1999 Jeep TJ (Wrangler) serpentine belt replacement help

There are multiple ways a TJ mounts and adjusts it's serpentine belt. If you have a 4.0 made in 1998-99, this should work for you. Probably works on a '97 but who knows. Later models have newer, better ways of adjustment to include a lever loosened adjustable idler tensioner but this method works just fine and you don't need to buy a lever tool. 

My Jeep has 86,000 + (babied). Serpentine belt is splitting (a real warrior though). Time to replace.

Replacement belt (what I bought, others might disagree but it worked): 

Gates K060923 Multi V-Groove Belt

Currently about $28U.S. on Amazon

Remove radiator overflow bottle (I had to get my hand underneath to push up to get it to release)

Get a trouble light. Locate power steering pump and look directly below. See adjustment pulley (pictured below). Loosen (do not remove, just loosen) 15mm mounting bolt holding adjusting idler pulley to mount to allow for up/down adjustment of that pulley by adjustment screw, in back (next diagram). Will likely require breaker bar to release bolt. Should be tight.

Once bolt is loosened, you can adjust the machine screw that screws up and down to move the pulley up and down to allow for loosening (to remove belt and install new) and tightening (to re-tighten the belt for operation) Illustration shows 1/2 inch ratchet with 15mm socket at the end of a socket extension. Where the screw had been sitting in the mount for years, it looked a bit dry and a bit rusty. I put a dab of red grease on it before I tightened it back up.

Take off old belt. Have fun running the new one over and around the fan and trying to get it down around the crank, etc., etc. PIA (see my diagram, following, for help with routing the new belt) I had my esposa help hold it in place when I went underneath to get it wrapped on the crank but I'm a wimp. She also helped review the diagram and look at the routing before I started ratcheting the machine screw back down to tighten it.

Make sure you re-tighten the mounting bolt once the new belt is installed AND you tighten the adjusting screw back to approximately where it was when you started and the belt was tight. I ran the engine for a while and re-checked the tension. My tension screw only had a few threads left once it was tight. The youtube video referred to below shows how to check belt deflection. 

I also made myself a crude belt diagram to help me install the new belt once the old one was removed. Obviously the fan blades are outside the belt, not inside as drawn. I added the blades for reference only. They should be dotted lines. Try not to laugh.

The best Youtube video (linked below) I found for the job for this year TJ (98-99) after watching a dozen or so. Might be all you need. As funny as my diagram is, it's better than the decal provided in the engine compartment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbhVqNO4vYo

2004 Ford Explorer / Fuel Rail Pressure Sensor replacement

Since this was a successful project, I thought I'd put something together for the blog.

Background: The 2004 Ford Explorer has been a really good vehicle for us. We bought it used in 2007 and used it for a quite a few long trips and to run around locally. It is only one of several vehicles we have. It must have around 125K on it by now. The aluminum housing for the rear differential whined when we bought it and I had to have it campaigned at the dealer as it was a common problem. Other than that it has been trouble free. Anyway it has been hesitating when accelerating and finally it continued to get worse and threw trouble codes. P0171, P0174 and P0193 P, which is a pending fuel rail pressure sensor fault. Research informs us the fuel pressure sensor helps control the flow of fuel from the fuel pump, extending the life of the fuel pump and only providing the calibrated, necessary amount of fuel required by sensing the demand. According to the ECM, it was malfunctioning.

I viewed a few youtube videos (you should too) which provided valuable information. Not quite a step by step help guide but enough to give me hope I could do the job. I decided to share the information I garnered while doing the job to help others. The pictures I provide are intended to fill in the holes left by the youtube videos. Between those videos and my pictures, you should have a fighting chance of getting it done.  This blog posting isn't going to be a really good step by step guide but I will share what I learned (that wasn't in the videos) in hopes it might help someone else. You will need to watch similar youtube videos before starting to gather all the intel you can. The 2004 Ford Explorer (not the Sport, if you have the Sport, your pressure sensor is exposed and easily replaced and I think beginning with the 2005 model, the sensor is no longer under the air intake, glory be), hides the sensor under the intake manifold (plastic plenum) on the fuel rail. You will need these parts:

Most everything connected to the plastic intake plenum is either electronic or vacuum lines. The electronic plugs each has a release to slide and I think you can figure most of them out. Some of the videos help with that. I couldn't do much with just my fingers and had to use a screwdriver to get anything to release. Most of the plastic was brittle and hard and no longer very pliable but I did get everything disconnected. A couple of the videos show how to release the plugs. The other lines I looked at both ends and made sure I unplugged the side which offered the least resistance. If you are having a hard time getting it unplugged on one side, try the other end of the line. Go with the easiest side.

