Desperately need help in a god-awful hurry - Anybody?

I dodged a bullet! Overnight, the water leaked out to "basically nothing detectable" level, so the leak stopped leaking. Pulled radiator shround, fan, and pulley on the water pump shaft on my way to pulling the water pump, then had a brainstorm: Before going any further, fill the radiator up.

Did so. Sure enough, after adding a few quarts of water, the leak started. With the fan and associated stuff gone, I've got a goo view of most of the water pump (other than the section the harmonic balancer covers up - that was the next piece to pull)

Break out flashlight, and *BINGO* - There's a hose - not certain what its exact purpose is (and don't really care right now!) to the water pump, covered by the pulley and obscured even further by the fan, and it's dribbling steadily. Not a drop of water anywhere else to be seen.

Clamp is tight, but it's still dribbling. Loosen clamp, leak turns into a gush (or as close ass a hose this size can come to being a gush). Pull it completely, and find that I apparently split the end of it while either removing or re installing it the other day. Cut off an inch to get to clean hose, re-install, fill radiator, and leak is GONE WITHOUT A TRACE!!!

YAY ME! :) The Beast lives again, and heads out on its one-way trip to its (and my) new home later today.

Thanks to everybody for advice and encouragement - Gawd, did I need it. Having this thing die on me *WHEN* it did was seriously bad timing. Not that any breakdown ever happens at a "good" time, but this was particularly bad, what with my soon-to-happen move only 3 days away at the time it happened.

Anyway, in case anybody cares, I'll be falling silent for at least a day or two as I get to, and situated in, my new digs. Try and keep the place from falling apart while I'm not around to keep it together, huh? :)

And pray to whatever god(s/ess/es) you pray to for an uneventful trip, wouldja? "Yeah, he's drivin' a beater-mobile - he needs all the help he can get" :)

Reply to
Don Bruder
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You don't need prayer, just tools and parts. Good job Don, let's see you get another 10k miles from that 626. :)

Ray

Reply to
ray

Awesome Don! That's the never-say-die spirit. You take the tools, I'll send a prayer (the tools may still end up being the answer to the prayer ;-)

Let us know, Chris

99BBB
Reply to
Chris D'Agnolo

10K nothin'... I wanna see this puppy roll over the 300K (or more) mark! :)

Well, after some delay in getting computer/network access re-established after the move (We got here last Saturday, but I've been scrambling to get "can't continue existing without them" type items unpacked - much as I'd like to be able to claim otherwise, the computer/net isn't on that list) I'm pleased to anounce that the ol' beast made the trip just great.

She ran a little bit hotter than I liked at first (typically, the needle barely moves above the "cold" mark on the gauge - ran at about halfway up the scale for the first 150 miles or so, then settled back down to about 1/4 scale for the rest of the trip after topping up with water during a gas stop - possibly a cruddy connection to the sender that I cleaned up without knowing it whle tearing it down and putting it back together) and it did burn some oil, but that's nothing new. Aside from what sounds like an exhaust leak (I suspect I didn't get a bolt cranked down hard enough when putting everything back together after the gasket change - Without fresh stuff on hand to replace whatever exists, I'm

*REALLY* paranoid about cranking on exhaust hardware - for reasons I doubt need any explanation!) it made it without a spit, sputter, or complaint, even coming up over the Grant's Pass Oregon area. (Sign at bottom: Elevation - 1000 feet. Sign at top: Elevation - 4731 feet if I recall rightly)

I'm impressed! With both the car (for surviving the trip) and myself (for doing a first-time-ever head-gasket replacement with only two days to do it in before launching into a 600+ mile trip into "the great Northwet" and having it turn out successful)

Reply to
Don Bruder

Congrats. It's nice when things work out.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail >
Reply to
Mike Romain

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