Dodged a bullet

[Erik S. Klein]

I just got back from a "Sunday Cruise" - okay, I was a day early but that's not important. . .

About 3-4 miles from home I'm pulling away from a light on a mild curve and all of a sudden I found myself without power steering.

It shut off instantly so I figured it wasn't a fluid issue which left a few other options. I quickly got myself turned around to putter home as best I could. . . my mistake.

As it turns out the belt came off and, although it was content to wobble around harmlessly for a while, it eventually got hooked up with the AC belt. That then got wrapped around the fan and things got noisy, smoky and ugly VERY quickly.

Fortunately I was at another light (heading the other way) and was able to get off the road quicky. I've never gotten out of a car with a fire extinguisher in hand that quickly before.

Once I assessed the damage I knew I was gonna be okay. The only two belts involved were the ones mentioned above and I was able to borrow a pair of scisors to remove the mangled AC belt without damaging anything else.

The car made it home easily enough and now waits to go back to the guy that just put all of these new belts on, about 50 miles ago. . . :ugh

I should have left the 10 year old belts on, eh? :eyerole

 

[78SilvAnniv]

Did you save the belts you had to cut out? You may need them to determine if they were correct or not... Hopefully, the mechanic will warranty his work.

Scary to jump out of your car with smoke coming from under the hood! I had an upper belt cut into my radiator hose (I knew what it was due to the sweet syrup smell) and when I pulled into a truckstop with the steam billowing from under the hood, one of the truckers came running at me with a fire extinguisher.
Quick thinking guy, but we didn't need it, and he was very nice helping me locate a garage.
Heidi

 

[BarryK]

First off, sorry about you car Erik. that sucks. I'm glad to hear it wasn't anything a bit more serious though. New belt and you will be back on the road.

funny that both you and 78 mentioned fire extinguisers. in the C2 section there is a discussion about them going on.

 

[Mac]

The car made it home easily enough and now waits to go back to the guy that just put all of these new belts on, about 50 miles ago. . . :ugh

Glad nothing got damaged. I expect you'll have no problem getting your grease monkey to clean everything up. At 50 miles, those belts aren't even broken in yet.

-Mac

 

[Erik S. Klein]

I doubt I'll have any trouble getting the belts replaced. I did keep them and the guy does stand behind his work.

I just have to find the time to get the car in! The next couple of weeks are going to be very, very crazy for me. I couldn't have asked for better timing!

 

[bill81vette]

I was debating changing my belts ...guess i'll leave them alone ...for now!!!

glad you and the vette are OK Eric!!!

bill

 

[WayneLBurnham]

More make sure your alt/wp belt is OK

You don't need PS or AC....been without the former for 18 months and the latter since I owned the heap!

 

[Erik S. Klein]

You don't need PS or AC....been without the former for 18 months and the latter since I owned the heap!

My AC hasn't been charged in years but I like the idea of the compressor spinning just so it doesn't seize up. It hasn't been touched since late 1971 so...

As for the PS, I found that I don't need it that much, but the car does lose quite a bit of "on-center" feel when the pump isn't engaged. I didn't have a problem keeping it where it needed to be, but the wheel had a bit more play than I'm comfortable with.

Low speed maneuvering was, of course, a bear.

I had another yellow 72 back in the 80s and it tossed ALL of its belts into a nice tight clump around the fan at freeway speeds. That was pretty much a worst-case scenario. The car got very hot very quickly and wasn't really drivable once I got it to the side of the road.

In contrast, I got very lucky yesterday. The more I think about it, the more I realize how much worse it could have been.

 

[oceangal]

Yikes Eric talk about scary, I dont' know what I would have done in the same circumstance, hopefully not panic. I am glad you and the car are safe.

 

[Vanity Plate Bob]

Cars are fun fun fun.........

 

[Tom Bryant]

My AC hasn't been charged in years but I like the idea of the compressor spinning just so it doesn't seize up.

Eric,

Your compressor doesn't spin unless the a/c is turned on. That activates the electic clutch on the front of the compressor. Otherwise the pulley just spins free. Also the only thing that lubes the guts of the a/c compressor is the comressor oil that is added with the freon. If your system is discharged then
you won't have any oil circulating to lube the comressor and a seize up is imminent, if you run it with the a/c turned on (compressor clutch engaged).

Tom

 

[Vanity Plate Bob]

Understand the AC should be activated during cold months occasionally?

 

[Erik S. Klein]

Your compressor doesn't spin unless the a/c is turned on. That activates the electic clutch on the front of the compressor. Otherwise the pulley just spins free. Also the only thing that lubes the guts of the a/c compressor is the comressor oil that is added with the freon. If your system is discharged then
you won't have any oil circulating to lube the comressor and a seize up is imminent, if you run it with the a/c turned on (compressor clutch engaged).

I wasn't aware of any of that. . . I'm glad I don't turn the AC on much, anyway. I'd hate to trash the original compressor.

Thanks!

E

 

[Tom Bryant]

Understand the AC should be activated during cold months occasionally?

On newer cars the A/C runs when the defroster is on so that is no problem. On Older cars it is a good idea to run it occasionally in the off season to circulate the oil through the system.

 

[chevyaddict]

This reminds me....

This is so ironic and just shows interesting behavior patterns. A long time ago my ex was driving our dually and heard this big BLANG CLANK BASH BUNG in the motor.... did he pull over?... NOOOOOO.. he thought he would just try to hurry up and get it home....

Boy was THAT mistake. The long bolt that threads into the top of the carb had come loose and went down the carburetor!! yes.. into the engine! If he had just stopped and shut the motor off right then perhaps the damage wouldn't have been so bad....

But, a cylinder scar, ruined crank, torn up piston later was the result of continued driving.

I've learned my lesson and no matter WHAT happens to pull over IMMEDIATELY!!!! You just never know how something so simple can turn into something really bad, expensive AND dangerous!

I'm glad everything turned out good for you. WHEW!!

 

[Erik S. Klein]

This is so ironic and just shows interesting behavior patterns.

They are called GRDs (Gender Related Deficiencies) and both genders have them. I don't ask for directions either! :L

I'm glad everything turned out good for you. WHEW!!

Yeah, me too. I can admit, retrospectively, that I was a bonehead. . .

 

[pasvorto]

I was driving down the street one day in my old FIAT X1/9. I looked in the rear view mirror and all I saw were flames and smoke. The only thing sitting between me and the fire was the gas tank!! I thought to myself, "So this is how it ends. Riding a flaming FIAT into Hell." I was able to get to the curb just as an observant citizen came out of his garage with a fire extinguisher. We got the fire out. All the rubber and wiring in the engine compartment were gone. Evidently the fuel pump gasket had gone dry, split, and begun to squirt gasoline on the hot exhaust. At least that it what it looked like.

I always carry a fire extinguisher now. You just never know.

 

[chevyaddict]

"So this is how it ends. Riding a flaming FIAT into Hell."