Pulley Failure! My C32 Left Me Stranded

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Oct 9, 2016 | 11:46 PM
  #1  
Yesterday I woke up and started my journey to a car show with my girlfriend in my Silver Track C32. Half way there and a hour away from home, my alternator message popped up in red and my power steering went out so I immediately pulled over because I new it was something with the belt and the car was no longer being cooled.

After popping the hood I noticed the belt was off but not destroyed? So then I assumed it was a stuck pulled. I began to rotate all the pulleys and then when I got to the Idler pulley, It burned the crap out of me! I took my phone and examined it, and quickly realized I was stranded. The belt also got wedged and stuck when I was trying to see if I could get it out of the way. It had to be cut.

When I got home I removed it and It looks like it destroyed its self and the thing it bolts too...

I managed to record it all for my YouTube and so I could get your opinion. Do you think I need a new water pump?
Here it is:

Pulley isn't stock. I've attached a couple pictures of the failure.

Pulley Failure! My C32 Left Me Stranded-img_2313.jpg   Pulley Failure! My C32 Left Me Stranded-img_2312.jpg  

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Oct 10, 2016 | 03:27 AM
  #2  
Quote: Yesterday I woke up and started my journey to a car show with my girlfriend in my Silver Track C32. Half way there and a hour away from home, my alternator message popped up in red and my power steering went out so I immediately pulled over because I new it was something with the belt and the car was no longer being cooled.



After popping the hood I noticed the belt was off but not destroyed? So then I assumed it was a stuck pulled. I began to rotate all the pulleys and then when I got to the Idler pulley, It burned the crap out of me! I took my phone and examined it, and quickly realized I was stranded. The belt also got wedged and stuck when I was trying to see if I could get it out of the way. It had to be cut.

When I got home I removed it and It looks like it destroyed its self and the thing it bolts too...

I managed to record it all for my YouTube and so I could get your opinion. Do you think I need a new water pump?
Here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaOSuEnviio

Pulley isn't stock. I've attached a couple pictures of the failure.
how many miles on the pulley ? You can check the other pulleys by spinning them and listening for noise - unless water pump is leaking or bearing is making noise of leave it . Change idler and tensioner plus belt ....
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Oct 10, 2016 | 08:20 AM
  #3  
This is a common failure. It appears to have damaged the mount so I would replace the water pump. It is a pain but probably about time if it hasn't been done anyway. To help avoid this in the future you can get a pulley saver/ belt wrap kit from needswings. It has a larger idler pulley to slow down the rotation.
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Oct 10, 2016 | 08:56 AM
  #4  
Sorry to hear of your misfortune. This is a costly tow for a pretty cheap part.

One of the first things I do with a used car is to go through all systems and moving parts to check for wear, as well as replacing all fluids and filters. I spent about a month getting my C32 in working order, and well over $2000 in parts, all DIY. The list of failures on the posts here gives the items to inspect.

In this case, I pull the belt off and wiggle / spin these pulleys. I've replaced 3 already as preventative measures, and wrote a list of suspect items to keep an eye on. I bought a stethoscope to listen to them also (<$10).

As a pilot I need to make sure an airplane is airworthy before every flight, as I can't just pull over to fix something. I treat my cars the same way. I've yet to be stranded (knock on wood) in the last 30 years, but have had 2 alternator failures that allowed me to limp home as the batteries slowly drained.
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Oct 10, 2016 | 06:00 PM
  #5  
Quote: This is a common failure. It appears to have damaged the mount so I would replace the water pump. It is a pain but probably about time if it hasn't been done anyway. To help avoid this in the future you can get a pulley saver/ belt wrap kit from needswings. It has a larger idler pulley to slow down the rotation.
What he said
Reply 0
Oct 10, 2016 | 06:15 PM
  #6  
Quote: Sorry to hear of your misfortune. This is a costly tow for a pretty cheap part.

One of the first things I do with a used car is to go through all systems and moving parts to check for wear, as well as replacing all fluids and filters. I spent about a month getting my C32 in working order, and well over $2000 in parts, all DIY. The list of failures on the posts here gives the items to inspect.

In this case, I pull the belt off and wiggle / spin these pulleys. I've replaced 3 already as preventative measures, and wrote a list of suspect items to keep an eye on. I bought a stethoscope to listen to them also (<$10).

As a pilot I need to make sure an airplane is airworthy before every flight, as I can't just pull over to fix something. I treat my cars the same way. I've yet to be stranded (knock on wood) in the last 30 years, but have had 2 alternator failures that allowed me to limp home as the batteries slowly drained.
I now know not to underlook my pulleys. I should have checked... I'll be buying the NeedsWings Pulley saver kit.
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