Hi Guys,
Since my last month's fuel pump problem, which by the way, is working great, I've run up against a problem that I never, ever thought I'd need consultation for, but here goes.
I recently decided to change my drive belts, alternator/power steering, and water pump/smog pump. I removed the a/c and all it's components a few years ago when I replaced my radiator. So..... I know how the alternator mounts, and pivots, and how to adjust the tension. So, knowing that, and reading a thread here that included diagrams of the smog pump, where the pivot bolt was, etc, I proceeded. No big deal. I went to a friend's house to do the work. He has a heated, well organized garage, and he's pretty good at wrenching stuff, and he offered to let me use his tools. Anyway, took the alt belt off, and discovered that reaching the s/pump pivot bolt was quite difficult. As some of you must know, it's very close to the pulley and belt, and just about impossible to reach from above. Okay, no problem, I slid under the rig with a bright light, and realized that I needed to get the lock nut on the back side loose. It was virtually impossible to see from underneath, due to the engine mount blocking my sight. Back up top again, we could see it underneath the tangle of vacuum tubes and associated gizmos.
My buddy thought he could wiggle his arm down there and get a wrench on it, but found that he could get his arm down there, but couldn't move it, nor even get the stubby ratchet on the nut. Well, finally, I got a 12mm open end on the front facing bolt head, but only had about an inch or 2 of room to move. I get the wrench on and pushed as hard as I could; it moved, but it was the wrench stripping on the bolt Bad...Okay, the pivot bolt was wrenched on so tight, that no matter how much force I applied, it would not budge. So, I thought to myself, "Who in their right mind tightened that s.o.b. like that?" Then I realized it was the shop in my town that replaced my water pump about 7 years ago, a shop that has the reputation for being the only place FJ60 and FJ40 owners go to, because these guys are supposed to be the best.
At any rate, after I ranted and raved to my buddy, who, by the way agreed that whoever tightened that bolt that much ought to be horsewhipped, we decided that something must be removed to get at that rear lock nut. None of the posts I read here even hinted at the difficulty of reaching the rear lock nut on the pivot bolt. Normally, changing an engine belt is simple. I've been doing it since 1972, and never have had this kind of difficulty. I would be really grateful to hear from any of you guys who have experienced my problem. I can't be the only person to have encountered this. So, give me a shout out if you want. Thankfully, the belt is still in pretty good shape, but I know how it goes. It'll break when I least expect it, so I'd like to get the new one on sometime in the near future. And I'm not gonna take it in the shop that committed the offense of over-----tightening it. I know they would just look me like at I'm a stupid, old, complainer. I'm gonna fix it by myself, with a little help from my friends.
Since my last month's fuel pump problem, which by the way, is working great, I've run up against a problem that I never, ever thought I'd need consultation for, but here goes.
I recently decided to change my drive belts, alternator/power steering, and water pump/smog pump. I removed the a/c and all it's components a few years ago when I replaced my radiator. So..... I know how the alternator mounts, and pivots, and how to adjust the tension. So, knowing that, and reading a thread here that included diagrams of the smog pump, where the pivot bolt was, etc, I proceeded. No big deal. I went to a friend's house to do the work. He has a heated, well organized garage, and he's pretty good at wrenching stuff, and he offered to let me use his tools. Anyway, took the alt belt off, and discovered that reaching the s/pump pivot bolt was quite difficult. As some of you must know, it's very close to the pulley and belt, and just about impossible to reach from above. Okay, no problem, I slid under the rig with a bright light, and realized that I needed to get the lock nut on the back side loose. It was virtually impossible to see from underneath, due to the engine mount blocking my sight. Back up top again, we could see it underneath the tangle of vacuum tubes and associated gizmos.
My buddy thought he could wiggle his arm down there and get a wrench on it, but found that he could get his arm down there, but couldn't move it, nor even get the stubby ratchet on the nut. Well, finally, I got a 12mm open end on the front facing bolt head, but only had about an inch or 2 of room to move. I get the wrench on and pushed as hard as I could; it moved, but it was the wrench stripping on the bolt Bad...Okay, the pivot bolt was wrenched on so tight, that no matter how much force I applied, it would not budge. So, I thought to myself, "Who in their right mind tightened that s.o.b. like that?" Then I realized it was the shop in my town that replaced my water pump about 7 years ago, a shop that has the reputation for being the only place FJ60 and FJ40 owners go to, because these guys are supposed to be the best.
At any rate, after I ranted and raved to my buddy, who, by the way agreed that whoever tightened that bolt that much ought to be horsewhipped, we decided that something must be removed to get at that rear lock nut. None of the posts I read here even hinted at the difficulty of reaching the rear lock nut on the pivot bolt. Normally, changing an engine belt is simple. I've been doing it since 1972, and never have had this kind of difficulty. I would be really grateful to hear from any of you guys who have experienced my problem. I can't be the only person to have encountered this. So, give me a shout out if you want. Thankfully, the belt is still in pretty good shape, but I know how it goes. It'll break when I least expect it, so I'd like to get the new one on sometime in the near future. And I'm not gonna take it in the shop that committed the offense of over-----tightening it. I know they would just look me like at I'm a stupid, old, complainer. I'm gonna fix it by myself, with a little help from my friends.
Takes me 5min to pull the SP now.
