What did you do today

[Zulch]

Very nice car Marshal, a convertible no less !! Wasn't the Valiant similar in body style? I remember a friend had a 60s model Valiant with push button tranny selector.

[Hawg]

That was a nice ride Marshal. A buddy of mine gave me an old Exmark zero turn mower. It runs and drives good but it needs some work. It's been sitting for a year or two. He totally trashed the bearings in both deck idler pulleys. I drilled out the welds and spent about an hour trying to separate the pulley halves but the races are really in there. They usually come right out but these wont. Bearings are about 12.00. Pulleys are 30.00 some odd dollars each. I'm not giving up yet. Tomorrow is another day.

[Marshal Will]

Thanks, Mick. It was. My first one was a coupe. If I were to get another one again, I'd look for a coupe.

Thanks Z, the Valiant was similar in construction but the body style was different. The Dart GT was similar in market purpose to the Plymouth Barracuda. It wasn't your grandmother's economy car like the standard Dart was.

Thank you, Hawg. Those pulleys look like they could be a bear to gewt apart.

[Hawg]

They are. I've never seen anything like them. They had eight spot welds holding them together. I drilled them out and drove a screwdriver between the halves. That usually pops them apart but I ended up with two screwdrivers and a chisel trying to get them apart. They must have pressed them in. Heat would get them apart but the only thing I have now is a little propane torch and it's empty. I haven't given up yet and I won't until I ruin both of them.

[Miguel Loco]

Get some propane Hawg.....heat will definitely help

[mike116]

Get a bottle of MAP gas instead of propane (yellow bottle instead of blue). It's hotter and faster and works with the propane torch you already have.

[Hawg]

I got the bearing races out. I used my 7 1/2" disk grinder and notched the flange one one side that holds the bearing in and bent the tabs out. I had to use a hammer and chisel to drive them out. The pulley halves didn't come apart when the race came out like I thought it would so it must be spot welded further down but I saw no evidence of it. I bent one pulley trying to get it apart and can't straighten it like it is. I put it in a big vise and it went together under pressure but opened back up when released. If I can't get it apart I'll have to buy a new one. Oh well, better one than two. It might go together close enough to use when I put bolts in it but I doubt it. I will have to buy one new spacer because the other one was trashed.

[Miguel Loco]

Progress!!

[Hawg]

More progress. I cleaned off the pulley better and found four more spot welds closer to the center of the pulley. I drilled those out and the pulley fell apart. I got the two halves straightened out so they fit together like they should. I dug through my box of bolts and found enough nuts, bolts and lock washers to bolt them back together. I even found a new bolt to replace the one that got ground down. Then I remembered I had a metal box with some Craftsman blade spindle shafts in it. Now I have ten bearings that are a perfect fit. They've been sitting in less than perfect conditions and are a little stiff. Even tho they're sealed bearings I'm going to take them down and wash the old grease out and repack them. Now all I have to do is find something to make a bushing out of. I've got a bunch of pilot shaft bushings for manual transmissions but I doubt any of them will work. If I don't find anything that will work a new bushing is only 6 bucks.

[Miguel Loco]

Awesome! Invisible spot welds will get you every time....

[Hawg]

Awesome! Invisible spot welds will get you every time....

They're marked with a tiny little pip mark like this 0. You can't actually see the weld like you could in the old days.

[Captainkirk]

Moving 8 inches of fresh snow. With a badly behaving back. I don't regret one cent that I spent on my snowblower.

[Hawg]

Moving 8 inches of fresh snow. With a badly behaving back. I don't regret one cent that I spent on my snowblower.

I feel for ya, even if I know naught of this "snow" thou speaketh of.

[Miguel Loco]

Just what is this "snow" thing you're talking about? I shoveled lots of sunshine today.....back feels just fine!

[mike116]

Just what is this "snow" thing you're talking about? I shoveled lots of sunshine today.....back feels just fine!

It looks like this.....