Date:         Mon, 30 Jul 2001 16:21:02 +1000
Reply-To:     Stephen Overmyer <s.overmyer@UWS.EDU.AU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Stephen Overmyer <s.overmyer@UWS.EDU.AU>
Subject:      Alternator belt self-destructs turning Wasserboxer into
              wasserleaker...
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Hi Volks,

Driving to work last Friday morning and everthing's as good as it can
be(when one has to go to work).I'm crusing along @ 110kph and just passed
several cars when suddenly I hear a dull "Thwack! wack wack wack wack"
eminating from the business end of the Transporter.
I look in the rear mirror and to my horror there's clouds of white vapor
coming from the van.Oh sh*t...I know what that means so I quickly pull
over and kill the engine.Steam everywhere and things don't smell too good:(

Naturally expecting the worst,I hesitantly open the engine cover only to see
a shredded alternator belt (not more than a year old btw...) and the source
of all that steam.One section of the shredded belt whilst flying around
at close to warp speed had belted the small coolant return line from the
right-side head that goes back to the expansion tank untill it was ripped
off and coolant was squirting out of the head straight back at the exhaust.

Aha!...so that's all it is <insert huge sigh of relief> No problem,I have a
spare alt. belt and more coolant under the rear seat...
Be back on the road in no time (he thinks)...
Now...where are my tools?....O sh*t...I can visualize them right now
sitting back at home on the bench in my garage.I NEVER go anywhere with
out my emergency tool box...that is,untill today.Only took one day of
not appeasing the VW gods and they weren't at all amused.Neither was I...

So...for the first time in 9 years & 212,000kms since the van was new
I had to call road service...just to use their tools (how embarrasing!)
Anyway,the story had a happy ending.Road service fellow showed up after
no more than 15 minutes,I explain my predicament and with the welcome
sight of a decent 13mm spanner he supplied, the belt was changed in no
time.I don't think he'd ever seen inside a waterboxer engine bay before
and was rather fascinated,especially as he watched me re-fill the coolant
at the expansion tank whilst revving the buggery out of the unladen
engine :)

Anyway,I was back on the road soon after,no apparrant damage otherwise
sustained and van running sweetly again.Hell of a relief cos anytime
you see clouds of white "smoke" out the back it usually aint gonna
be cheap to remedy.
Thankfully this was...the gods were only warning me...DON"T LEAVE THE
TOOLS AT HOME AGAIN!!!NEXT TIME WE WON"T BE SO EASY ON YOU!!!

I think there's a lesson in that for all of us...;)

Cheers,
Steve O
Blue Mountains NSW Aust.
'92 Transporter WBX 2.1 Kombi
'76 Transporter 2.0 Double Cab
'68 Beetle 1.5
'00 Transporter 5Cyl 2.5 Double Cab (work truck)
    (not the dog of an engine Andrew G has *heard* they are...)

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