I fixed Vanessa's pulley and belt ^_^

What a trip. The part came in. I found out there was a small tire change shop that does minimal repairs right across the street. Easy enough to boot up Vanessa and spill over. Let's see if they'll lend us the tools.

I walk over to the tire place. Ask questions about whether they will let us borrow the tools or not. One of the employees, Jeremy, was super nice and even walked over to Vanessa to take a look at her with me. I knew too much, he was grasping a bit. But he said he would let me borrow his tools once we get the part.

Part acquired we made it over. Jeremy came out and helped us with the right tools. We only needed a T50 bit and a 17mm 12-point socket. And something long to give us leverage. I ended up using an adjustable wrench on the T50 bit because the belt tensioner bar he lent us was too long.

Anywho. Taking the pulley off and on was easy just time consuming because of the narrow space. I didn't take anything off and was fighting the fan blades the whole time. I might have damaged the pulley on the way in though. At on point after most of the bolt was in I got some real tension. I backed off and realized the pulley was not seated properly on the bolt. Once I pushed it up right I could finish tightening it. Did I damage it somehow? IS that why it has a rhythmic wobble in the pulley now? Fuck.

The belt took less time but was more annoying. I needed my friend to help. We got the belt around and struggled to get it over the last pulley with the tensioner pulled. I thought it would be easier. And oddly, I was not pulling on the tensioner when my friend finished getting it over the last pulley. And now, it seems the belt may be stretched. IT has give and wobbles rotationally when running. But I've never looked at my belt before this. So what do I know? Did we stretch it?

I mention the fears/concerns because the belt squealed like crazy. More so than I expected. Was it too loose? Did I damage the pulley? Is it the wrong part? Is it just a crappy brand belt? Sigh.

Frustratingly I got exactly the belt and pulley I should have. I researched the shit out of it. After idling Vanessa for a while the belt seemed to give in and squeal less. We drove 120 miles on her to Richmond VA and she did alright.

SUPER PROUD of myself for diagnosing, finding parts, and fixing Vanessa all by myself. A HUGE victory for me. And put me through some suffering I had not anticipated. Can't wait for what's next!