Jeez, Dennis -- you're the very embodiment of the bearer of good
tidings, aren't you?

See everyone? No wonder I've developed a worrywart complex w/r/t my
Vanagon! Dennis is one of the Wise Men of the List, knows whereof he
speaks, and what he speaketh here be doom and gloom.

-- Dolorous Edd

(On the other hand, I learn something! Last week the alternator lamp
comes on on the dash and battery voltage drops. My first thought [hope,
actually, since I have a spare belt] is that I've dropped a belt. But
was I sensible enough to pull over alongside the road immediately,
unload the camping gear and open the engine compartment to inspect? No.
Not at all. It was hot, the road dusty. I drove a mile or more to a
prospective campsite, thinking I might be stuck there for a couple days
before taking a look. I figured I had tens of minutes before the battery
didn't have enough power to run the engine. BUT, a dropped belt would
have meant that coolant flow would have stopped so, I had no business
driving another hundred meters.

My question is: if a belt is dropped, do the temp gauge/coolant lamp
give sufficient time to warn of engine bakage so one can pull over?)

-- RJS

On 08/24/2011 04:19 PM, Dennis Haynes wrote:
> Those multiple steam traumas may also done some engine damage. The likely
> future repairs are melted outer head gaskets, loose studs or cracked heads.
> Since there was enough pressure to blow out that manifold consider the
> heater cores and maybe the radiator to need future attention as well.
>
> Sorry,
> Dennis
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> Mike
> Sent: Wednesday, August 24, 2011 6:56 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: V-Belt tightness -- how to determine?
>
> It caused mine to fail within minutes! (It must have been on the edge,
> apparently and that was the last straw) I was hearing a new squeal after
> snugging both belts a bit, so I broke out my mechanic's stethoscope and that
> confirmed that it was coming from inside the W/P.
> I decided to take it on along trip the next weekend, figuring that it
> wouldn't cause any immediate problem, as it wasn't leaking a drop.  Well, I
> was wrong!
> About 50 miles from home cruising down the highway @ 65 mph, with my 3 kids
> on board, I though maybe I had smelled burning rubber, and wondered why.  A
> minute later the charging light came on and confirmed my suspicion that it
> must have thrown the alternator belt.  I slowed down and considered pulling
> over on the Mass Pike, but traffic was heavy, so I figured that I could make
> it a few more miles to the next rest area with no alternator.  It'd probably
> run on a good battery for a lot longer that that, so I figured no problem,
> right?  Well, I forgot that the alternator belt was also the W/P belt, and
> within another minute I heard a pop and saw steam fill my rear view.  I
> immediately shut it down and pulled over into the breakdown lane and coasted
> to a stop.  I got out to survey and saw a lot of antifreeze pouring out from
> the right rear side of the van.  I opened the decklid and found the belt
> laying there and all else looked good.  I poured a whole gallon of
> antifreeze into it, in hopes of limping to the Ludlow rest-stop.  I ran the
> engine for very short bursts and coasted the majority of the way into the
> rest-stop.  I couldn't see the source of the leak, and had no extra belt, so
> I called triple-A.  The MA state trooper said that  they had to handle any
> tows off the Pike, so I got them to arrange towing it off the pike.  They
> towed it all the way to my house (AAA PLUS!), and when I finally got a
> closer look, I found that the right plastic octopus (hiding behind the
> firewall) had blown out one of the large plastic plugs that's glued-in.  I
> took it out and found that the dealer still carries them.  I may need a new
> large hose, as I may have damaged it removing it.  It has a molded tee going
> over the top of the auto trans and it looks hard-to-find and expensive, not
> to mention difficult to replace.
> So now, I need a W/P, a belt, an octopus, a molded hose, some jugs of
> coolant and then I'll see how it goes from there.  No money available right
> now, so it'll have to wait a bit.  Oh well.....
>
> Mike B.
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Roland
> Sent: Wednesday, August 24, 2011 12:11 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: V-Belt tightness -- how to determine?
>
> I've wondered about this also:
>
> - too loose, and the belt may squeal (maybe other problems if it is too
> loose).
> - too tight, and the water pump bearing might wear out more quickly (pretty
> sure an overly tight belt caused my last water pump failure).
>
> Roland
>
> On Wed, Aug 24, 2011 at 7:13 AM, Rocket J Squirrel<
> camping.elliott@gmail.com>  wrote:
>
>> Something I've never understood about tightening the belt.
>> Instructions usually say something like:
>>
>> "Be careful not to get the belts too tight. You should have slight
>> (1/8" - 1/4") deflection in the belts after they are adjusted.
>> This of course depends on the length of the belt."
>>
>> <http://www.vanagonauts.com/**printable.phtml?&catid=215<http://www.va
>> nagonauts.com/printable.phtml?&catid=215>
>>>
>>
>> How much pressure do you put behind your thumb when testing? I can
>> deflect the belt anywhere from not much to a lot more by pressing harder!
>>
>> --
>> Jack "Rocket j Squirrel" Elliott
>> Bend, Ore.
>> 1984 Westfalia. A poor but proud people.
>> 1971 "Ladybug"-brand utility trailer ca. 1972 from a defunct company
>> in San Clemente, Calif., now repurposed as The Westrailia.
>>
>> Sent from my kitchen.
>>