When it rains...it pours. Broken fan belt this morning...

FrankF · 09-29-2005, 08:21 AM

Ah, the joys of being a 911 owner.....

On the way in to work this morning the alt light on my '79 SC lit up and the engine temp started climbing. And I'm thinking,"Jeez, what now?? I mean I've just finished dealing with the fuel system problem..."

So I made it in to a convenience store and found that my fan belt had snapped. A piece of it was caught in the between the shims so it was whipped around in the engine compartment until there wasn't much left. Managed to catch a ride to the Porsche shop and get a replacement belt and borrow the tool I needed to loosen the nut and remove the pulley half. Apparently the pulley on my car is not the original, so it required a tool I didn't have (ordered it though).

Anyway, installed the new belt in the parking lot of the store and went to work, albeit 2 1/2 hours late. The total time to install the belt was only 30 minutes or so (had to remove the compressor belt first), but the waiting for a ride and the travel back and forth to the Porsche shop took some time. I guess the moral of the story is, always carry spare parts. Can I get an AMEN!

Frank

MysticAlpaca · 09-29-2005, 08:27 AM

RAMEN brother!

Why did I say Ramen instead of Amen?

--Bill

FrankF · 09-29-2005, 08:32 AM

thanks for the link! I'm passing this one around. Have to keep it away from the wife though...she's a pastafarian.

kqw · 09-29-2005, 08:33 AM

Did you get a spare belt?

FrankF · 09-29-2005, 08:34 AM

dammit.....

Randy W · Randy W's Garage

I hear you...

FrankF · 09-29-2005, 08:35 AM

....well, I've got to go back to pick up the adjustment tool anyway, so I'll get the extra belt then.....it's really not been my morning...

sammyg2 · 09-29-2005, 10:01 AM

On the contrary. I would say you had a wonderful morning and should be saying thank you to whoever or whatever your faith dictates.
It could have been much worse.
When you were driving with no cooling from the fan, the cylinders and heads heated up much quicker than the oil, and the oil is what you saw climbing in temperature.
By the time the oil got hot enough to show on the guage, the heads could have been be cooking.
When you installed a new belt and drove the car away with no damage, you were very lucky. I'd say go buy a lottery ticket and get the red alternator light on your dash fixed. That should have warned you of the broken belt long before your temp guage moved.

Plus, even after the problems, you drove an SC to work! Just think of all the carrera owners you made secretly jealous

MysticAlpaca · 09-29-2005, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by sammyg2

Plus, even after the problems, you drove an SC to work! Just think of all the carrera owners you made secretly jealous

Why is that? ...no im really asking, i don't get it.

dtw · 09-29-2005, 10:36 AM

How long did you drive after the alt light went on?

FrankF · 09-29-2005, 10:46 AM

probably too long, though not long enough for the temp gauge to get to red. Maybe 5 minutes - I was trying to get to a place I could pull over and work - most of my drive is through a rural area.

dtw · 09-29-2005, 11:14 AM

Ouch...as mentioned above, the temp gauge is your oil temp, not your head temp. Your head temps were probably off the charts after 5 mins with no airflow. With any luck you'll come away unscathed, but you may want to stay extra "tuned in" to your car for the next several hundred or thousand miles. Just watch for loss of power, strange noises, new 'norms' on your gauge readings, increased oil consumption and/or smoke...

sammyg2 · 09-29-2005, 11:14 AM

Mystic, it's an inside joke. Notice the winking smiley face?
On this board the SC guys jab at the carrera guys and visa versa. All in fun, most of the time.
So a search for SCWDP, there are literally volumes of the good natured bantering.
Most of it describing how the SC is a "super" carrera. Oops, there I go again

The irony is that the two cars are very nearly the same, so it's like two brothers fighting.

ken_xman · 09-29-2005, 11:23 AM

I feel your pain.
Last Friday
- Wifes Jeep blows p/steering line.. towed $100
- My sedan, seized H20 pump... towed $350
- My 911 bumpers still off .. in garage
- My old 89 benz, still assembling after painting
Owning $80k in cars...... and not one I can drive to buy beer.
PRICELESS

FrankF · 09-29-2005, 11:26 AM

dtw,

I'm concerned about this now. Is there any diagnostic that can tell me whether there is any damage to the heads - or does that require serious disassembly?

MysticAlpaca · 09-29-2005, 11:33 AM

sammyg2 thanks. I figured as much but wanted to make sure in case I found myself in a similar situation.

My friend has an 80SC so I am familiar with the SCWDP, so I should have guessed as much

--Bill

dtw · 09-29-2005, 11:49 AM

Frank - some of the qualitative (different noises, more smoke) and quantitative (increased oil consumption) observations I mentioned will help you identify any damage, and a compression/leakdown test may help identify any burned valves or guides. Beyond that, I'm not sure, but I'm no professional. Consult some of the pro wrenches on this board (John Walker, Henry Schmidt) or call your local shop.

General rule of thumb for a broken fan belt is to kill the engine as fast as is safely practicable!

FrankF · 09-29-2005, 11:54 AM

I asked the guy at the local shop and he seemed to think that I would be ok, though he didn't mention the possibility of damage to the heads. Honestly, I didn't know the belt was broken until I opened the deck lid. I really didn't know why the temp was going up -

shows how much of a novice I am. I didn't hear anything unusual. Man I hope this doesn't urn out to be a major engine problem.

yelcab1 · 09-29-2005, 11:56 AM

The SC spares list:

1. Computer relay
2. Fan belt
3. Flash light
4. Extra wheel lock key (if you have wheel locks)
5. fuses
6. spark plugs
7. fuel filter
8. Oil
9. CIS adjustment allen wrench (in the glove box for easy everyday access)
10. Cell phone.

dtw · 09-29-2005, 11:59 AM

Frank - sorry, not trying to alarm you. Seems that especially with the aluminum 3.0 and 3.2 motors, people escape a few minutes of broken-belt driving without any long term ill effects. Order a spare belt and make sure you've got a fan tool in place in your toolkit, and relax...just keep your senses operating while you drive and don't brush off any "changes" in your car's operating characteristics in the near future without further analysis. Enjoy the car!!