I need a friend like that! Lol. Actually, friends have pitched in about a long block worth of free labor. My friend owns a tranny shop with a lift. I owe him a ton.

 

Ps, Mike were you getting codes or anything? What do you think happened, that sound strange. Think the gasket started leaking and then just blew? Was it hydrolocked? I'm really curious about this. It's odd when one of these with a good knowledgeable owner does a hail Mary with no warning. Could just be luck of the draw, but I thought these things pretty much would run forever if you stayed on top of it, which I'm sure you did ;-) That is why my curiosity is spiked.

 

DiscoMike, attempted to send the PM with my number as requested, however I received an error stating you could not receive PM's at this time. Greatly appreciate anything you might have to offer on this.

As to some of the questions, it was a quick spike, from my normal operating temp. of 203 to 276 was about 7 or 8 seconds. it read 276 as i came to a stop, at which point I shut her down. I get that 276 is high, but I am trying to be optimistic....a rarity for me since I'm such a pessimist.

 

DiscoMike, please disregard last, PM sent. Thanks.

 

Back up and running. New water pump, belt, tensioner pulley, thermostat, and a few hoses replaced for good measure. Still need to replace the fan, but I am up and running for now. I did notice that it seems to run a few degrees warmer than prior to the belt popping off. Idle temp is same as before, but city driving is ruuning about 204-206, when it used to be a pretty consistent 200-202. Hopefully nothing to be too concerned about.

The front cover was covered in metal shavings from the water pump bearings....and the interior of the pump itelf was mangled. The impeller baldes were grinding against the interior of the pump, so I probably need to do a serious coolant flush before any real driving. Will wait for the fan to arrive and do them both at once.

Owe a big thanks to DiscoMike for walking me through this. Appreciate the help....in a big way.

While I was at it, I put the new Bosch alternator I purchased a few months ago in, for peace of mind. I purchased this on ebay for about $140, because I thought it was a steal. Noticed it said it was a 150 Amp rather than the 130. Anything I might need to look out for since I did the swap? Thanks for all the help folks.

 

Is there a recommended service/replace interval for the water pumps? I have had the Disco for 4 years, flushed on the intervals, etc., but didn't know if there was a recommended miles to just replace it. Approaching 100K...

 

Just replace it when you are doing the timing chain ;-)