both mixed in mechanic tips at the same time, no doubt in the hopes I could be more self sufficient
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