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!!!
After following this thread for its entertainment value, I have a suggestion worth considering.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.YES! PAGE 4!!!!
We made it!!!
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.
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.)
I'll give it shot, but I think I'd rather remain female!
Everything is starting to make sense to me now...
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.
Well, my recommend at this point is to:
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.
Last edited by Flecker; 11-15-2019 at 02:35 PM.
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.
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.
Last edited by VanCo; 11-16-2019 at 07:52 AM.
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.
Last edited by Flecker; 11-16-2019 at 01:34 PM.
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.
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
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