I was wondering if anyone has had a belt break on their car. I was cruising around last night and my A/C stopped blowing cold air. Next a light came on that said, “Battery generator”, a few minutes later I noticed the steering wheel was hard to turn, then a light saying, “Engine to hot”. I pulled over and steam was coming out to the passenger side intake. It took about 30 minutes for the car to cool down to 175. I had the car towed in and they think it was a belt. Should I be concerned about the oil or coolant since the car over heated?

Oil and coolent are cheap so why not be safe? First time that I've heard of a belt breaking.

Obviously your coolant will substantially be replaced since you probably lost a lot of it. I can't imagine this wont be a warranty repair, so I would ask the dealer to replace the oil for the reason you stated of the engine being heated to higher than normal levels. I would think they would agree if they weren't planning on it already. Good luck.

I am wondering if some type of road debris snuck up to either derail or snap your belt....

I would hope your engine doesn't suffer some long term effects from being overheated. I was co-owner of a shop about 15 years ago and saw problems crop up later in engines that were heated up. Things like head gaskets letting go 6 months later, valve guides loosing up, higher oil consumption. It was my experience that engines got "if'y" after being really heated up. It's best to shut down the second anything seems strange.

That would be extremely unlikely given the belt location just behind the front engine cover. More likely either a defective belt or it was over tightened at the factory.

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Dan

Excessive heat could not be good for that engine,hopefully you didnt warp any of the engine or head castings .

Thanks for all of your input. I do not think anything caused it to break. I am guessing all the work will be done under warranty. The dealer has been great so far. They even gave me an 07 Cayman S for a loaner.

Agree with both of these comments. I burned the bearings on a '65 Spitfire engine, and 4 months after replacing the broken water pump, I threw a rod and destroyed the engine. Doesn't sound like you got it hot enough for long enough for this...

Greg

Greg
Unfair comparison. Having owned 3 Triumphs, I can state without question that durability & reliability were never used to describe them. However, during those moments they were running well, they were loads of fun in a strange, masochistic sort of way.

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Dan

when i turn my ac on, it sounds like a rocket... is this normal??

What was your water temp gauge reading when you got the "engine too hot" message?

Too true! There was ALWAYS something wrong with it, but it always drove. Did I mention I restarted it and drove home 15 miles on 2 cylinders AFTER throwing the rod?

No, mine is inaudible, but in my Jeep Wrangler it kinda sounds that way. I'd have it checked.

Greg