Fun In The Winter

Mar 12 04:45 UTC 1992

   How's your car been faring during this latest cold snap?

   We just had an adventure driving home from North Campus, about
3 miles.  All of a sudden the car started making really odd noises,
and the alternator light came on.   We thought that the car had
just blown the alternator *again* (Tercels *like* alternators, every
2.5 years), and hightailed it home while the oversized capacitor that
Delco calls a bettery would still deliver enough juice to keep
the headlights going.

   About halfway home Glenda looks at the temperature indicator and
sees that the needle is in the lower portion of the Red Zone.  My
heart skips a beat; I've seen that happen only once in the car's
224K miles.  So we're slithering home and we start to see a little
steam comming out of the front of the car.  Nice peaceful last
mile, wondering if the engine is going to get fried.  But the needle
starts comming down a bit and stays pretty stable.  When we turned
into the driveway I shut the engine off and we glided into home
base.

   A few minutes later after I get a flashlight I look at the
engine, and lo and behold the fan belt slipped off!  It even had
the decency to stay in the car, rather than take a trip down the
road.  The radiator is acting like its pissed off, but its
gurgles aren't that bad.  So we'll put it back on tomorrow
morning.

   Isn't Winter *Fun*?

response 2 of 15:

Mar 13 12:15 UTC 1992

Dido on the bike.  In this case I think you should happy that it was
winter, and cold at that.  Had this happened on a hot summer evening,
you may have made it only a mile dwn the road before the needle got
above the red area.  Then you would have had to call a tow truck or
get the  tool box out the back.

    I *love* winter!   (...Except when the kids get sick ;-)

response 4 of 15:

Mar 13 20:26 UTC 1992

   Sure we can.  The $14 part tuned out to be the *wrong thing*.  RH
Toyota wants $130 for the part; so this weekend, we'll have the *FUN*
of pulling the damn pulley off, and verifying that it is the problem.
I'm glad that we live near 1) work, b) a cheap ATM; c) close food stores.
Sigh.

response 6 of 15:

Mar 14 14:46 UTC 1992

I found the part in a junk yard.  The man says it should be $15-20 depending
which model it is (there are two different engine types in the 83 Tercel).
We have to pull the thing and take it in so that he can be sure to give us
the right one.  Thank goodness for good friends (our mechanic friend loaned
us his car for the weekend and will stand by for calls if we get in above our
heads).

response 8 of 15:

Mar 15 05:39 UTC 1992

I didn't know they made overcoats that small.

response 10 of 15:

Mar 18 03:08 UTC 1992

    and you froze yout butt off to boot. Such a deal!!!

response 12 of 15:

Mar 19 07:11 UTC 1992

Many don't consider a hot engine being a real problem, if the water reaches
the boiling temperature, most cars tend to get a warped engine cover and
the gasket between the engine cover and engine block may start leaking.

That results in a low compression rate, usually.  So, if you want to keep
your car, don't drive with an overheating engine, unless it is an emergency.

With the weather that cold, I guess it was an emergency, also cold air helps.

response 14 of 15:

Mar 19 14:05 UTC 1992

re #11:  We went to Michigan Ave Auto Salvage on Michigan Ave in Ypsilanti.
We usually go to Abcat, also on Michigan Ave in Ypsi, just a few blocks west
of Auto Salvage.  In this case Abcat would only sell us the whole engine.  A
bit of over kill, in my opinion.  Toyota Tercel parts being hard to find in
junk yards, we have also gone to a yard on Newburgh Road in Westland.