DIY Car Maintenance

[mountainaire]

Simplified my accesory drive belt by doing the A/C delete the right way. Got rid of that junky dorman dummy pulley I was running, and simply moved the alternator up from the bottom of the engine and mounted it with a special bracket in its place. Now there's one less pulley, and I use a much shorter belt, the alternator won't get soaked with mud and grit out on trails, and it's in a much easier to access location if it needs replacement.



Also, I'd like to shill for Edelmann power steering pumps. After my factory original p/s pump died after 30 years, I tried two different cheap parts store remains, and they both failed within a month. I bought a new Edelmann pump off rockauto and it's held up excellent for about a year now, runs very quiet and doesn't leak. If anyone needs a new pump and OEM isn't available, definitely go with Edelmann.

 

[mountainaire]

Getting this thing out was a fight. Hours laying on the garage floor trying to contort myself reaching tight spots with a wrench. You really need specialized wrenches for this job, half moon wrenches, which I didn't have, but I found a way to get it done anyway.

It is in dire need of attention. As you can see it's leaking from pretty much every seal and orifice. When I pulled the drain plug before pulling it barely any fluid came out. Haven't cracked it open yet, but when I spin the front driveshaft output, I can hear the chain dragging on the bottom of the case. It wouldn't have survived much longer being driven like this.