Date: Sat, 7 Nov 2009 16:25:16 -0500
Reply-To: mcneely4@COX.NET
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@COX.NET>
Subject: Re: Roadside BREAKDOWN...Water Pump Belt-Realities!
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed; delsp=no
well, sounds like the recession has hit SPI, judging by those prices and
the lack of patrons. The county park is like being in a trailer park.
Of course, the camping north of town is free. Just find a spot and
camp. There is an access fee for the beach at the first few access
points, but north of that, if you can cross the dunes, you're in. Roads
are iffy, but some are doable.
Good luck on the trip back. If you do go by Big Bend, you'll have some
long stretches with no services again. I lost a water pump on my '91,
sudden failure, but no damage to the engine so far as I can tell, and
that's been 6k miles ago. I knew immediately that the coolant had gone,
because the coolant level light alerted me. Needle never got to the hot
level.
David
On Sat, Nov 7, 2009 at 2:58 PM, Richard Koerner wrote:
> Dave,
>
> I'm on South Padre Island. Car is running sweet...maybe minus one or
> two of it's 9 lives. No leaks; all levels normal; no white smoke;
> idles smooth and stable. Feeling better, both me and the car.
>
> I checked out the county campground at the southern edge of the
> island: $24 a night. Now, the town is EMPTY. So just a little
> further up the street from this McDonalds is a motel for $29, a Motel
> 6 for $34, and another place for $35 (these are the rates as indicated
> on red LED signs as you drive by). Food looks pretty cheap, too; a
> place has half-rack of ribs for $7.99 Sounds good. It's pretty
> humid outside, and temps are about 80. Not to be a wimp, but I might
> go for the motel, second night in a row, but for $5 more than a
> campground, I get TV, ice, internet, AC, my own shower and an easy
> walk to a rib joint. Plus, I still have lots of road and camping
> ahead over the next 7 days until I'm back in San Diego. Also, I have
> a bag of dirty laundry to do; the McDonalds counter girl told me of a
> laundrymat 2 lights ahead; sometimes motels have laundry facilities.
>
> Yeah, these roadtrips are something else. When at the Shell station
> in Kingsville this morning, a local guy in an F-150 just had to ask
> how I liked my vehicle. Told him (didn't mention the fan belt
> episode...). He's been eyeing them for years, would work well for him
> and his kids. So maybe we'll have a new Listee soon.
>
> Rich
>
>
>
>
>
> --- On Sat, 11/7/09, Dave Mcneely wrote:
>
> From: Dave Mcneely Subject: Re: Roadside BREAKDOWN...Water Pump
> Belt-Realities!
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Date: Saturday, November 7, 2009, 12:15 PM
>
> Richard, if you camp at SPI, the area north of the town of SPI is far
> more pleasant than the RV park at the south tip of the island next to
> the jetty (and this time of year you would be very unlikely to get a
> spot in the park without a reservation, as Winter Texans are in
> abundance). You have your choice of "bay side" or "Gulf side," and
> either is kinda neat. Better to drive as far north as the paved road
> goes, or nearly so, and drive one of the solid access roads onto the
> beach or out toward the bay. Once you get a couple of miles north of
> town, the island is only a couple hundred yards wide, so whether you
> are closer to the bay, or closer to the Gulf, you'll still be within
> earshot of the surf. there are locals who live on the beach, and are
> locally referred to as Dune Goons. They are not dangerous, but will
> harass folks at times, especially folks who get stuck in the sand. A
> local ordinance limits the fee that a vendor can charge for
> towing a stuck vehicle, but the Goons will charge as much as the
> victim will pay, often much more than the legitimate fee charged by
> licensed vendors.
>
> I guess you know that going south of U.S. 77, there are no services of
> any kind between Kingsville and Raymondville, a distance of about a
> hundred miles.
>
> David McNeely
>
>
> On Sat, Nov 7, 2009 at 9:31 AM, Richard Koerner wrote:
>
>> Dennis,
>>
>> Thanks for this insight...not sounding good. I'm 2000 miles from
>> home, it's a Saturday, doubt if there are any VW specialty shops
>> open. I'll review the RoadHaus Mechanics List. This morning, I
>> again checked the coolant tanks with engine cold...both were right
>> where they should be.
