Q--This question was presented in your Ask a Mechanic on July 10: "I have a 1989 GMC K1500 truck with a 350-cubic-inch engine. I have put about 50,000 km on the truck. The serpentine belt broke. When I installed the new one, it began to come off the crankshaft pulley."
In addition to your comments, I have found that serpentine replacement belts that have cross-cut grooves sometimes work themselves OFF the crankshaft pulley within a few seconds or minutes after engine start up.
After reinstalling the belt several times with the same result, I took the belt off again and turned it around whereby the cross-cut grooves were facing the other direction or inward toward the harmonic balancer and to my surprise, the belt no longer walked itself off the crankshaft pulley and has stayed on since spring of this year.
By the way, an easy way to thread the belt around the crankshaft pulley and low-mounted accessory pulley is to use a yardstick in the tight engine compartment of a transverse mounted engine in a front-drive car. A three-foot-long thin dowel will work equally well.
Keep up the great comments. Always enjoy reading your articles and tips! Hope YOU can use some of these tips in your work!
A--I always appreciate reader feedback, especially if it includes a cool trick to make auto repairs quicker or easier. I have to admit, though, that I had not heard of cross-cut grooves in serpentine belts. I'll have to start looking more closely.
The Tire Rack has not only the largest selection of tires and wheels, it is the country's largest source of tire information. Experts test tires from all major brands on the company's state-of-the-art test track and post reports on their website.
A--We have some very reliable contacts at the Tire Rack and we regularly consult the online tech center for information. It is, indeed, a valuable resource. Thanks for the reminder.
Burned CDs
Q--Your comment regarding copied CDs jamming up a CD player completely conflict with my own experiences. I suffered a jammed player five years ago in my last car. The dealer replaced the player but it took nearly ten weeks for them to get my "original" CDs out and send them back to me.
Since then I have always made copies for my car players rather than risk the originals getting kidnapped again or lost should the car be stolen. No jams since that original one either.
A--Perhaps I should have been more specific. Very often, blank CDs are thicker than the original - especially blanks sold in bulk. If you put a label on it, it becomes thicker still. Stick to top-of-the-line products and use a Sharpie to label them and they usually work fine.
Cracked head
Q--Water is pouring out of the tailpipe like a faucet on my 2000 Dodge Intrepid. This happens whenever the gas pedal is pressed. I've seen steam and drips before, but this is strange. It actually gushes out. What could be wrong?
A--There is only one place all that water can be coming from: the cooling system. Chances are, you have a cracked head or block, or a blown head gasket. Check the level of coolant in your radiator. It will probably be quite low by now and your car will start overheating if it has not already.
For better or worse
Q--In my recent trip from Naples, Fla., to New York, at one point I had to use the 89 octane gasoline, (they were out of regular), and I got the impression that the mileage per gallon got better. I drive a 2007 Honda Civic EX. Is that at all possible, or is just my impression?
A--It could be your imagination, or it could be a result of where you bought the gas. In most major metropolitan areas, oxygenated fuel is required. Additives such as ethanol, have less energy content (measured in BTUs) than gasoline. Hence, when you buy fuel along the way, you may be getting 100-percent gasoline - both regular or mid-grade - and your fuel mileage goes up.
Killing cats
Q--It is my understanding that a catalytic converter does not die. It is killed by something wrong with the engine. What do you say with another look at the problem in the 2004 Acura MDX, you wrote about on August 1, 2007?
Thanks for any reply you may be able to give me, as I am also an ASE mechanic and want to keep up on my learning.
A--A lifelong quest for learning is a wonderful thing. Good for you. Yes, cats don't die, but are killed. There are several things that can cause failure including an internal coolant leak or using gasoline containing lead (many racing fuels do) or anything else that contaminates and coats the catalyst.
An overly rich-running engine causes the cat to overheat and the substrate can actually melt. Underlying causes include bad spark plugs, bad injectors, or a bad oxygen sensor.
A less common cause is physical damage from hitting a rock or curb, for example.
Due to the large volume, Bob Weber is unable to answer most questions sent to The Car Connection each month. Some may be answered directly, where possible, and others will be included in future columns if the topic is deemed interesting. Be sure to include your real name and full address (city, state, province, country, etc.) when sending your questions.
Weber, a self-proclaimed swell guy, is an ASE-Certified Master Automobile Technician, freelance writer, and former editor of Super Automotive Service magazine. His column, "Motormouth," appears weekly in the Chicago Tribune. He enjoys good tequila, good cigars, and good times. A chemistry school dropout, he still concocts compounds in the kitchen and makes a mean pot of chili. He and his wife live near the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.
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