Drivebelt Tensioner

When I replaced the drive belt a while back I found that the tensioner bearings were rough and made some noise when I spun the pulley.

I ordered tensioner from RockAuto.com

Today I finally got a chance to install it.

Unfortunately I did not take many pictures. I started at dawn, and I was in a hurry to beat that Texas heat. Besides my hands were pretty dirty.





I released the tension on the belt from underneath the truck with 1/2" ratchet, and slipped the belt off the Air-conditioning Compressor. Used a 13mm socket on the bolt that holds the tensioner on. It was so tight that I ended up loosening the bold with a beaker bar from the top side. Then went back under to remove the bolt the rest of the way.

It was a TIGHT fit. I was able to pull the old tensioner out from the bottom. The new tensioner was a little thicker, it would not fit between the compressor and fan shroud. I was able to slip the tensioner between the fan blades from the other side of the engine and work it around to the side it needed to be on.
Started the bolt on the tensioner, but left it real loose so that I could get the drive belt back in place easier since the belt slips between the pulley and motor.
Once the belt was in place; I tightened the tensioner bolt.

Used that 1/2 ratchet to compress the tensioner to get the drive belt back on over the compressor. checked all the pulleys to make sure the belt was on correctly.
Snugged the belt tensioner down more, and started the truck.
Everything looked good.

How long? The hardest part was figuring out how to get the new belt tensioner back in. I tried a bunch of things before I discovered working it around in the fan.
It took a couple of hours, and a some choice words.

Next time will be a lot faster.

Barbell and Weights restore 2

After removing all the rust I could, or wanted too. I primed and painted them.


I know the paint will get scratched off, but maybe they will last much longer

Stacked all the weights in the garage.
Dad said when he bought them around 1958 they were all black. He had to clean them up once before this time. He painted them Blue. I painted them different colors thinking it would be easier to distinguish the weights easier. Plus thats the paint I had in the paint locker. I did not have but 1 half full can of blue paint.

Back when Dad painted them, they did not have spray paint cans. He said they used what they had, thinking about I wonder why they had blue paint to begin with.

Barbell in all its glory

Dan Lurie 12 1/2 LBS weight

Dan Lurie 10 LBS weight

Dan Lurie 7 1/2 LBS weight

Dan Lurie 5 LBS weight

Dan Lurie Weights on a 6 foot Dan Lurie Barbell

Barbell and Weights restore

I've been looking for more ways to burn calories.



My father has some old Dan Lurie weights he purchased in the late 50's. He was going to let me use them.




I started cleaning them up but found a really good deal on another other weight set on Craigslist that I could not pass up. I may or may not do a post on the weight set I bought.










I will be giving these weights back to my Dad, but in much better condition.



The weights have been sitting outside at his house for years. The barbell is hardened steel so it's mainly surface rust, but under were the weights were, there is some pitting.

My guess is; since the weights were left, the barbell would not dry very fast after a rain.
Everything I've read is that you should remove the weights when you are not using them. With out a weight rack, that makes it a pain to put them someplace.

real rusty where the weights were.

On the bar, I used a wire brush to get the major rust chunks off. Then some light sanding.

I used some rust remover chemical on the barbell. I don't have a picture of that here. I already sprayed it with primer.

The weights, I just used a wire brush on a drill.

Some primer - I actually did not take any pictures of the weights, Barbell and Collars primed. Close your eyes and picture them gray.

After some wire brush action

Ive Started painting the barbell and weight also. I will post an update with pictures when Im done.

Some light sanding.

See how that Barbell shines? I thought about keeping it that way, and just putting come kind of protective coat on in. Thinking I would keep it in my garage, But decided I did not want to mess with it anymore than I had too. Plus since I got that other weight set and will most likely taking this back to my Dad's, it will probably be kept outside.

collar before wire brushing

collar after wire brushing

weight before wire brush

weight after wire brushing

Again, I will take some more pictures of it painted. Dad said when he first got it, they were all black. Some time over there years he replied them a Royal Blue. That royal blue color really looked nice. Too bad I only had 1 can of royal blue. Looks like the collars were red, I will repaint those red (actually I already have, but only 1 coat so far)

Reminder - Battery Maintenance

My Lawn Mower Battery

With the weathering changing so much, don't forget to check your battery level and tire pressure.

For our Cars Ive been using an app on my phone to keep track of oil changes and maintenance. I also put when I fill up, it calculates my MPG and cost.

At the end of the year (or when ever), I can see how much each car/truck has cost us to operate. The app name is "Drivvo". I hope they put it online at some point so you can check it from your laptop.

SaveSave

Porch Swing - P.7

You thought I forgot about this project didn't you.

I pretty much did forget about it. I kept moving it around in the garage as I did other stuff.


This weekend I started cleaning the garage to make room for my next project. I need to finish the swing and get it out of the garage soon.


I only put the arms on Today, but it took awhile.


Next - final sand, and stain.

I need to pick up some eye hooks, and chain for the chair.
There are eye hooks already on our porch ceiling. The previous owners must have had a porch swing at some point. I actually measured the distance between them to determine how wide of a chair I was going to make.

I may still cut a hole for a dink holds like April did on hers. I was searching last year on porch swings and came across her youtube channel. She makes some cool stuff. One of April's Porch swings, click here.



Its been a while, Im going to watch her video again. Her's looks so much better than mine but I learn by doing. My next one should be a little better than this one.

Ready for final sanding and Stain.