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Registered
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Gig Harbor, WA
Posts: 96
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Mechanically Challenged Testimonial - Long
When I bought my SC not too long ago I told myself I was either going to love it, meaning I was going to get inside and get to know it, or hate it. Having read this forum passively for quite some time I bought the 101 projects book and the Bentley manual knowing I was going to need them at some point. I gave each of them a summary review and put them on the shelf. Yesterday, some day came.
Got called into work on an emergency and decided, since it is my weekend driver and it is the weekend, to drive my favorite car to work 30 miles away. When I pulled into the parking lot the alternator light came on and I heard the nastiest grinding noise coming from the rear. Being a Porsche newbie and mechanically challenged, my first thought was something very bad happened. I shut it down, thinking now I have two emergencies, and went into the office to take care of the business problem. Once the emergency at work was under control my attention turned to my wounded car. First thing I did was search this board and found out it was most likely the alternator. WooHoo! Dodged a bullet I'm thinking. I'm just going to read all I can about the problem here, take it home, pull those books off the shelf, and wait. Take it home? Can I drive it? I read some more, finding out that if I have any sense at all I should call for a flatbed tow. Unfortunately I find out I'm a mechanically challenged newbie who's now lacking sense. I start it up, note the fan is turning and decide to give it a try. What's the worst that could happen? About 5 miles down the road awful noise and a plume of white smoke. I shut it down immediately. Both me and the CHP officer who saw me thought I fried the thing. I call for that flatbed. Get it home, grab the books, and open it up following the instructions precisely. Disconnect the AC and fan belts. Now for, in my mechanically challenged common sense lacking mind, the moment of truth. I get in, turn the key, the thing fires right up, and the terrible noise is gone. WooHoo! Dodged a bullet I'm thinking. I shut it down and pull out the alternator. Seems from here the alternator seized and the smoke was the melting fan belt. Temp never went above normal and car didn't run for longer than two minutes without a fan. What peripheral damage should I look for? I have it apart in my garage now eager to put it all back together once the alternator is rebuilt. The point of the post is this forum and Wayne's book are invaluable resources that I truly appreciate now. If only there was a chapter somewhere on common sense. Side Note - I was reading a thread where somebody had his fan and fan housing powder coated and I'm thinking to myself "I said I was going to love the car not make love to it. Way overboard.". Now, I find myself looking at it in the garage thinking "That fan would look good with some paint on it.". 
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Todd Dry 1982 911SC |
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10-09-2005, 01:48 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Charleston, SC
Posts: 821
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Very nice car. Chances are you did no damage. Look around while you have the alternator out. Make sure no critters lived under your shroud at some point. The paint/ powder coat is a good clean-up if you are so inclined. This is that slippery slope that is often mentioned. Have fun, you will love it.
Kevin
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Kevin '79 Coupe |
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10-09-2005, 02:34 PM
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Gon fix it with me hammer
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2 minutes , could have cooked the heads, those aren't directly oil cooled
there is nothing but air to cool those, temps can rise real fast but the rise wouldn't show immidiately in the oil temp, resulting in a burned valve... but like Kevin says, chances are no damage...the grinding noise from the belt probably made you pull over quite fast and that saved your bacon...hard to tell unless you take her out for a spin after the alt is fixed...
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Stijn Vandamme EX911STARGA73EX92477EX94484EX944S8890MPHPINBALLMACHINEAKAEX987C2007 BIMDIESELBMW116D2019 |
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10-09-2005, 02:46 PM
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Registered
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Long Beach CA, the sewer by the sea.
Posts: 37,760
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While Stijn may be right, I doubt harm has been done. Have confidence.
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10-09-2005, 03:01 PM
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Gon fix it with me hammer
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don't get me wrong , i think it's probably fine too , but i'm just mentioning the possibility and why it's possible, it all depends on the engines temp at the time of the failure and how and how long it ran after the fan failed...
there just is a narrower margin for error with aircooled engines because they allready run hotter by design when coasting to the emergency lane, the Throttle body would be closed, so no air, and CIS wouldn't send fuel, no combustion , no heat, no worries
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Stijn Vandamme EX911STARGA73EX92477EX94484EX944S8890MPHPINBALLMACHINEAKAEX987C2007 BIMDIESELBMW116D2019 |
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10-09-2005, 03:19 PM
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BimForce the Third, Esquire
