stealthzx3's ZX3 build

[stealthzx3]

i have one heck of a story trying to find this stupid tension pulley.
so i went to the pick and pull yard expecting to find one right away. paid $3 to get in, and they had 6 focuses from 2000-2002. turns out, 3 of them didn't have engines, and 3 of them had SPI engines. they all had blown engines (hmm, i wonder why?) so they didn't even have a tensioner that i seen..
i did manage to walk away with 4 lugs, a clip for my radiator hosing, and a new cig lighter thing, all for free. there was a nice radio bezel but i'm guessing they probably want like $15 bucks for it, so i passed on that.

anyways, i went down the road to an auto place where they pull the parts for you. they said they have the pulley, and they'd have it in 30 minutes. so i walked a few blocks down the street and ran into another salvage yard. called them and they said they don't sell parts, they're just a tow yard or something; so try this place down the street. i called the other place which was 2 blocks from where i was waiting for the guys to pull my part out, and got an estimate of the exact same price for the part, and it's sitting on the shelf ready to go. so i waited an HOUR for them to pull out the tensioner, just to find out it was even more corroded and rusted out than the one i have now. i even said, "this spring is shot.. why would you even try selling this to me."

so i called the place down the road and since they had it on a shelf, i went and checked it out. it is in great shape, and i picked it up right away. good spring, and in good shape all together. picked that up for the exact same price, and it has a 90 day warranty.

sorry about the blabbing, i was just really irritated with those a$$es. so i got my pulley, and am about to put it on.

old vs. somewhat new

[stealthzx3]

Originally Posted by zx3_bmxrider

Good luck sir. Glad you tinted your emblem :D

thankyousir! glad you taught me how to do it now i need to get clips for the back of the emblem, cause i lost the original ones

[pyroinsa]

Damn man, heck of a way to get a part. Nice to see the depot grille delete lol

[stealthzx3]

Originally Posted by pyroinsa

Damn man, heck of a way to get a part. Nice to see the depot grille delete lol

i know, it was really lame. i want to get the svt upper and lower like ranger. it's the best look for this bumper imo.

btw, got the belt on and cut a little breather hole for the intake. i need to make it bigger lol, i cut it too far down.

[AvieF]

Originally Posted by timboslice

thankyousir! glad you taught me how to do it now i need to get clips for the back of the emblem, cause i lost the original ones

wait..how do you tint an emblem

nice on the pulley .. how did you know it was bad? noob question

[stealthzx3]

here ya go avie.
http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=282185

the tensioner pulley is spring loaded so you can pull it loose with a wrench to wrap the belt around the last wheel. otherwise it's almost impossible to stretch the belt. you can tell if it's bad if the spring doesn't move back, or move at all. it's actually very common and i wouldn't doubt if alot of the members here have a shot spring and they don't even know it. it's ok to have a shot one on, but if you need to replace the serpentine belt or any pulleys you would need a new tensioner pulley.

[AvieF]

Originally Posted by timboslice

here ya go avie.
http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=282185

the tensioner pulley is spring loaded so you can pull it loose with a wrench to wrap the belt around the last wheel. otherwise it's almost impossible to stretch the belt. you can tell if it's bad if the spring doesn't move back, or move at all. it's actually very common and i wouldn't doubt if alot of the members here have a shot spring and they don't even know it. it's ok to have a shot one on, but if you need to replace the serpentine belt or any pulleys you would need a new tensioner pulley.

gotcha..thanks :)

[stealthzx3]

Originally Posted by AvieF

gotcha..thanks :)

you learned something new today
it might be a lil confusing but when you see it in person it makes sense.

[02fordsvt]

Originally Posted by timboslice

i know, it was really lame. i want to get the svt upper and lower like ranger. it's the best look for this bumper imo.

btw, got the belt on and cut a little breather hole for the intake. i need to make it bigger lol, i cut it too far down.

Here's what I did with mine. I don't know how much it helps but it should be getting a lot more are forced to it.

[stealthzx3]

yess!! how did you make that? alot of cutting and testing i assume. i just made a cheap metal thing that would make the air flow through the hole i cut there right into the intake snorkel thing.
do you have pics of when you were making it? or even out of the car? also, what is it made of, like 1/8" plastic? it looks like it does the job.