-wow-
I think I jinxed myself with the last part of my last post - work is done and I hope the tiny little washer that I removed was the shim (Is this it? -->
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/50438230/Shim.jpg). Compressor still doesn't engage, and worse, the plate on the outside of the pulley is not parallel with the pulley and is spinning about 1/3 the speed of the pulley, kinda like the spinning wheels. Looking down, I can see what little gap there is widen then shrink as the pulley rotates. Also, there is a distinct metal on metal sound, a scraping sound. Not good. This is what I did:
The subframe: I wound up loosening all 4 bolts, then removing the bolts on the passenger side and dropping it until the jack bottomed out and came clear of the frame. At this point, the center of the pulley was still about 1.5" to 2" from being accessible. This was enough to convince me that simply dropping the SF was not an option. I'm not sure how others have done it that way (in 30 minutes). So I had to yank the serp and unbolt the compressor, which, along with the remounting, was the most time-consuming part of the whole thing.
After finally getting all 3 comp. bolts free, I used a c-clamp to hold the pulley still to get the center nut off. I'd read about somebody else doing this. It was my only option since I really wasn't sure how the heck to use a screwdriver to hold the pulley still when the compressor was unbolted - perhaps the screwdriver method was only for those who were able to leave the compressor bolted. Anyway, I think I may have gripped it incorrectly - I clamped it parallel with the pulley axis. In other words, one clamp foot behind the pulley (inboard) and the other on the face plate. Looking back, maybe I should have clamped the plate at each edge (90 degrees from pulley axis), though this may have presented it's own problems. Even with the c-clamp, it took a few tries to get that center nut loose. Removed the shim (I hope) and reassembled.
Did I over-torque the plate upon reassembly so that the gap is now way too small and also not constant? I was actually worried that I wouldn't be able to get ENOUGH torque on it. I'm thinking it was more the way I clamped the plate to get the nut off.
Is there a term for when your hands are too greasy to turn a nut by hand, but it's not yet on tight enough for a ratchet to click on the back stroke? Also, does Gojo make a body wash? I damn near got maced when I came back in the house.
