Thanks!


Actually back in the 90’s I was living and working in Washington DC just moving to California. I had not converted to the Californian ways yet.


I basically snap those pictures right before removing the power steering belt. (You need to remove the PS and A/C belt to get to the Alt. and WP belt. What a pain!) By the looks of the pic, it seemed that I was peeling the belt off. On another note you can see a frayed string on the A/C belt. That was from the excess amount of string after I cinched it down and I tied it. I hastily started it, it got caught in the pulley and tore off. I then promptly cut out any excess.

__________________
1983 123.133 California
- GreaseCar Veg System

OM618, IMO you may have damaged the engine. Every time it is heated beyond it's design point, and especially without circulation to eliminate hot spots and localized boiling, you run the risk of overstressing the metal and the gasketed joint. These engines have some margin for abuse, and I believe you have used up much of that margin. Incipient cracking may have already begun. Fortunately you have an iron head that has much higher fatigue strength than aluminum (and a lower coefficient of thermal expansion). If you had an aluminum head, I think you'd already know the answer because the car would be in the shop getting a new head gasket at minimum and probably a new head. I think you should be extremely conscientious about maintaining normal cooling temperatures from now on, and perhaps the engine will be OK. Wintertime will be an additional stressor, although you live in a mild climate. Good luck!

__________________
1987 W201 190D

The first symptoms would be head gasket symptoms. After the belts are on and the cooling system is properly filled and bled, the things to watch for would be coolant loss with no apparent leaks, overpressurization of the cooling system, whitish "smoke" from the exhaust, possibly harder starting and poor idle, water in the oil (milky appearance on dipstick and inside filler cap), oil in the water, continuing overheating with no apparent cause... Stuff like that.

__________________
1987 W201 190D

The milkshake look on the dip stick and oil cap are when the engine is cold and the trapped water vapor has a chance to condense.

__________________
RRGrassi


70's Southern Pacific #5608 Fairmont A-4 MOW car

13 VW JSW 2.0 TDI 193K, Tuned with DPF and EGR Delete.

99 W210 E300 Turbo Diesel, chipped, DPF/Converter Delete. Still needs EGR Delete, 232K

90 Dodge D250 5.9 Cummins/5 speed. 400K

Gone and still missed...1982 w123 300D, 1991 w124 300D