Miata Mailing List: September 1999, Message #155

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Matt wrote:
>My water pump belt broke today on my way to work.  The temp gauge went
>to H but I think/hope I caught it before any major damage occurred.  After
>letting it cool, I drove/coasted, heater blasting, the remaining couple
>miles to work without the temp gauge getting hot.
>
>Now I have to decide whether to leave it here or limp home.  I live 10-13
>miles from work, depending on the route I drive.  I can go city streets
>or highway, highway being a little longer.  If I drive home, I'd drive
>with the heater on and leave the engine running only while getting up
>to speed and then turn it off and coast for a while.

Hope my reply is not too late.

My suggestion is that I wouldn't drive the car home if I were you, mostly
because of what Ian said. Furthermore, you also lost the charging function from
the alternator. You'll witness how much electricity a modern fuel-injected car
drains. It just took me 30 miles or so to completely drain all the juice from my
huge battery in my previous car. That was when I ignored the charging light that
stayed on indicating the alternator couldn't charge (turned out the 150k-mile
alternator had comsumed its brushes entirely).

Another thing is about the temp gauge. If coolant does not circulate in the
engine block, the temp you read is most probably lower than in the engine block.
That's because the temp sensor is high above on the side of the cylinder head.

If you don't want to shuttle between home and work place to get the car fixed,
maybe try getting one of those emergency accessory belt kits from auto part
store. It's like a strong vacuum hose that you cut to the required length and
then you stick the provided self locking plug thingy to hold the two ends
together to form a loop. I don't know how well it'll do the job and I don't even
know if it works to replace ribbed belt on your '95, but it may be worth to take
a look when you buy your new belt. Anyone tried those kits?

Good luck!
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Chris Chu
'90 Championship-White
BC Region CSP #7
Naturally-aspirated
http://home.infinet.net/chrischu/
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