Whizbang

i think the car is fine...i might have caught it in time and the motor is still pretty new.


but i was letting the car sit and warm up (which i do from time to time when im not driving it) and i come back out and see the water temps are almost out of the |______| thing. so turn the car off and pop the hood. the efan was working, etc but the rad cap on the elbow for the water pump was steaming out. and there was coolant coming out of some of the minor coolant leaks i have but noticeable on the ground. so i go WTF! i check the belt, for the water pump and it had more than an inch play. and i turn the water pump pulley by hand no resist from the belt at all. i tighten that WAY the hell up. I think it was caused by the pump not turning because the radiator was cold, the hoses to and from where cold but the pump was HOT. I took the cap of the rad and i didnt see coolant so i added almost a gallon to fill the thing back up.


restarted the car, ran fine, stayed at a good temp and no white smoke.

I = uber lucky

also, i read tonite that aftermarket thermostats are hazardous. so going to replace that while i take the front of the water pump off to mount a temp sensor.

my normal temps are 1/3 up the gauge which i guess is high....im wiring in a digital water temp. and advice on a location on the pump to mount it to get a good reading? im thinking before the thermostat.

Syonyk

Your alternator wasn't tight enough? That's the only way I can see the belts getting that loose.

And, yes, without the water pump turning, the water won't circulate, and the engine block will just get really hot.

... you should have had all the warning lights stay on when you started the car, though. If the belts weren't turning the water pump, they wouldn't have been turning the alternator either, or so it would seem.

Also, most people seem to agree that removing the water pump, and drilling & tapping the back for the aftermarket gauge is probably the best spot. You might want a voltmeter as well.

-=Russ=-

Whizbang

well i only have one belt and the volts where low (na base with turbo ii swap so i have the voltmeter).

the alt was not tight enough i think because i recently put on a FD alt, and i guess it loosened, and the contact area on the water pump is much less than the alt so it just barely turned.

Syonyk

From your sig:
GET TWO BELTS ON THERE!

I guess I can see the alternator turning enough to get rid of the alternator failure light show.

-=Russ=-

Whizbang

yeah its on my list of things to do