Sabersoul's Caliber: Moved to Hampton, VA

[Sabersoul]

well the struts is a given. you put lowering springs on stock struts which is a no no. The other stuff shouldn't have failed probably. That sucks

Stock springs were on when the front struts blew. I put the springs on since I was replacing the fronts anyway. But yeah, the other parts just floor me. I didn't have to replace anything like that with the Neon.

[Fuzzyneon]

well the struts is a given. you put lowering springs on stock struts which is a no no. The other stuff shouldn't have failed probably. That sucks

Stock springs were on when the front struts blew. I put the springs on since I was replacing the fronts anyway. But yeah, the other parts just floor me. I didn't have to replace anything like that with the Neon.

i think i heard the front struts blow on calibers like start leaking and shit retarded

[Sabersoul]

well the struts is a given. you put lowering springs on stock struts which is a no no. The other stuff shouldn't have failed probably. That sucks

Stock springs were on when the front struts blew. I put the springs on since I was replacing the fronts anyway. But yeah, the other parts just floor me. I didn't have to replace anything like that with the Neon.

i think i heard the front struts blow on calibers like start leaking and shit retarded

Yes. When they go, they go. Leaked everywhere. When I took the stock struts off they were covered. Pistons went in on their own once I got the top hats off. Here's to hoping my KYB's up front last longer than 50K miles.

[Sabersoul]

Got the car back, they claimed not to find the noise we thought was the power steering pump and that the only noise they could find was from the alternator pulley. Dodge refused to do anything since the car is out of warranty. Which surprised the dealer since he said that they usually will given the unusually short life of the part. I wouldn't let the dealer repair the car as they wanted 3.5 hours of labor @ $108/hour. I bought the alternator today, but haven't tried to change it. Instead, I'm looking for a place that may be able to press out the bearings on the pulley and install new ones to fix my existing alternator. I really only bought the alternator in case it was needed since they had one in stock. Even if I have to pay a restocking fee to return it, it's still going to save me money and maybe I can order a part for fun.

[ZeroChad]

Geez, that's frustrating. Good luck finding a shop.

[Sabersoul]

Thanks. The really fun part is going to be getting the alternator out and getting it there. I found a shop that says they rebuild starters and alternators, so maybe they can do it. I'll find out in the morning.

[Sabersoul]

Called them, only $48.50 for labor and probably a few $ more for the bearings. His rebuilders don't work on the weekend, so I'll probably take the alternator off Monday morning and drop it off if I can borrow my mother in law's car for the day.

[Sabersoul]

Was definitely the alternator pulley. A few notes before I put up what I had to do to get the alternator now. Our alternators have a clutch in the pulley. This is supposedly to prolong the life of the alternator, but it's a poorly built part. The bearings are standard ball bearings exposed on the side against the alternator and if the pulley seizes completely it will damage the alternator forcing you to replace it or have it rebuilt. The stock-style pulley was going to be $170 just for the pulley itself so I opted for them to put a regular pulley on it that the grooves matched the stock one. Works like a champ and the car is quiet again. Now for the how-to, wish I would have taken pics, but didn't think about it, just wanted to fix the car.

The dealer will want to evacuate the AC system, remove the compressor, replace the alternator, reinstall the compressor and recharge the system. This is NOT necessary IF YOU ARE CAREFUL! The instructions in the '07 service manual are correct, but not very detailed.

Disconnect battery before starting this.

1. Jack up the Right Front corner and remove the wheel.
2. Remove BOTH splash shields from the wheel well
3. Remove serpentine belt
4. Remove lower idler pulley with 16mm wrench (area's kinda tight to fit a socket and ratchet in there)
5. LOOSEN but DON'T remove the lower alternator bolt (16mm bolt again, but you can get to it with a socket and ratchet)
6. Unplug the electrical connection to the compressor and remove all three 13mm bolts that hold the AC Compressor on.
7. CAREFULLY move the compressor to the right of the car and towards the rear of the car. You can wedge the compressor on the air dam/front bumper, at least on SE/SXT/RT models (not sure about SRT4)
8. Remove the cap covering the battery connection on the alternator and remove the 13mm nut holding it down.
9. Unplug the wiring harness from the alternator (tricky, but can be done)
10. Swing the wires from the alternator and compressor to the other side of the oil filter so they're out of the way
11. Remove the 13mm bolt at the top of the alternator then remove the bottom 16mm bolt completely
12. This part will be difficult, but keep wiggling the alternator and manipulate over toward the left in between the oil filter and where you've wedged the compressor. It will be difficult, but be patient. You don't want to damage your AC lines.

Follow steps in reverse to reinstall. Above all, be patient with it because if you're too rough with it you risk damaging those AC lines and if you're in a hot environment like I am (Houston, TX) you'll really regret it.

[Sabersoul]

I can't catch a break with this thing... Now my AC died. Trying to find a used compressor since now that's grinding.

[Sabersoul]

Wow... Long time since I've poked around here. AC problem is fixed. Crap design struck again, this time the hub on the inside of the pulley that actually turns the AC's drive shaft broke completely free of the outside so it wasn't actually making the pistons move in the compressor. The pulley was just freespinning. Bought a new-to-me compressor and replaced the hub inside the pulley, now it works. Squeaks a bit, but that's the belt making noise and I haven't bought a new one since it's fricking cold here in VA and I haven't needed the AC.

[Danteneon]

Sorry to hear about the bad luck with the car. Makes me kinda glad I don't have mine anymore...no waiting for stuff to fail.

[Sabersoul]

Sorry to hear about the bad luck with the car. Makes me kinda glad I don't have mine anymore...no waiting for stuff to fail.

Haven't had any problems since I fixed the AC a while back, thank goodness. Right now the Mrs. and I are just trying to get settled here in Hampton since we've only been here since Dec. 2nd. That was a heck of a move from Houston, but hopefully work won't have the risk of being so short-term out here.

[Danteneon]

Look at it this way, now you are in the heart of the 2GN community

[Sabersoul]

Hehe. Thanks. I'm just glad that I didn't have to pay for the move out here. Company footed the bill and gave me a nice pay raise to boot.

[Sabersoul]

The A/C struck again! Hub broke off again. I should have read the service manual more closely. The hub's designed to break away if something causes the compressor to sieze up so the pulley can keep turning. Fortunately I still have my spare compressor to replace this one with, but since I took the hub off my spare I'm going to have to hit up a junkyard to get another hub and pulley. Haven't done anything else to the car, just don't feel too much like it since we don't like living here. I'm looking for work back in Houston so we can go home. Though I'll probably put some ebay taillights on soon since the left one isn't sealed properly (there's a TSB about it, but I'm out of warranty).