[HPR]

Marathon session today. New tensioner, idler pulley, and belt; changed out front and rear differential fluid; changed out transfer case and transmission fluid. I'm a bit tired from all the in and out underneath the car. I'm an old guy who doesn't move as well as I used to. Thanks to the folks who posted all the wonderful material photos and writeups on these DIY tasks. No pix from me since these have all been well documented.

I will add several items/tips though. Tensioner and belt replacement were beyond frustrating. Hardware installation is straight forward. The new belt did not want to mount on the pulleys. It had folds in it that had taken a set from being in the package. It kept hanging up on the bottom of the crank pulley where I couldn't see it and I kept thinking the belt was too short. Lesson here is to warm the belt in the sun and pay close attention to it's location when placing on the crank pulley.

The transmission fluid replacement was also straight forward. Be careful when doing the fill at operating temperature. The exhaust pipe is just inches from the fill hole and very hot. No burns here, but worth mentioning. Also, others were concerned that only about 5 liters was used for the refill. That was my experience also. Used about 5.25 liters. Tran temp was 28C when filled and not running. Checked at 35C while running and added to, checked at 40C while running and added to, checked at 45C and added to, checked at 50C and was full. All running checks were done with the car in gear. Moving around under the car on jack stands while it's in gear is a bit unnerving. Final note, once the trans had reached operating temperature I rechecked pan bolt torque and got about an eight of a turn more from each bolt at the 10nm value.

Brake pads and rotors all around just completed. Here are a several tips.

It's important to make sure the calipers aren't dangling or otherwise straining the brake fluid line while the caliper is removed from the bracket. Get some wire and secure it to the coil over.

Make sure your caliper pins are clean and lubricated. I had to wire brush mine because of corrosion. Be sure and use high temperature brake grease for any lubrication.

Rust is a big problem if you live in a winter state. Colorado sprays the roads with mag chloride in winter and it's nasty, corrosive stuff. After using PB blaster, a torch, and breaking two 16 mm sockets trying to loosen the caliper bracket bolts here's what I resorted to. Bottle jack, breaker bar and impact socket. Once removed, all bolts were treated to a wire brush session on the shop grinder and coated with a bit of anti-seize.

Also, my rotors were seized on the hubs, again from rust. I used PB blaster and a dead blow mallet to remove them. I had to beat the living hell out of them to get them separated. Don't be afraid to use a bit of persuasion.