2 weeks back the PS pulley & drive belt came off my 1999 Camaro SS (346 ci V8 - 20K miles). The car had only been on the road for 5 minutes when it occurred. I was only 1/2 mile from my Auto Repair Shop so I headed there knowing they'd be doing the work. In hindsight, the PS pulley came loose and was digging a groove into the PS reservoir, which leaked some oil on to the alternator. When the pulley finally came off with a "bang" it took the belt with it. I pulled into the shop with coolant temps just reaching the "260-265 F" red line area. The temp gauge on these is a "dummy" gauge that reads low band, normal band, and overheated. So it's really a question mark as to what temps the car reached. The shop told me they checked for codes and cleared them all during the repair.
Besides the new PS pump/reservoir and belt, it got fresh Mobil 1 0W-40 oil and Mobil 1 oil filter. The shop said they saw nothing in the coolant system or motor oil to suggest anything abnormal. They didn't perform a coolant pressure check as I requested. And they could have easily done a combustion gas check on the coolant system as well....they didn't. Since I've had the car back I've vented the cooling system a number of times and checked for any "combustion" bubbling at the filler neck. A sample of the fresh motor oil taken from the oil pan at 20 miles appeared clear and with normal odor....no signs of water. No puffs of white smoke on startup or during rpm bursts. No misfires or performance degrades. Normal coolant temps. No signs of dripping coolant under the engine or anywhere else. No oil coolers serviced by the coolant system.....the PS cooler was removed years ago as it's a problem point on these cars.
The only "symptom" I'm still not sure of is that I'm apparently losing or shifting 2-3 tablespoons of coolant out of the radiator filler neck after each run. After 4 venting runs all the air pockets "should" be gone. Prior to this incident, coolant level always stayed right up into the filler neck. Now it ends up about 1/4" to 3/8" below the neck, into the main tank. That's only several tablespoons of fluid. Oddly, I hear a gurgling or water moving just as I vent the cold cap each time. I wonder if that is moving fluid into the overflow and giving me that slightly less than topped off/lower coolant level I am seeing? The overflow tank shows level at the "cold" fill line when cold, and at the "hot" fill line when hot. So anything abnormal there. If those multiple tablespoons are going there, it's too small to accurately measure.
I guess I still need to do a coolant system pressure check and possibly a combustion gas check. Can't rule out that even if the head gasket is not leaking that the aluminum heads could have been warped. Any other thoughts? Thanks.
Photos of the PS reservoir gouging, worn plastic grooves/splines on the pulley center, and missing chunks on the pulley after it banged around. I've heard of a couple other pulleys failing in this manner, but it's certainly not normal on a 20,000 mile car that saw only hobby driving, no track days or drag strips.
Besides the new PS pump/reservoir and belt, it got fresh Mobil 1 0W-40 oil and Mobil 1 oil filter. The shop said they saw nothing in the coolant system or motor oil to suggest anything abnormal. They didn't perform a coolant pressure check as I requested. And they could have easily done a combustion gas check on the coolant system as well....they didn't. Since I've had the car back I've vented the cooling system a number of times and checked for any "combustion" bubbling at the filler neck. A sample of the fresh motor oil taken from the oil pan at 20 miles appeared clear and with normal odor....no signs of water. No puffs of white smoke on startup or during rpm bursts. No misfires or performance degrades. Normal coolant temps. No signs of dripping coolant under the engine or anywhere else. No oil coolers serviced by the coolant system.....the PS cooler was removed years ago as it's a problem point on these cars.
The only "symptom" I'm still not sure of is that I'm apparently losing or shifting 2-3 tablespoons of coolant out of the radiator filler neck after each run. After 4 venting runs all the air pockets "should" be gone. Prior to this incident, coolant level always stayed right up into the filler neck. Now it ends up about 1/4" to 3/8" below the neck, into the main tank. That's only several tablespoons of fluid. Oddly, I hear a gurgling or water moving just as I vent the cold cap each time. I wonder if that is moving fluid into the overflow and giving me that slightly less than topped off/lower coolant level I am seeing? The overflow tank shows level at the "cold" fill line when cold, and at the "hot" fill line when hot. So anything abnormal there. If those multiple tablespoons are going there, it's too small to accurately measure.
I guess I still need to do a coolant system pressure check and possibly a combustion gas check. Can't rule out that even if the head gasket is not leaking that the aluminum heads could have been warped. Any other thoughts? Thanks.
Photos of the PS reservoir gouging, worn plastic grooves/splines on the pulley center, and missing chunks on the pulley after it banged around. I've heard of a couple other pulleys failing in this manner, but it's certainly not normal on a 20,000 mile car that saw only hobby driving, no track days or drag strips.
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