[Vwdiesel] limping home story

[Mike & Coreen Smith]

Al,
Hope you don't mind me posting this to the list, but I thought your story
was SO GREAT, I would, just
so the guys can see how resourceful you were.  Please read below guys.  My
hat is off to you Al !

From: "Al Stumbaugh" <alstum at visuallink.com>
To: "Mike & Coreen Smith" <ve9aa at nbnet.nb.ca>
Sent: Sunday, February 20, 2005 5:44 PM
Subject: Re: [Vwdiesel] Alternator belt-What the ?


> Hi Mike:
>      There is a "Z" shaped bracket on the bottom of the alternator. If one
> of the
> two bolts in that bracket came loose that might cause that. Some belts
> stretch
> a lot in the first few minutes of running.
>
>      I was out in the middle of nowhere in Southern Virginia when I popped
> the alternator belt. I shut it down right away. No problem, I have a spare
> in
> the trunk, right? Wrong! Never did figure out where that spare belt went.
> I considered calling a tow truck, but really did not have the money to
> spare.
> Then I remembered there was a large bunch of tye-wraps in the trunk. I
used
> four and made a belt with the loose ends sticking out. I pulled the
> tye-wraps
> as tight as possible, just running the water pump. Figured I could do
> without
> the alternator for the last forty miles or so. Turned the heater up full
> blast for
> an auxillary cooling system and made it to the FLAPS. No problem at all.
>
> Al
>
>