I didn't run the car and pull the fuse to try to get all the fuel out of the fuel line, as suggested in videos. When I pulled the sensor off the line I didn't get much fuel spill. Of course the car wasn't running and the fuel pump wasn't pumping and with my car, at least, there wasn't a whole lot of built up pressure in the line. Your mileage may vary. If you want to do it the "right" way, go for it. I just wanted to share my limited experience.

Nobody filmed themself pulling all the Torx screws out of the intake manifold (plenum) because that's the hard part of the job. You can see three of the screws on the front passenger side but there's a total of eight. I actually was able to see (sitting on a blanket on the radiator shield with a trouble light and a flashlight) seven of the eight screws. I used a variety of extensions from the 3/8s socket driver, based on how far down I had to go to get passed the plenum (intake manifold) chamber. I did use a flashlight to view the very back torx screw heads (5mm, from memory). When completely unscrewed, the screws will release and then stay in their individual chamber so you won't lose them. It is a little difficult to tell if you have unscrewed the far back torx screws far enough to release that area from the engine since it doesn't come all way out. Jiggling the plenum and pulling up will let you know if they've been fully released or not. Here are a few pics with notation(s).

Ultimately I was able to get the job done with only a few back-of-my-hand cuts. The car now runs fine. Good luck.

2003 GMC Yukon XL fan clutch pulley holder to break loose the nut holding the fan clutch in place

Plastic shielded wire I had on hand.

 

Chevy Spark (tow car) / NSA RV Products RB-4000 Receiver Style Ready Brake Installation

Bought the kit for the Ready Brake Surge Brakes because towing the Spark worked fine but stopping the Coachmen Catalina Class C was uncomfortably long with the tow car pushing us. I looked at the electronic brake buddy type, which are $1K+ and well, the surge brakes are simpler and a lot cheaper. The downside was installing the cable. I had pulled the front fascia off the Spark to install the Blue Ox tow bar so I knew how and had to do it again to make the surge brakes work without binding up. It needed to be within 2 inches up or down from the tow bar connection and in the middle of the car. How I did it was simply how I did it. Others may do it differently. I share this because of how much I appreciate the help I get from the Internet from others.
The Spark does have a double wall firewall, which means drilling the appropriate holes as per the manufacturer's instructions. I did struggle to drill a 1" hole through the inside firewall (manufacturer's recommendation) because it isn't perfectly flat top to bottom. I would try to keep expanding my hole from the initial hole to something like 3/4 inch and see if you can fit a socket through that hole first. I didn't quite need the 1 inch hole and it got weird to get it that big. Locating the hole slightly lower than my detail shows might help because it was above the hole that I got into excess metal that wouldn't go away after drilling.
My details show custom made brackets for things like the 7 pin connector mount and the front cable loop mount. The brackets are hardware store stuff bent and drilled and trimmed to aid in mounting the stuff where I needed it to be. Again, I had to trim holes in the fascia. I will try to come back and add the finalized fascia later.

Wouldn't use spray foam insulation to seal hole next time. Risks friction.

Do not use spray foam to seal hole. Can get into sliding cable line and foul it up...

2013 (14,15) Chevy Spark Dash Speaker Upgrade / Pioneer TS-F1034R

After upgrading the stock radio, the next logical step is to replace the dash speakers with two way speakers. The LS model says it has four speakers and the upgrade to the LT models pro-ports to increase the speakers to six. In reality, the front speakers gain a tweeter, which is happening here. The speakers are now poly pro rather than paper and go from one to two way. They sound better now but as they burn in they will sound better and better as time goes on. The pictures should tell the story. In order not to cut any wires, I used the extension wires provided by Pioneer and added two plug in clips at both ends of the extension wires to convert to the original plug. I only had blue wire clips so I had to fold back the wire ends to double them before I clamped them on. Red would have been closer to the wire diameter. I also used the red wire pliers dot to smash the clip on. It takes some force to get the spurger to unclip the speaker covers from the dash. Since it is plastic, it shouldn't leave a mark.
Note: These particular speakers are 4 ohm and the stock are 8. In theory it should take more power to get the 4 ohm up to the same volume as the 8. If you are worried about running high volumes for long periods of time and generating too much heat, you probably want to replace the 8 ohms with 8. I did not have to increase my volume to reach the same level of sound as the stock after installation but your mileage may vary. I posted this mainly to show how to do the job, not to recommend these particular speakers, although they do work.

