If you remove the overflow bottle it’ll create more room, check out this thread a lot of work and detail went into it to help us newbie wrenchers-
https://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/...r-ILLUSTRATED!
JDM
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If you remove the overflow bottle it’ll create more room, check out this thread a lot of work and detail went into it to help us newbie wrenchers-
https://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/...r-ILLUSTRATED!
JDM
SUZU,
Stop looking at pictures on the internet and go out and look at your van for some perspective. This really isn't a difficult thing. You are mind f^#king this to death...
The pulley you are assuming the bolt is behind is a small one, theres plenty of room there to get a socket or wrench in.
Thanks for that link, JDM. In the fourth photo from the top, it appears that the thing-that-must-be-loosened-first is in fact NOT too close behind something else to get a socket wrench in there. That's such a relief!!Quote:
Originally Posted by JDM VANMAN
It's about 15 degrees out there right now. I'll look at it when I won't freeze my fingers off. Meanwhile, the pics are extremely helpful. The only thing I'm left wondering about is finding the alternator belt to check it for looseness. Psychotron wrote "reach your hand down into the engine bay and grab onto it down there" and to a newbie like me that's a bit befuddling. But I just might have enough brains left to figure it out.Quote:
Originally Posted by Flecker
I did not see purple on the zip ties the other day. I do see the purple now -- very clearly in fact. Strange!Quote:
Originally Posted by phychotron
The altnernator belt is attached to the Alternator. In order to reach it you must stick your hand down to the front of the alternator and feel the tension on the belt a few inches away from the alternator.
Perfect! Thank you.Quote:
Originally Posted by phychotron
So I postponed my doctor appointment because I was afraid to drive with that belt so loose. I ran out of PB Blaster and went to Bumper-to-Bumper where they used to have a shop in back. I was gonna offer the mechanic $5 to move that bolt for me, because I couldn't do it. They no longer have the shop or any power tools, but the guy behind the counter felt the belt and said he wouldn't drive it until that belt was tightened.
There's another garage nearby so I went over there and the mechanic had a go at the bolt with an impact wrench -- delicately so as not to break the bolt. It would not move. He felt the belt and said it's not that bad, that he wouldn't worry and would feel perfectly fine sending his wife on that 120-mile round-trip (the mileage of my doctor trip).
I guess I just keep trying until it finally moves. Is it possible that it will never move, and the only option will be to break the damned thing?
bump... lets get this to 4 pages~
I’m surprised the mechanic wasn’t able to remove that bolt for you, maybe try a different lubricant and let it sit awhile then work it back and forth slowly otherwise it’ll snap the top of the bolt right off.
Attachment 9606
JDM
Your best option right now is to call all the local mechanic shops and ask them "how much to tighten the power steering belt" and they will probably give you a quote or tell you to bring it in. Once they give you a flat rate they'll do whatever it takes to get that belt tight. If they break it they'll be the one's liable to replace it (that's why the guy you asked for a favor didn't try to hard). Sometimes its better to pay a mechanic to take the risk when the repair is questionable like this.
I like to call around the various mechanics around town and ask for a flat rate over the phone-- I don't schedule a visit until I've check a few others for their rates and straight-forwardness.
Did the mechanic loosen the nut on the front of the pulley before trying to loosen the rusty bolt? If not it will bend the bracket when it does spin.
Liquid Wrench brand penetrating fluid works a bit better than the others according to one youtube video by a guy who scientifically tests these sorts of things on his farm. Spray the bolt with penetrating fluid twice a day for a few days in a row for it to work best.
Here's the video of the guy testing penetrating fluids. Blowtorch does a better job than all the fluids tested. A more skilled mechanic would be able to get that bolt out by heating it up first. I would not recommend doing it yourself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUEob2oAKVs
If I were the mechanic he brought it to, I wouldn't be liable for a broken bolt. Hard parts are the cost of doing business for the customer... especially when they get a quote for something over the phone and bring it in to find out it's something completely different than what was described. I, like any mechanic, would take one look at it and explain it may need to be replaced, and not put myself in a position where I am liable for bad parts.
I'll keep spraying and knocking on the bolt for a while. Yes, the mechanic loosened the front nut before trying. If ultimately it has to be busted out of there, what does it take to fix it back to normal? Big job?
The bolt isn't a big deal, it can be easily replaced. The block on the other hand might be a bit trickier.
OR, you could just buy this set up... and fit it in to place (may require retrofitting of some type, good mechanic can make it work).
HERE
I looked at that. It makes sense. Looks like if I completely removed the smaller bolt, the other parts would just fall off. Then the whole thing gets replaced, right?
