Hey! You guys with the older Q's,...check your idler pulley bearings!

[redmanfx]

All of mine had to be replaced!! As some of you know I've pulled the Q off the road and started another major overhaul and between being in town and outa town I work on different things the Q needs.

Some of the things I needed to do to the Q have been finished.

First thing I did is I went in and removed the extra transmission cooler so I could pull the Cooling fan shroud off. Then I removed all the hoses (this was very easy for me this time since I took the shroud off first) and pulled the radiator out. Next I took the cooling fan off so I would have room to operate. I loosened two of the Idler pulleys (top right and the Alternator one-middle pulley) but the bottom one for the AC compressor wouldn’t budge, so I had to use a breaker bar pop that puppy. That’s what was causing the sound we all heard in at the airport in Muncie!!

Anyway I had purchased the 4 bearing sets from Keith to replace the old ones and boy did I need them!! The top idler pulley is the one that needs two and both needed to be changed due to them being dry and rubbing bad. No joke, if you have an old Q then I suggest changing these bearings!! The middle Idler pulley for the Alternator was in the best shape, but still needed to be changed. The bottom Idler was a mess and definitely needed to be changed!! I changed these bearings myself and didn’t have to go somewhere to press the new ones in or get the old ones out. A hammer and socket set with extension was all I needed to get the job done.

I’m ordering 3 new belts as they all had cracking on the grooved inside, one being worse then the other two. The AC compressor was removed as I have a new one to replace it with and I took out the alternator, which was black as charcoal! Dirtiest Alternator I’ve ever seen!! I’m taking that to a friend who is going to show me how to rebuild it. There was nothing wrong with it working or anything, but since I was there and removing things I figured it’d be best just to get it done and feel safe!!

Next was the removal of the condenser and fan up front. All the AC tubing and tight spots made that a pain and I’m going to put the replacements back in after I decide whether or not I’m going to replace the upper radiator mount because mine is bent. That whole metal piece spanning between one fender and the other looks twisted a little and one side is missing the screw to the driver’s side fender. Looks like it had been sheared off. That answers why it was hard to get the radiator top mount clips lined back up when I replaced it a few months back. My condenser was bowed in and the fan was broken in a few spots where it mounts. Yet another reason the AC didn’t work!

Tomorrow is a new day that will have me replacing more AC components and maybe start sanding the car down getting it ready to paint. I can’t work on the suspension because I haven’t ordered the adjustable tension rods yet and all our jack stands are being used (I’m currently using ramps). I could start on the antenna mystery or check the evaporator.

Gee I wonder how much money I’ve saved on labor alone. I know my mech told me it’s 4 hours for the Condenser and fan, 6 hours for the compressor, and another 4 hours for the dryer (yes 4 hours for the dryer) according to the book and that’s just a little bit of what’s been done so far. That’s 14 hours at $65 an hour….hmmmm…. Yeah, saving some big money doing this myself. !!

Later!

[elwesso]

ahh yes the idler bearings, i should have thought about that... DUH!!!!!

Glad it was easy though, keep up the good work!!!!

[texasoil]

Adjustable tension rods? Why--simply 'slot' the 3 bolt holes in the tension arm attachment sub-frame-the 3 that bolt the subframe to the frame. MY q45A'S each have those slotted OEM. To adjust caster, simple measure it, figure out how much you want to move it, remove tension arm, loosen mounting bolts (gotta remove the arm to get to the rear bolt), and move the mounting bracket forward the desired amount, Reinstall the tension arm -I used an inexpensive 'block and tackle' to pull the lower control arm forward so tension arm bolts would slip in). EASY, MIANTAINS OEM INTEGRITY, ADJUSTABLE, RETAINS OEM SHOCK ABSORBTION

[elwesso]

The upgraded tension rods do add slightly more steering feel.. TINY bit more harshness (more related to your tires) but overall i think theyre a good mod.

[redmanfx]

When I removed the AC compressor it was also locked up as well, so I had two things locked up! My belt never broke, but was chewed up a little. My Alternator still worked and the bearing seemed ok, but I wanted to have a look at the brushes since they are what usually go up besides the bearings. The thing was black from grease and oil, but I'll have it looking like new when I'm done. I had to take out my condenser because it was misshaped and bowed in the middle from some previous accident I would assume, so I didn't think it was working correctly. Along with that the condenser fan was smashed and didn't work at all or simply spin for that matter plus two of the four mounting points were broken completely off. Changing that fan is tricky due to two of the mounts are in hard to work in spaces, making screwing into those mounts difficult. Nonetheless I replaced the fan and condenser.

Slotted holes in the tension arm were not something I thought about, but may work fine for what I need. I will look into that. Being under the car has really opened my eyes as to how dirty and black from grease and oil things are. I doubt it has ever been cleaned or degreased since it was sold back in 92. Something else I'll have to do.