Sports Car Club of Vermont

Heyyy if you didn't hear, the club bought their very own plow rig for ITT. Thought it would be nice to have a record of what was done while in the clubs possession. Jeremy, maybe you can post what previous maintenance was done?

Anyway, here is the initial engine bay pic. oooooooo


And after tonight's work. It's a drill weekend for me so not a lot of work was done but I was able to drain the radiator of coolant and transmission oil. I had to remove the rad fan and grille before removing the radiator and shroud.


Serpentine belts, pulleys and timing covers next

Got some more work done tonight. Appears the right side valve cover is leaking


Top timing belt cover removed.


Belt showing age


Acorns baked


Up next: crank pulley, lower belt cover, idlers

Subscribed.

Broke the crank pulley bolt loose using the starter with a breaker bar on the frame rail. Going to need a tool to properly torque it back on. Hopefully I can borrow one from an autoparts store.


Rotated the engine to TDC. Marked the two cam pulleys and the crank pulley just in case the new belt doesn't have the marks.


Crank pulley, bottom timing belt cover, timing belt and water pump housing removed.


Timing belt tensioner rear bolt is a bit challenging to reach. It's the only bolt I need to get under the truck for and requires a 10" and a 6" wobble extension. It's tucked up between the oil pan and A/C compressor.


Halfway there after everything gets cleaned.

Tensioner removed and compressed


The tool I forgot Ed sent me so I don't have to remove the tensioner to compress it


New seal for the t-stat - came with the aisin kit


Water pump and two idlers installed.




Tensioner installed after confirming pulleys were timed correctly.


Link to video of it all back together and idling. If you don't have a spill-free funnel, you should get one. They are great for purging the coolant system of air without babysitting it or making a mess. Sticker with date and mileage annotated
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ejwGpHTpaL4e6XfK7

The crank pulley, at this point, is on there but I'll have to pull the fan and shroud once more for a final torque of 217ft/lbs.

In early November 2023, the front brakes were replaced with new rotors and pads. There were unfortunately one out of four frozen/sticky pistons on each caliper, but was able to retract them far enough to install parts and vehicle still stops adequately to be safe. Will be good to look at replacing both front calipers or rebuilding them next season.

Also, an engine oil change was performed.

Issues that still need fixing as of 12/5:

-The aftermarket plow light harness system has reached its end of life due to corrosion on terminals and overall age/use causing light issues. Recommended to remove entire system and restore OEM light functions, while adding a new aftermarket set of LED light pods on plow frame with toggle switch. Work on this project is imminent, and standby for purchase approval of LED light system.

-Tailgate will no longer open. Could be simple fix, could be more involved. Not mission critical to upcoming season but would be good to investigate at available member’s convenience.

That’s the update for now