>>
>> Just covered about 75 miles...running "normal" but who knows what
>> danger lurks inside. I've been thinking about a new GoWesty engine
>> for some time....maybe now's the time. I know you don't like their
>> high-compression jobs...but that's a whole new topic to deal with
>> later.
>>
>> Meanwhile, I'm going to try not to stress too much about it, although
>> I catch myself looking at my gauges and lights every 15 seconds.
>> Need to enjoy the rest of my trip; tomorrow I start the return from
>> Brownsville, Texas to San Diego, California; a local gave me some
>> good tips about South Padre Island, that's my campsite for tonight
>> (assuming nothing blows up between here and there).
>>
>> Rich
>> 85 Vanagon
>> San Diego
>>
>>
>>
>> --- On Fri, 11/6/09, Dennis Haynes wrote:
>>
>> From: Dennis Haynes Subject: Re: Roadside BREAKDOWN...Water Pump
>> Belt-Realities!
>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>> Date: Friday, November 6, 2009, 11:00 PM
>>
>> The fact that the engine operated without coolant flow to the point
>> that you
>> puked coolant out means that the engine and cooling system has
>> suffered a
>> trauma. Even if there is no apparent immediate damage the engine
>> suffered a
>> lot of stress. Future issues will include head gaskets, loose studs,
>> (internal combustion gasses into cooling system), cracked heads, and
>> possible piston/ring damage. The heater cores and radiator also took
>> a
>> beating.
>> Replace the pressure cap and monitor the thermostat operation.
>> Carefully
>> inspect the coolant hoses and check clamps. Change the oil and
>> filter. Get
>> the proper concentration of coolant I there.
>> No need to raise the front to bleed the cooling system and in fact it
>> makes
>> it harder. Cooling system bleeding should be done on a cold engine.
>> If the
>> cooling system is bleed enough to cool at all it will self bleed over
>> time
>> as long as the pressure cap is working properly and the 2nd tank
>> always has
>> some coolant in it.
>> A trick to bleeding is when revving the engine and the coolant gets
>> sucked
>> down, top that tank and replace the cap before letting the engine
>> return to
>> idle. You should be able to bleed the coolant in less than 5 minutes.
>> If your
>> still trying after the engine gets warm it will become more difficult
>> as the
>> coolant turns to vapor.
>> Dennis
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
>> Behalf Of
>> Richard Koerner
>> Sent: Friday, November 06, 2009 3:39 PM
>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>> Subject: Roadside BREAKDOWN...Water Pump Belt
>>
>> Volks,
>>
>> Was merrily cruisin along on my way to Corpus Christi from Austin.
>> Am about
>> 50 miles north of Corpus Christi. Red blinking temp light,
>> alternator light
>> on, temp needle rising fast. (I'm ALWAYS scanning gauges and lights,
>> couldn't have been overheating for more than a minute or two I
>> think.)
>> Immediately pulled over and shut down. Dripping coolant from rear.
>> Opened
>> hatch; coolant tank almost empty, gurgling, overflow tank still had
>> about
>> normal. Broken belt to the water pump.
>>
>> Luckily, I had all 3 brand new belts. Figured out which was which by
>> process of elimination. Couldn't figure out how to get the AC belt
>> off;
>> don't use it, so cut it off with a knife. Loosened power steering
>> pump and
>> alternator, removed all belts. Replaced the power steering and
>> alternator/water pump belt, tightened up the bracket with reasonable
>> tension
>> on belt, not too much.
>>
>> Filled empty coolant tank with water. Started engine. Immediately
>> it
>> sucked out all the water I added. So I added more. Stabilized.
>> Shut off
>> engine. Added water to overflow tank. Re-started engine, revved it
>> over
>> 2000, sucked more coolant into engine, then when idle returns to 850,
>> coolant rises to top. Put all caps back on tanks. Said a prayer of
>> thanks.
>>
>> All seems normal now. Did I do any permanent damage? Idles fine,
>> runs
>> fine, temp needle right on the LED as per normal. Drove at 55 on the
>> freeway to this McDonalds for WiFi. It's about 2:30 Texas time,
>> Friday
>> afternoon.
>> About all I think I need to do is try to bleed the radiator, if I can
>> find a
>> place to raise the front end. Anything else I should do? System was
>> bled
>> and coolant replaced about a year ago; I do it like clockwork every 2
>> years.
>>
>> Rich
>> 85 GL with a 1.9, 178,000 miles, off the road in Texas, simmering
>> down
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