Be prepared for possible meltdown.

So, yesterday I decided to change my drive belts and replace the idler pulley on my 98 SR5.

While we stuff is corroded, my rust isn't out of control by any means. So theoretically, this should have been an hour, hour and a half long job.

I also decided to do this with the fan still connected. Again, very doable.

So I started with the PS pump belt. Everything went fine. The tensioner is a bit of a pain in the ass but doable.

Next was the AC belt and pulley. The bolt on the pulley loosened just fine but when I went to the tensioner, three turns in, I hear "SNAP!!". A little panic but no big deal since I was replacing the pulley anyway. I'll just have to get another bolt now as the back part of the bolt is all corroded and the reason why the tensioner bolt snapped.

Moved onto the alternator belt and that one came out just fine as well.

Now, back to the AC pulley. I went to go and remove the bolt from the bracket but it was fairly seized into place. Even with the tensioner bolt snapped, it didn't move from it's spot on the bracket. I finally did get it to move with a little force.

Next, ok the front of the bolt there is a collar that goes on first and butts up to the bracket. That collar needs to be removed in order to get the bolt fully removed from the bracket. Well, that collar nut is now completely seized and corroded to the bolt. So it ain't coming off like it should.

I grab the Dremel and start going to work. 4 hours or so later worth of grinding gave me zero results other than cutting deep slices into the collar nut. The problem is that there is very little space to maneuver the Dremel.

I would have removed the bracket itself but as you may guess, the AC pulley bracket is part of the compressor bracket. So to remove it, you gotta pull the compressor. Not happening!!

What I really need to do is get an angle grinder on it so that I can just slice the bolt. Problem is, is that an angle grinder won't fit in the space available.

So, after pondering my life decisions at 9 PM last night, I found that Dremel sells an attachment which puts the blade at a 90 degree angle. So essentially, turning it into a mini angle grinder. Crossing my fingers that it's going to work. Using this tool should give me the proper angle to get under the collar and slice the bolt in half. In theory.

So, just wanted to share my experience with one of those situation where a simple job turned into a day long issue and still not fully resolved by the next day.

And even with all the tools that I have, I still had to go out and add another tool to the mix.

The perils of DIY on older rigs! However, I know that when I bust that fucker free, the amount of joy will too much to contain!