Re: Overheat on my 3.0l...
Update... While the pulley came out great, the bracket that holds and adjusts the raw water pump is wrong in two respects. First, after careful measurements, it's 0.9373" out of plane with the water pump pulley it runs off. That still gives me an annoying whine above 4k rpm and can't be any good for the belt or the bearings. Second, whoever mounted this pump to this engine had no clue how to make a tensioning bracket. The only way to keep tension on the pump is to over tighten the pivot bolt. In other words, the tensioning bracket only serves as a stabilizer and not a very good one.
I have been wanting to add welding capacity to my little shop for some time, both gas and MIG. The former because heat, in the form of a torch is so useful. It's easier to bend steel and the hot wrench can really help getting things apart. Also, you can weld mild steel with such a set up in a pinch. I bought a set of Harris torches (with cutting tip and rosebud) off of ebay for $100. These were new, in a nice plastic case and I think I got a great deal for a quality set. Yesterday I went and bought a 125 cf O2 tank and a 75cf Acetylene tank for about $450. Then I went home to set things up. Trying to find a good source of steel here in the Keys is problematical. I found a 30" piece of 17/32" x 3/16" at an Ace hardware store for $2.99. It had nice shiny paint on it, but the magnet stuck, so I knew I had steel.
I first started to figure out how I would bend the steel edgewise. First I used the rosebud, but found it really lacked the power I needed. I switched to the largest welding tip and it was great. It was then I figured out that I needed a template to bend against. I have lots of wood and plastic, but they don't deal well with heat.
It was then I remembered the cement/asbestos board that I have kept for many years. It was a toss out when I was a machinist at Lab Sciences where we made teaching tools for Engineering Schools. This is where I made a huge mistake. The radius from the center of the pump to either bolt is 2.50". I made two arcs. One for 2.25" and one for 2.75". I drilled 3/16" holes along each arc about every 1/2" and put #10 x 2 1/2" wood screws through the board and into the wood workbench below. I had also drilled two holes for #10 screws about two inches down on the other side of the steel. I would heat the metal to cherry red, bend it a bit and then flatten it on my anvil. It took about 10 minutes for each radius and I got them really close. I then ground the last 2.5" of the bottom of the brackets as well as an insert so that the two pieces would be 1/2" apart. I beveled the mating edges and welded them using gas and a mild steel filler rod. I could tell it's been 20+ years since I welded professionally and most of that was using arc or MIG. Fortunately, I got the hang of getting the puddle going and soon I had the first (and hardest) part of the bracket done.
Then I saw my mistake!
Bracket next to the steel stock it was created from.
Bracket next to the proper and improper radius.
The mistake? The pump pivots from the OTHER bolt and not from the center. I actually needed to make this with a radius of 5" and not 2.5". Too funny, but it was a great exercise to get me re-acquainted with welding and working with steel again. I went to SpeedyMetals.com and ordered 1/2" x 3/16" 1018 for the tensioner as well as 1 1/4" x 3/16" 1018 for the base. Together they cost about $12 and I will have plenty left over for other projects. However, it will be at least a week since I am headed to the Cave Diving conference this weekend in Gainesville, doing some classes in the early part of next week and then heading to 40 fathom grotto right after so I can finish my Tech Diving Instructor credentials for NASE. The steel will be in by then, and I might pick up either an old fashioned arc welder, or a small MIG. I still have to wire the basement with 220V for my compressor so I want to get something I can grow with.
This has been fun for me so far. I love to fix and create, and while I am not afraid to try, I am enough of a perfectionist to keep at it until I get it right.
