De-Bugging the AC in Subie.

No AC in Subie getting you down?

There is nothing like a 95+ degree day to remind you how nice it would be to fix the AC in the car.   Subie's AC has been intermittent for the last two years.   At first I thought it was because I overfilled the AC ( which I did not....but remember, I'm an idiot)

This Gap is WAY too big.

  After finally finding the motivation to dig further and do some research, I discovered that a possible hangup is a small spacer in the clutch assembly.  It looked easy enough to at least take a look at.   And wouldn't AC feel nice on my new daily commute to Iowa City for Pearson?

Lets remove this Clutch.

After removing the covers,  I learned that the clutch could easily be removed with a set of three 5mm bolts.   I threaded them in and "pop!"  Off she came. I can not possibly convey how simple that was.   I would have been very unhappy trying to pull that clutch off any other way.  Simply astounding!

That was easy!  Almost Too Easy...

With the clutch off, I was able to give it a closer look.  I see that the gap between the clutch and pulley was enough to allow a spider to set up shop near the screw mount.    Not shown ( because I forgot to take a picture) was me measuring the gap.   I learned that Subaru has a tolerance of .45 mm to .15 mm gap between clutch and pulley.   Mine was definitely larger than .45mm!  on to the next phase.

I have BUGS in my AC!

Remove  small Spacer from center post.

I took out the small spacer ( looks like a really thin washer) and pressed the clutch back into place.   I got really lucky on this one.   Not only did I guess right on the 5mm bolts,  But I also accidentally purchased 8 mm bolts  that I ended up using to push the clutch back on.  And here I was thinking I messed up buying extra bolts for nothing.

Clean up the clutch back  Note uneven wear

I cleaned up the clutch a bit and noted that there is a bit of uneven wear on one side.  I'm not sure how big of a deal this is,  but it beats purchasing a new compressor. ( $600!)    I'll have to keep that in the back of my mind if it acts up again.

Let's Fill 'Er Up!

Middle of the Zone.

But does it work?   Yes!   Cold air comes out generously now;  with the clutch engaging and disengaging when I push the button.  I should also note that I checked the gap with the shims and found that the new space between the pulley and clutch is perfectly between .15 and .45 mm. Next step is to top off the coolant.  Fairly easy.  Infact, I still had some refrigerant from two years ago.   I finally get a chance to use it up.

Cold enough for Ice Cream now.

So now I get to drive a Subaru that can double as an Ice Cream Truck!  Just kidding.   It is not that cold...but Cheryl did mentioning taking him out for Ice Cream later. Hopefully the AC will provide enough chill so we can enjoy the Ice Cream before it completely melts.

Scary Fall Spiders and Falling Telephone Poles

Monster in the Kitchen!

Cheryl's quick thinking...and snack dish

With the cooler weather, certain outside creatures are looking for a place to hold up and hide out for the winter.   Usually, these are ladybugs and Box-elder beetles.    But last night,  Cheryl noticed something slightly larger in the middle of the kitchen floor....

Look at the size of that quarter!

Cheryl takes it a "safe" distance away.

I'm not sure what kind of spider this was,  but BIG sums it up nicely.  After covering it with a dish...  and doing the "creepy crawly dance" for a few moments,  both of us mustered up the courage to bundle it up and release it outside.   As a rule of thumb, we try to not kill spiders.   Maybe it is that human biologist in me...or the fact that bug guts are disgusting.   Whatever the reason,

Hurray for  plastic protection!

Cheryl and I both headed outside to the removal.   Cheryl selected a "far enough away from the building" location so the spider will "recognize he is not welcome"... and hopefully pester one of the unsuspecting neighbors instead.

Cheryl and Hiro run to safety!

After we released him,  Cheryl fled to a house with Hiro providing security.   Everyone knows cats are good protection from spiders...

Old and rotted,  this pole is history.

I wonder what caused the issue?

The other thing that is notable today was that the Sewer guys knocked down the power/cable line to the apartment this morning.  My suspicion is that the excavator bumped one of the lower lines while digging the trench.  Add in that the pole was ancient and rotted...and you have a recipe for disaster.

Our "New" power pine pole!

With the new pole up.  time to string up the wires..

The power guys were swift and agile.   They got the power back up before 1:00 PM.   Then the Cable guy moved in...

Now to connect to the grid!

And now Mediacom get to it.

This looked like a two man job...  but there was only one guy so it took a little longer.   The good news is that we finally have the Internet up and now have a new pole with new lines.   The bad ( -ish) news is that we were both supposed to score today for ETS....and with our internet... quite literally DOWN down,  we were unable to begin on time and thus..unable to participate today.  I only say this is kind of bad because after three weeks of scoring for Pearson....I was not particularly eager to get back into the fray.

I'm impressed with MediaCom.   They actually came out on the day of the emergency!   Usually there is a five day waiting list for things like this.

Sunshine, Spiderwebs, and Sewer Excavation.

They are about this big

The cooler weather has triggered a massive migration...  of spiders into our apartment!   Oh, sure,  we close the door and hang signs warning spiders to keep out,   But the windows in this place are rather old and drafty.   Ok,  There are GAPING HOLES in the sills.

They like to jump on Cheryl in the shower!

  We are the only apartment that does not have new(er) windows.  They are made of wood and shriveled glue.   So,  basically, spiders and any other insect that wants to, can some into our apartment with little effort.   It kind of scares Cheryl a bit....  ever since that whole "Spider on my naked body" thing last year.  Oh, wait.  Allow me to rephrase it properly:  "SPIDER ON MY NAKED BODY!!!!"   Followed by ear-splitting screams and general hysteria.

He hangs out under the Baseboard radiator.

As for me,   I'm not very fond of spiders either.  However, I appreciate them and try not to kill them.  

 I hear if you kill one, it causes it to rain.  Is that even true?   Who made up such a thing?   Anyway, I don't want to risk another apartment flood because I get a little upset about a spider.  

All that lead up to show off this picture. 

But other than that, I do like them when they have pretty webs that catch the sunlight.   I managed to snap this pic while the sun was setting yesterday and I liked the way the light made it glow.  Too bad the web was already in dis-repair compared to a couple of days ago.  

Sewer construction in Gear

Time to dig up some Iowa Lawns!

Besides the bug problems,  the apartment is going through the sewer hook up scene that started a few days ago and is now in full swing.   The heavy equipment has been parked in our yard  for a while now and I think they are digging...somewhere close by.   We can't really see where from our vantage point.  But we can definitely see that they are tearing up the lawns of everyone involved.  I just hope it does not inconvenience us as much as it did when they put the driveway in. 

Just stay away from Subie!

I begin scoring a Pearson Project tomorrow.   I have already qualified ( last Wednesday) and now hopefully will be able to supplement our income  for the remainder of the month.  I guess Monday we will also be doing a short College board Project.   It may be just a clean up thing.  It is only supposed to last a week or less.  And all of this happens right before we head to Chicago for the Marathon.   Lovely.  

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend.   After this next week,  I'm hoping we can lose the stress a bit and just focus on scoring and the occasional stocking.  Thenks for stopping in!