I see at the top of the Amazon page
This does not fit your: 1987 Toyota Van
Most things that are getting retrofitted aren't going to fit our vans... If you want drop in parts for this, your going to have to find them in a salvage yard or ebay.
Just take the van to a mechanic already Suzu…… You'll probably be better off going that route
Easier said than done, my friend, when it's almost a choice between driving and eating.
Do you have any friends who can help you then? Someone with a decent set of tools and some know how?
If I was closer I would come over with a tool box, drink all your beer, have you make me a sammich and have it all done before you got back with the sammich.
Surely you know someone like that?
:thmbup:
I appreciate the sentiment, Flecker, but I'm afraid you would find that I haven't had any beer in my fridge for almost 20 years. And no, I don't know a soul who would come here and help me fix my car. I did, but he died in 2012.
OK. Then here is what your gonna do. Man up!
FIRST, hose the bolt down again with some sort of lube. WD40, PB Blaster, whatever...
Then warm up the engine to operating temp. Get it nice and warm.
Get a 1/2" breaker bar (use a cheater bar if you need) and a 14mm socket. Loosen the pulley nut, enough to let the pulley move freely about an 1/8" off the track.
Next with the engine still warm (the bolt will have some heat on it too hopefully, grab that breaker bar and use a 6 point 14mm socket to loosen that long bolt!
JUST DO IT MAN!!!
BLUE- spray this bolt down, get the top of the block where the bolt goes in.
RED- loosen this bolt
GREEN- use breaker bar and all your might to loosen this bolt! Go back and forth on it to get the bolt to work freely. Continue to spray some lube as you go. YOU GOT THIS!
Heres your visual:
https://i.imgur.com/OHgaVw3.jpg
You should consider putting an ad on facebook marketplace, or craigslist, asking for a mechanic to help tighten the belt. Explain the situation and let people in the area consider helping. You already know what needs to be done you just need to connect with someone locally who has the knowledge and toolset to take care of the job. I'm sure it won't be long before a good samaritan comes along and helps for free.
YES! PAGE 4!!!!
We made it!!!
:dance2:
After following this thread for its entertainment value, I have a suggestion worth considering.Quote:
Originally Posted by Suzu
First, while annoying and frustrating, freeing rusty nuts and bolts should be skill set number one for owning any 30yo vehicle. You're learning that now.
Unfortuneately, not everyone knows a mechanic personally enough to have them do side work. let alone finding any mechanic that still wants to work on these hogs. Especially a mechanic that wants to fix our eff ups. They'll do it, but its rarely cheap.
Considering the first two challenges. When it's a choice between eating and fixing your vehicle (so you can get to work, to make the money to eat and fix your vehicle) you may have the wrong vehicle for your situation.
This bolt/belt issue is one I've encountered, and is minor in comparison to the other issues i've had to deal with owning this van. Considering a rusty bolt is causing you this much trouble, it may be a more responsible decision to start considering another vehicle. One mechanics are more willing to work on, with more available parts making everything cheaper in the long run.
I am not a mechanic, I've moved to a place where I know no mechanics personally for side work (but I do try to persuade them with cash and beer), I work at a pizza shop and am not independently wealthy. I feel your pain, but this is merely the tip of the iceberg. Good luck.
I agree completely about getting a newer vehicle. The only way that will be possible will be when I no longer have mortgage payments -- which will be when I am 83 years old. That's about 16.5 years away. Meanwhile, I've got to keep this one going as long as possible because this town does not have taxi or bus service. Besides that, my doctors are 50 miles away, and I have to be able to get to appointments 2-3 times a month.
Within the last few years I've put over $1k into this van. Just got all new tires. The ones I replaced still had 90% of their tread despite being 13 years old and dry rotted. I didn't know about the dry rot until I had two blowouts in one day a month or so ago.
I can almost hear the next response: Get a job, or a better job. I'm lucky enough to have all my limbs, and I'm not blind or deaf, but I am not able to work, outside of my home. I do what I can... it isn't much anymore.
My forum "preferences" are set in such a way that I am seeing two pages, not four.Quote:
Originally Posted by Flecker
Nearest place with a Craigslist page is 50 miles. Facebook Marketplace has a page for my area code, which is one of the most thinly populated area codes in the nation. Most of it is the city with the Craigslist page.Quote:
Originally Posted by phychotron
I'll think of something though. I'm a survivor, and so is my van! It's been "totalled" three times by insurance companies and still never had a salvage title. (All that stuff happened decades ago.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flecker
I'll give it shot, but I think I'd rather remain female!
Everything is starting to make sense to me now...Quote:
Originally Posted by Suzu
Do you have any grandkids, nephew, or something like that who might be able to take a look? A neighbor?
