Paul. this happened to my 68 LeBaron twice. In both cases, it was high speed
that triggered the failure, even though the second time I had brand new high
quality belts. Because of the high engine speed (4000 rpm plus, lets not say
how many mph that is on 3rd gear) the failed water pump belt damaged the other
belts as well. After the second failure, I was worried there must be something
wrong with something, but it has not happened again. When I had this failure
the second time, I had no replacement belts, but it was real late at night on a
cold November night (about 35-40, that's cold for Austin). The trick to make
it home was to wait a bit until the car cooled down, and then hit the freeway
at over 85-90. As long as you have a decent "air" speed, the wind through the
radiator would get the fan spinning, which would spin the water pump and
restore coolant circulation (it would also make a great excuse to the police
officer: "I had to drive over 90 to keep my engine cool!"). My appartment is
only 1.0-1.5 miles from the freeway, but as soon as the speed droped, the fan
stopped. So this last 1.5 miles was done with 2-3 stops and about 20-30 minute
cooling time in between with hood open.
D^2, 2x68
Quoting RandalPark@xxxxxxx:
> Hi All,
>
> I drove my '62 Imperial out to my parents house this morning which is about
> 45 miles of freeway driving east of Seattle. I was nearly there when I
> noticed that my Temperature Gauge had begun to climb just slightly past the
> middle. It occurred to me that this car has NEVER run past just less than the
> middle, so I pulled into the service station right at the exit from the
> freeway.
>
> As soon as I stopped, the front of the car suddenly became enveloped in
> steam, and I shut the car off. I carefully opened the hood to find water
> spraying out the the radiator cap. I couldn't tell immediately what was
> wrong, but I didn't see any broken hoses. I then spotted that the water pump
> belt was gone. Closer inspection revealed that it was wrapped around the fan.
> It actually hadn't broken, but had begun to shred. One of the "shreds" became
> entangled in the fan, ripping the belt off of the pulleys.
>
> I remembered that I had bought new belts for the car, and then I realized
> that they were still in the trunk! I had not installed them! How foolish! At
> least they were there, and I had a wrench to do the job.
>
> I am also fortunate that I watch my gauges, keep and eye on my rear view
> mirror, and had the sense to put the belts in the trunk, even though they
> should have already been installed. I was also lucky that I noticed it before
> the car became too hot and caused engine damage.
>
> Watch your gauges, and check your belts and hoses! The hotter weather is
> here.
>
> Paul
>
>
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