ShopNGarage

The alternator in my wife’s Windstar van was on the fritz.

Today I went to the U-Pull yard and picked up a used one for $28.

 

The serpentine belt tensioner is in the back of the engine on the bottom. I have a serpentine belt tool, but it wouldn’t work on this 3.8L. The shallow socket wouldn’t fit between the pulley bolt and the frame rail. A crowfoot wouldn’t provide a proper angle to release the tension. I picked up a cheap wrench set from the parts store. I cut the box end off of the 13mm and welded it to some bar stock. Now I have a nice custom Windstar serpentine belt tensioner tool.

A stock Suzuki Samurai has one transfer case shift lever. The transfer case is first shifted from 2 wheel drive high to 4 wheel drive high. From 4 wheel drive high, the transfer case can be shifted into neutral, followed by 4 wheel drive low.

I modified my transfer case to accept a twin stick shifter.

 

There are two shift rails inside the transfer case. One rail shifts the case from high, to neutral, to low range. The other rail engages the front output shaft. There is a detent ball between the two rails that prevents the range lever from moving until the front output shaft rail is shifted to 4 wheel drive. The first step of this project was to take apart the transfer case and remove the center detent ball. This allows the rails to be shifted independently.

 

I purchased a twin stick kit from Rock 4x Fabrication.

 

The shift levers in the kit are straight and must be bent to shape. Using an oxy-acetylene torch, I heated a lever red-hot where bends were needed. I bent the first lever so that it was shaped like the stock shift lever. Using washers, I shimmed the lever into position. This allowed me to slip the shifter into the transfer case and test the operation. I bent the left lever first because it has more throw than the right. I checked that it could move the shift fork through the full range and that it did not interfere with the body of the truck.

 

When satisfied with the shape of the left lever, I placed both in a vise.

 

I bent the right lever to match the left.

 

I installed both levers and tested their operation. I also checked clearance with the body and the input and output shafts.

 

The levers are painted and ready for installation.

 

The transfer case input flange must be removed to install the shifter retainer and rubber boot assembly. It is best to remove the transfer case to complete this step.

 

To reduce road and wind noise, I made a thick rubber seal for the shift levers. I cut slits to allow the levers to move, but punched holes for a better seal. The holes are punched at the most commonly used position, 2 wheel drive high range.

 

This picture shows the levers shifted to the 4 wheel drive high range position.

 

A hand stitched leather shift boot completes the project.

What does this project achieve?

The right lever controls a quick shift between 2 wheel drive and 4 wheel drive.

The left lever controls the shift from high range, to neutral, to low range. If the right lever is left in 2 wheel drive, and the left lever is shifted to neutral, a “true neutral” is achieved. This is great for flat towing the Samurai. The left lever can also be shifted to low range, providing a 2 wheel drive low.

I needed an additional manifold vacuum port for an emission control device. The throttle body was removed from the manifold and I stuffed a rag into the runner. I selected a drill bit that was slightly larger than the brass tube that was to be used for the port. After drilling the hole, I gently removed the rag that had capture the aluminum chips. I wrapped masking tape around the part of the tube that would extend above the manifold. Next I spread a thin coat of JB Weld on the lower part of the tube. I inserted the tube into the hole with a twisting motion to evenly distribute the JB Weld. The layer of masking tape prevented the tube from sliding into the manifold until the JB Weld was cured.

I take all the photos for this site with an iPhone 4. I would also like to start including video, and the iPhone is capable of shooting those in HD.

I will need a tripod adapter for the iPhone.

Starting with a plastic Bessey clamp, I removed the pivot screw and took the clamp apart. Next I glued rubber pads to the faces of the jaws. I heated the spring with a torch to release some of the tension. I wanted a firm, but not a crushing grip on the phone. I reassembled the clamp with a 1/4″ x 2″ bolt. I applied thread locker to the end of the bolt and installed a 1/4″-20 coupler. The tripod screw will fit into this coupler.

 

This gets the job done, but I am already thinking of a better design that will be of welded steel.

To clean ash from my fireplace, I like to use the small shovel that came with my fireplace tool kit. Make sure the ashes are cold before removing them. Open the damper and place the ash can close to the opening. Opening the damper helps to draw ash dust up the flue, instead of it drifting out into the room.

The ashes should be placed in a metal can with a tight-fitting lid. The lid is important so that the wind cannot stir hot embers and start a new fire. A regular metal trash can may be used, or you can buy an ash can. There are also special vacuums designed for removing ashes.

Do not put trash in the ash can. Make sure the ashes are cold before emptying them into a regular trash can on pickup day. The ashes may also be mixed with garden compost.