No on grandkids. One nephew, no contact since about 1970. I can't even find my brother. I've been a hermit/recluse since moving to this little town. The neighbors have all changed since I moved in, and I don't know any of them now. All my relatives live out of state -- way out. Same with friends, except one, who's not someone I would trust to even drive my car, let alone work on it. But he does have a few tools that I don't have.Quote:
Originally Posted by Flecker
Well, my recommend at this point is to:Quote:
Originally Posted by Suzu
A. Befriend some of the neighbors and see if one of them might be able to help you out. Bake some cookies or something as an incentive!
B. Hit up the local highschool/ community college and see if they have an Auto shop program, sometimes they will use it as "teaching opportunity"
C. I have been another member on a LARGE forum of guys that are really mechanically inclined fellows. They are a gruff bunch, but have big hearts and probably wouldn't mind helping out a nice older lady in a time of need. I can put the word out if ya really need some help with it (which you so clearly kind of need). I have personally driven a 100 miles to help some people... there might be a member close by to you, I could always ask.
Don't be afraid to play the "senior" card! I have always helped out when I can... especially when it's a lone blue hair that needs some plain old help with her car.
If ya don't mind saying, what part of SW Missouri do you live in? Nearest big town or whatever? I can always ask to see who is close by, and might be able to help ya out.
Let me try the last solution you posted (with the pic) first. Then I will try your other suggestions. However I should mention that I already went to the house nearest to me on the east side and was turned down flat. There's a single lady on the west who hates me and has been trying for years to get the city to remove my patch of bamboo (I won three times against her in court already.) Another single lady across from the guy who turned me down, and the folks across from the single woman who hates me decided to also hate me based on their friendship with the lady that hates me. That leaves the folks directly south of me, who I've never met. I'm pretty shy, so I doubt I will go over there. Or to the high school. But I'll think about it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Flecker
BTW I don't have blue hair. I hope I never do. If someone from your mechanically-inclined friends group wants to help, that would be super. But what are the chances that any of them live close enough to me to actually visit? I am 50 miles from the nearest city with a large population. That would be Springfield, Missouri. I am mostly east and a bit south of there, in Douglas County.
This all reads like a riddle. Since I'm pretty good at riddles, I'll give it a shot.
Don't use the adjuster bolt at all to tighten the belt.
If you are trying to tighten the belt and the adjuster bolt is frozen, it's easy (loosening the belt is harder). For power steering, you loosen the nut on the front of the pulley, then pry the pulley up (maybe pry on the bottom of the adjuster bolt?) to tighten the belt. Holding tension on what you are using to pry with, tighten the nut that holds the pulley. Same can be done for the alternator. Loosen the bolts that clamp the alternator down, then pry the alternator away from the motor, and tighten the clamping bolts.
The hardest part is the creativity involved in finding suitable pry points and pry devices. You can use fancy tools, a broom handle, I've used actual sticks to tighten belts before.
This post is to be used as a solution to the riddle only.
OK SUZU.
I put the bat signal out on the other forum for ya... might be someone close by out that way to give you a hand. Ya may need to buy them a donut or something though... maybe a pack of mothers oatmeal cookies. :)
Just another thought..... maybe try the local firehouse? Those guys are pretty cool. If they will pull a kitten out of a tree, they might be willing to help tighten your belt.
:yes:
Extra points if you film them using the jaws of life on the stuck bolt~
Thanks for the additional posts and ideas. Unfortunately, this little bitty town does not have a "firehouse" as such; it has volunteers who come out when needed to fight a fire.
Still struggling with the power steering belt adjuster bolt, and meanwhile thought I'd go ahead and at least get the alternator belt tightened up. Oddly, when I went to remove the antifreeze reservoir, it would not budge. I used to be able to take it out with one hand.... On close examination it appears the metal clip has somehow embedded itself into the plastic. I've stuck a flat head screwdriver between the metal and plastic and have been working it loose but the corners will NOT come loose. It's almost like they're welded together or something!
Have you ever seen such a thing? What could have caused this? How to get it off of there? I need the space to get a socket wrench down in there.
I also noticed -- again oddly -- there's a perfect round hole a little smaller than a dime in the back of the reservoir on the side that touches the clip. Is that supposed to be there? Seems like it would allow antifreeze to splash out.
Disregard previous post. I got the thing off. The hole isn't in the plastic it's in the metal.... Anyhow the alternator belt was VERY loose, I could almost turn it 180 degrees. The bolt on the front of the alternator was already loose and doesn't seem to want to tighten back up. It's holding, for now. I suppose it will be alright.
yay