Houston, we have a problem
(Cross-posted to Romancing CA.)
I actually made it to Houston and caught up with old friends. It was a much needed break from the road. A fellow GTXer and his wife in southern Louisiana offered me crash space the following night; MT323 wanted to look for any other problems before I got to Gainesville.
I spent my morning in Houston working from a coffee shop for a bit before doing some parts shopping (snagged a PCV valve and some extra coolant) when my iPhone suddenly went black. My attempts to reboot went unrewarded. For the first time in the trip, I felt panic. Fortunately, I was in a major city with an Apple store. The geniuses were able to reboot my iPhone and send me on my way.
As I left Houston, I pushed the car a bit to catch up with fellow $2010 Challenger Jonny P. and his ladyfriend who were two hours ahead of me. When I'd manage to close the gap down to 20 minutes, they pulled off the highway, found a restaurant and called me. I was within five miles of the exit when I was pulled over by one of Louisiana's finest for the lack of a license plate. No problem; California doesn't believe in temporary tags, and the red window permit is confusing. He ran my paperwork, chatted with me about the Challenge a bit, and sent me on my way.
Two miles later, a belt screamed, the car shuddered and my fuel-washer-battery charge lights came on. More worrying, the temperature gauge spiked to the top. I pulled over, shut off the engine, checked all the suspect hoses and saw nothing. I cranked the car back up and noted the temp gauge was hot, but not in the red again. I limped the last three miles to the exit and let the car cool while I enjoyed lunch. Jonny, being far more experienced with cars (he's actually a professional mechanic), spotted the problem immediately: my alternator-to-water pump belt was gone.
Note the distinct lack of alternator-to-water pump belt in this picture...
A belt! So easy to solve! We dashed down to the parts store. They had two kinds of belts...one for $5 with a ninety day warranty, or one for $17 with a one year warranty. I asked for three of the $5 belts. :D She only had one. I asked how many of the $17 belts they had...one. I asked if it was the same belt. She didn't answer.
We changed the belt and I was on my way to Louisiana...
I actually made it to Houston and caught up with old friends. It was a much needed break from the road. A fellow GTXer and his wife in southern Louisiana offered me crash space the following night; MT323 wanted to look for any other problems before I got to Gainesville.
I spent my morning in Houston working from a coffee shop for a bit before doing some parts shopping (snagged a PCV valve and some extra coolant) when my iPhone suddenly went black. My attempts to reboot went unrewarded. For the first time in the trip, I felt panic. Fortunately, I was in a major city with an Apple store. The geniuses were able to reboot my iPhone and send me on my way.
As I left Houston, I pushed the car a bit to catch up with fellow $2010 Challenger Jonny P. and his ladyfriend who were two hours ahead of me. When I'd manage to close the gap down to 20 minutes, they pulled off the highway, found a restaurant and called me. I was within five miles of the exit when I was pulled over by one of Louisiana's finest for the lack of a license plate. No problem; California doesn't believe in temporary tags, and the red window permit is confusing. He ran my paperwork, chatted with me about the Challenge a bit, and sent me on my way.
Two miles later, a belt screamed, the car shuddered and my fuel-washer-battery charge lights came on. More worrying, the temperature gauge spiked to the top. I pulled over, shut off the engine, checked all the suspect hoses and saw nothing. I cranked the car back up and noted the temp gauge was hot, but not in the red again. I limped the last three miles to the exit and let the car cool while I enjoyed lunch. Jonny, being far more experienced with cars (he's actually a professional mechanic), spotted the problem immediately: my alternator-to-water pump belt was gone.
Note the distinct lack of alternator-to-water pump belt in this picture...
A belt! So easy to solve! We dashed down to the parts store. They had two kinds of belts...one for $5 with a ninety day warranty, or one for $17 with a one year warranty. I asked for three of the $5 belts. :D She only had one. I asked how many of the $17 belts they had...one. I asked if it was the same belt. She didn't answer.
We changed the belt and I was on my way to Louisiana...