Dennis Kao, Brian Doty (IcemanG17), and I went up to Thunderhill today for the Diablo Region PCA DE. Got lucky with the weather, no rain and nice cool temps. Only 45 cars total, so this was turning out to be a great, traffic free day. The first session was Group C, the experienced drivers and instructors. Dennis took me out in his car, which made for an awesome first run. We came in at the end of that session, and jumped into my car to head out with Group B. Again, everything went well, with Dennis coaching me over the intercom. Like the last track day, I simply left the car in 3rd gear and concentrated on smooth driving and braking. We pulled in a lap early so Dennis could jump into Brian's car in Group A. This was Brian's first track day, and he couldn't have chosen a better day or instructor. After Brian's session, he and Dennis hopped in Dennis' car so Brain could ride with the master. Looks like they had a fine session, until they pulled in.

Dennis coasted into the paddock area after the final lap. His timing belt light flashed on as he came down the back straight, so he shut it down and managed to coast it around the final turns. The timing belt was still intact, but the car would not turn over. During lunch Dennis arranged for a flatbed to take him back to the Bay Area.

With Dennis' car on the flatbed, I was next up for the first session after lunch. I got a new instructor and headed out on track as Dennis left with the tow-truck. The new instructor was amazed at the torque my car put down, he kept commenting on it as we would roar out of the turns and down the straights. He said I was driving the best, most consistent lines of the day. All the credit for that goes to Dennis, he's an awesome teacher! On my 5th lap I was heading into turn 2, a long left, nearly 18o degrees, when my steering seemed to go out I could only turn the wheel 1/4 turn! Not nearly enough to make the turn at speed, so I slowed down and let the instructor know something was wrong. Turning to the right seemed OK, but turning left was tough. I slowed waaaay down of course, and slowly made my way back to the paddock. Popped the hood and noticed my power steering belt was wet and slipping. Somehow my radiator hose came in contact with the belt and was sliced open. Coolant was leaking directly onto the belt. Oh man, now what do I do?

Dennis Kao to the rescue. I quickly called him to see how far away he was. He had the driver return to the track so I could pull his hose off and replace mine. I spent the next 1.5 hours pulling and replacing the hoses. Brian, meanwhile, was able to get in a couple more quality track sessions. I decided to play it safe and get home rather than head out for another session. Brian didn't want the bad luck to get him too, so we left before the final sessions.

But proving that all things happen in three's, Brian called me on the radio as we headed down I-5....he took a rock to the windshield causing it to crack.

Man, what a tough day.....

Rich

 

Having just been at Streets of Willow, I feel that twinge when you talk about flatbedding a car home. Scary. I just really like the idea of driving the car to the track though.

 

Hey-always look on the bright side!, it didn't happen on the weekly grocery trip or the mundane commute to work- ya was havin a ball!

 

Sorry to hear that Rich... I hope Dennis' car is OK.

 

A typical track day......

Sure hope Dennis's didn't take out valves

 

Was it the belt or the nose of the PS pump that cut the hose?

Those can be awfully close. Seems that motion of the engine at the track, like hard braking, brings them closer. I've done the at-the-track hose replacement and always bring a spare in the big spares box. (Ya never know...)

 

When i read your title, I feared the worst. I started thinking... "well at least you'll have a nice steering wheel.' but was pleasantly relieved that nothing disasterous happened. Just expensive fun!

 

$hit happens at the track. Remember, you are pushing a 20 year old supercar around the track. I don't recall seeing any 20 year old Ferraris or Lotus at the track days I have been to. Sounds like you guys had a great time. That's what it is all about!

 

Rich sorry about the woes but no injuries and no bad damage sounds fine. HOWEVER ... one and a half hour for a couple of rad hoses Dude??

 

LMAO!!!! Nice one Andrew.

 

Is that the hose that is zip tied to a flange on the fan shroud? Any thoughts on how it made contact with the pulley?

 

Between the two problems, both can be avoided.

timing belt issue can be solved if you drill a small hole in the timing belt cover. use a drill bit or small shaft to push on the belt. mark it after pushing in as hard as your figner can provide pressure. Then, if you ever have a light come on, you can do this check and find out if it is out of tension enough to worry about it. I had my timing belt light go on all weekned at laguna 3 full races!
it started at sears last month, and i pulled the covers and did a Kempf tool check. all was good sometimes the connections along the way can be compromised by dirt and oil. a little vibration and you have a broken connection and the light goes on.

certainly check all water hoses. they shouldnt be even close to the powersteering pump. tie wraps should be a part of the DE kit.

remember ive driven to the track for 10 years, thats over 200 track days, 150 race days, and always driven home. (except for once with a defective water pump )

mk

 

I'm glad Brian & Rich had a good time and I surely enjoyed instructing them. I was really impressed with their driving. They both have natural ability and it was obvious they were among the best students in their respective sessions. I wish I could have been out there longer to help reinforce the instruction.

Rich wrote a pretty good summary of my day. I'm not sure what to add. Devek will do a post-mortem, but I'm not expecting good news. Too many bad signs.

If a 2/6 rod bearing is damaged, what are the external symptoms of this? It didn't throw a rod through the block. Could there be so much rotational resistance from a bad rod bearing that a car would be hard to start or die during idle? Or cause a belt tension light to come on?

 

Dennis I'm sorry about that Dude. Sounds a lot like either seized pump and/or skipped teeth. Let's hope only seized pump.

 

Mark I've seen your posts about that method before and it's not a bad idea. I'd say one should make the hole up front and use a cricket.