Date: Mon, 24 May 2010 16:59:48 -0700
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: 2.1L engine failure? (Side question about the belts)
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'no' is the short answer.
Engines seize all the time and the belts stay in place.
that's what is minorly mysterious about it.
If the belts came off ...then a warning light, namely Alternator charging
warning light , would come on first, followed by rising water temp. And if
you don't catch that ....and just keep driving ...you'd get to a steaming
volcano of coolant overheating, or if oil was low , or old, or bearing
clearances large from wear and age ....could lead to a seized engine that
way.
but they say they didn't see any warning lights.
so that's what doesn't quite fit perfectly ...did the belts come off leading
to an engine failure, or the engine just seized and in the mêlée the belts
just came off ? which is unlikely .
obviously, seized water pump or alternator should be checked for right
away.
A seized water pump could do it ...cause the engine to fail or seize and
belt be off ...
but there should be a warning light in that case.
Mostly vanagon alternator warning lights always work.
I have upon rare occasion seen a fine working vanagon with no working
alternator light, and people don't realize it.
Overall though, I have seen *many* warning lights that don't work...and the
people don't realize it.
Really ...and it even says it in the owner's manual, you are supposed to
turn the key to 'on' ....and observe that the warning lights come ( and
listen for fuel pump to pre-run on gasoline vanagons ) ...THEN, start the
engine and observe the lights going off. Doing that is the only way you
really know they are working. Many people don't do that...it's just turn
the key directly to 'start' , and if she runs, off you go.
I have even seen people driving a car with factory supplied oil pressure
gauge showing zero lbs of oil pressure, and they never even noticed .
lol - they don't call them Idiot Lights for nothing !! It's not only
that they are simple for idiots, it's that idiots can't use them
intellegently either , lol.
It coulda just been a fluke. It's entirely possibly the owners of that van
did everything right and this 'just happened' ...but often there are factors
or reasons, seen in retrospect after the event. that if something 'more'
had been done, or some symptom paid attention too, etc....
it could have been prevented or at least not been a complete suprise.
and inspections,............ sorry to go on. There are many vanagons, right
this very moment, with loose alternators trying to fall off...that's a
chronic failure , due only to lack of checking. And also, alternators with
loose/slightly rumbly bearings. Same for water pumps.
The ole 'wait until there is a symtom' often costs more.
And to get someone to actually inspect those things, that is another
trick unto itself.
Heck, I've looked at a Westy that was for sale right after a VW shop
checked it out, and said it was good. My 10 year old daugher ( when she was
10 ) could have seen the altnernator was trying to just jump off the engine
it was so loose, but the shop missed it, and it was as obvious as 3 flat
tires. A professional VW specialist shop too.
So counting on someone to check that stuff...
you can't really. I hear people say 'oh, I'm sure that's < whatever fluid
level or whatever inspection > been checked, I just had it serviced at the
dealer. " That does not mean beans. I just laugh at that. I don't care if
you pay $ 100 per hour shop rates...
that has nothing at all to do with actually getting someone to care and to
really check important stuff.
Very often these big failures happen right after a quickie oil change
too ....lots of stories there, cheap oil, too thin oil, wrong oil filter,
stripped drain plug etc.
The diagnostic phase is not over yet I'd say.
Scott
www.turbovans.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike "Rocket J Squirrel"" <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2010 4:06 PM
Subject: Re: 2.1L engine failure? (Side question about the belts)
> Jack Reynaert wrote:
>> ... when we pulled the motor cover, both fan belts were off the motor
>
> If the engine just plain seized do the driven pulleys have enough
> momentum to blow off the belts?
>
> Note: this is a side question that may not provide anything useful for
> Jack, so I'm branching the thread with modified Subject. I hope that's
> okay. I'm asking because I'm curious.
>
> --
> Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
> 84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
> 74 Westrailia: (Ladybug Trailer company, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.)
> Bend, OR
> KG6RCR
