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I took the car out for some errands and after getting back in and starting it, I heard a popping noise coming from the engine. The 'warning battery / generator' message shows up on the dash.
Power steering was lost and the car temp was overheating so I had to pull over to turn it off and let it cool off before turning it back on. I had to do this several times but luckily was close to home when this happened.
I did not get a chance to measure the battery voltage but sounds like a belt / tension bolt issue? I will access the cover behind the seats to see what's going on.
With the battery warning, power steering loss, temp rise, it sure sounds like the serpentine belt snapped.
You'll see it right away wit the front engine cover off.
You'll need a 24mm wrench to move the belt tensioner. A socket won't fit.
Almost certainly the serpentine belt has jumped off or snapped. Looking ahead, find and watch a youtube video about replacing the belt. It is a pretty simple DYI job but the video will explain some things. 24 mm. Clem is referring to a particular sprocket that you rotate its 24 mm securing nut clock wise. This doesn't tighten the nut, rather it rotates the sprocket to provide a little bit of slack to get the belt on and off. Get a genuine Porsche belt. Anecdotal reports are that some aftermarket belts generate vibrations that put the car into limp home mode.
Yep, had this happen too and why it's wise to replace these proactively. It was the belt. It snapped and tangled itself around the pulley. Thankfully, I was smart enough not to run the engine without the belt. Ended up replacing it in parking lot of Dollar General. I kidd you not.
I found the issue. The bolt holding the lower left pulley wheel sheared off (condition of belt looked fine otherwise).
Any idea which pulley wheel this is? Water pump? Is it difficult to DIY repair? Do I need to replace the whole block that sits behind the pulley wheel?
Any idea which pulley wheel this is? Water pump? Is it difficult to DIY repair? Do I need to replace the whole block that sits behind the pulley wheel?
That is the water pump yes. you'll need to replace the whole unit yes. Do the thermostat at the same time it is right next to the pump. You may want to look into the colder thermostat.
It's not terrible to do this yourself. You'll need to get at it from below and through the area you have open. You can get a set of coolant hose clamps at Harbor Fright to clamp off the 2 water lines. One is smaller as seen in the pic, the other is about 2" going into the thermostat. The clamps will save you a lot of hassle by keeping the coolant in, instead of drawing it all. You'll still need about 5 gallons to refill this.
I did this last summer and it took about 3 hours, start to finish and getting all the coolant in. There are some vids on this of course, also to release the coolant pressure valve between the coolant and oil fill tubes.
I found the issue. The bolt holding the lower left pulley wheel sheared off (condition of belt looked fine otherwise).
Any idea which pulley wheel this is? Water pump? Is it difficult to DIY repair? Do I need to replace the whole block that sits behind the pulley wheel?
water pump… replace and airlift the drained coolant. Let’s hope the impellers didn’t break off inside the engine!
The pump seized internally and belt sheared off the bolt. As already mentioned hopefully no impeller pieces floating around. Check the tensioner pulley and idle pulley by hand. Might consider a preemptive replacement. Second clamping the two hoses otherwise consider a vacuum filler.
The pump seized internally and belt sheared off the bolt. As already mentioned hopefully no impeller pieces floating around. Check the tensioner pulley and idle pulley by hand. Might consider a preemptive replacement. Second clamping the two hoses otherwise consider a vacuum filler.
I'd check all pulleys also.
I've never seen the pump seize and shear the bolt like that. Crazy torque here. Hope there is no other damage.
The pump seized internally and belt sheared off the bolt. As already mentioned hopefully no impeller pieces floating around. Check the tensioner pulley and idle pulley by hand. Might consider a preemptive replacement. Second clamping the two hoses otherwise consider a vacuum filler.
Originally Posted by ClemCLone
I'd check all pulleys also.
I've never seen the pump seize and shear the bolt like that. Crazy torque here. Hope there is no other damage.
Me too. Over all the years, I've never seen a water pump with plastic impellers seize up to the point of snapping off the pulley like that. Makes me wonder if one of the previous owners installed a pump with metal impellers. Let's hope not.
What we do know is how these pumps fail. That is, the shaft move inward causing the impellers to contact the crankcase which in turn causes the blades to break off and get stuck inside the engine. The metal impeller pumps are notorious for grinding into the case which could mean that it is a metal impeller type pump and basically grinding into the case to the point of locking up and causing the shaft to snap.
We'll see once he gets it removed from the engine.
Thanks all for the responses. If I am following, it is one assembly unit consisting of the water pump and pulley which will need to be replaced.
If time wasn't an issue I would tackle this myself, but will leave it up to my Indy.
Yes, as I stated.
Replace the thermostat also.
Please post some pics of the removed water pump.
We'd like to see the internals after this somewhat odd failure.
10-01-2023, 10:30 PM
Warning Battery / Generator Message...Belt Issue?