2013 Chevy Spark Mylink radio upgrade from LS to LT model

Recently bought a used 2013 Chevy Spark LS to tow behind a Class C RV and ended up liking the car enough to sell off our normal run around car for daily use. The Spark was more fun.
The stock radio, however was blah. I saw the LT model’s Mylink radio and thought it would be a neat upgrade, if I could procure a used "take off" unit for a good price. 

Shopping online brought this to our garage:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/192109883673?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

(2013 Chevy Spark LT Mylink head unit, with fascia, bottom plug with small bottom fascia, in really good shape)
to replace 2013 Chevy Spark LS base model radio with aux input. I offered 140 plus 10 shipping for the head unit and accessories and the deal was done.

I got a set of plastic spurgers (referenced below)  to help pry off the dash fascia, removed the fascia, unscrewed the head unit’s four phillips mounting screws and drew out the head unit. I had to use a small flat blade screwdriver to release the tab on the squarish multi-plug, which then is released by pushing down on the release lever, sliding the plug out. The cable running to the other side of the radio was tough to release and I struggled with it but finally got it to come off. I then plug and played the replacement head unit into place restoring the cable and the white multi-plug.
Turning on the new head unit displayed a “LOCKED” message on the main screen after five seconds. Turns out the LT upgrade Mylink head unit is locked to the VIN number of the original vehicle, thus the locked message.
I researched the problem on the internet for a few days. Most of the help with the hardware/eprom problem came from this Cruze site:

http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/36-gen1-audio-electronics/55641-mylink-upgrade-diy-11.html

and various foreign sites with guys in Russia, etc. trying to swap out Chevy hardware from vehicle to vehicle.
This one was pivotal because it showed me where to find the eprom chip I needed to reprogram:

https://www.drive2.ru/l/6210325/

The guy who sold me the unit on eBay said he didn’t know it was locked and gave me a partial refund and offered to author a letter stating he was the original owner and removed the unit to install an aftermarket stereo. Rather than go to the dealer and see if I could get them to use their Scantool II to reprogram the head unit for $60 or so I decided to make a project out of it.

What I learned:

I repeatedly tried to change the VIN number on the chip, replacing what appeared to be the old VIN with my car’s number. One problem was the number of characters displayed in hex on the chip didn’t seem to be comparable with the 17 characters in my car’s VIN. So two tries at reading and replacing the VIN resulted in “LOCKED.” I did read however that others had wiped the eprom chip clean, reinstalled the radio and the logic unit of the car initialised the eprom with the VIN. I haven’t removed the head unit to re-read the chip since I wiped and installed it. Since it now works, I can assume it’s probably so. Bottom line: the Mylink now works.
I am going to post some pictures which hopefully are worth a few thousand words.



References:

Kris Kasprzak Youtube video with links to software and notes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0ChYNwunUE
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Chip clip to allow read and write of chip without desoldering:

SOIC8 SOP8 Test Clip For EEPROM 93CXX / 25CXX / 24CXX in-circuit FAST SHIP USA

http://www.ebay.com/itm/262294374999?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT———————————————————
USB stick programmer to plug into usb port of PC (powered by software from Kasprzak links, referenced above)
SMAKN® USB Programmer CH341A Series Burner Chip 24 EEPROM BIOS LCD Writer 25 SPI Flash 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013Q5P3ES/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Neiko 20765A Auto Trim Removal | Heavy Duty Nylon Fiber Composite Body Installer Pry Scraper Fastener Panel Molding | 11-Piece Set 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01H2QWFH0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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3ft CablesOnline USB 2.0 Mini-B 5-Pin to Mini-B 5-Pin Male/Male Cable, USB2-5503 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00T28JQUG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1