A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to State Inspection

My Freestyle's due for PA inspection.  In my county, I'm required to get both a "safety" inspection and an emissions inspection.  The Freestyle was in need of new front tires due to very poor alignment and problems with the outer tie rods, so I had that done at the same time.  I take my cars to a local, trusted mechanic -- his guys do a great job when I need repairs when I don't have the time, tools or ability to get them done myself.

My car was finished -- but the dead battery resulted in the engine not being ready for emissions inspection.  Apparently, the way dead battery resulted in the emissions information being cleared from the computer and I hadn't driven it enough for the engine to accumulate enough data for the emissions testing equipment. This problem was easy to solve, I just needed to drive the car a bit.

That Burning Smell

And that's where my troubles began.  As I rolled up to a red light, I could smell something burning and that's when, in the still morning air, I could see the smoke pluming from the right side of my hood.  And the smell, it wasn't oil, it wasn't electrical components burning it was... I just didn't know. So I parked it and headed off to work.  That night, when I started it, the battery light was on and no power steering. A little more riding around and the smell and smoking returned.

Sniff again.  I've oft heard smell triggers memories better than any other sense.  Thanksgiving's

Not the problem

melody of sage, rosemary and pepper, the cheap perfume cacophony of your grandmother's friends at her funeral, the scent of your wife's hair on your wedding day: just one whiff transports you there, like it was yesterday, like it was the present.  The scent of a car's electrical system self-immolation puts be back in 1998 when, with a toddler and a two-week old, a flashing check-engine light and a small puff of smoke preceded the one-alarm destruction of our trusty Mazda Protege.  This smell was similar, but new, and not the odor of impending flames. Maybe.

Overflowing Power Steering

Leaking power steering
reservoir

Once in the garage, I popped the hood and noticed first, the power steering fluid was leaking from the cap.  Then a close look at the accessory belt made it clear the source of the problems: it was broken.  The belt drives the alternator (resulting in the battery light) and the power steering pump.
Without the power steering pump running, the fluid overflows the reservoir and leaks over the top of the engine (according to the experts at myfordfreestyle), producing the burning smell and smoke.

Broken Belt

Removing the belt was easy enough, just grab it and pull.  But... before doing that, I made a diagram of the belt's route around the various pulleys. Since the belt was broken, I needed to guess a little, but with most of the belt in the right position, not much was left to the imagination.

The access to the front of the engine would be excellent if it not for an air conditioning line running over the top of the engine, so I don't think I could install the new belt from the top, I would need access from the bottom of the engine.  The next best way to get enough access to the pulleys would be through the wheel well on the passenger's side.  So up went the car and off came the tire.

Easy as 1,2,3!

Plastic Rivets: Defeated!

To get reasonable access to the pulleys, I would need to remove the inner fender, affixed to the car with my nemesis fastener. This time, I would not succumb to frustration and decapitate them, but I would figure out how to remove them -- there must be a way.

After a little futzing, I had an answer: slowly back out the screw, pry under the screw head to pull it away from the fastener base, then pull the fastener out by the base.  Some of the road grime made this a little difficult, but I managed to remove them all in this manner, saving me a few bucks at the auto store for a new set of fasteners.  Not sure if this is the "official" method of removal, but it worked.

As the Pulley Turns

Inner fender removed

Inner fender out and with access to all of the pulleys, I tested each to see if they spun freely, with the exception of the crankshaft pulley.  Alternator was OK as well as the power steering pump.  The AC however didn't want to budge and this was cause for concern.  If the AC unit's pulley froze, that would have broken the belt.  Depending on the AC unit, even if the compressor clutch is disengaged, the pulley takes more force to turn than expected.  I just hoped this wasn't the problem and went ahead with the belt installation, which lead to the next problem.

Belt diagram I made earlier

To install the belt, it looked like the plastic guard over the AC pulley needed to be removed. The bolts wore 8mm heads, easily reachable with an extension. Started turning, and turning when it became clear the bolts were stripped.  The bolts ran through plastic and the prior mechanic just kept tightening until the threads disappeared.  That means, I should have been able to apply some pressure to the back of the bolt and it would slip out, but for me, no luck. Strange. I tried wedging a screwdriver between the two plastic pieces secured by the bolt, no luck there either, this was sort of weird, I wonder what's holding that bolt in place?  When I reached for a cutting tool I knew it was time for a break. So I went biking with my kid on the Butler-Freeport Trail.  Did all 42 miles! 

Belt Installation, No Cutting Required

Looking at the problem with fresh eyes, I saw enough room to push the belt between the pulley and cover, using a prying tool to do the job. Then it was on to the rest working counter-clockwise: power steering, alternator, crankshaft and then a slack loop held by the tensioner. 

Getting the belt around the the camshaft and tensioner proved to be somewhat difficult.  The tensioner is a pulley on a spring, that applies force to keep the serpentine belt taut.  When changing belts, you need to push against the tensioner's spring that effectively reducing the length the belt needs to travel, giving slack for installation or removal. I have a tool designed for this purpose, a 1/4in square drive end on a thin piece of metal.  I drafted my youngest kid to apply force so I could loop the belt over the tensioner and camshaft, but the new belt was tight enough that I needed to use the back my pry bar to slip the belt over the crankshaft pulley. Done!

Mark on AC pulley

Fired-up the car, and listened for the squeal of a stuck belt.  Turned-on the AC, heard the clutch engage and the extra load on the engine, no tell-tale stuck-belt squealing.  Just to make sure, I stopped the engine and put a little whiteout mark on the AC pulley so I could see if it turned.  Engine running again and white dot gone, I convinced myself the old belt just wore-out at an opportune time.

Put the inner fender back into place, with some satisfaction that I was able to re-use the fasteners and back on with the tire.  Took the car out for a few rides, let's hope it has enough miles for the emissions test to be run.