Will Honea

I'd like a little help with this diagnosis before I make a needless
mess.

88 4.0 MJ, running for the first time this summer in really hot
weather (middle of Kansas at 95+ should qualify). Pretty strong wind
- good 20-25 kts - but it was a quartering headwind, so any airflow
disruption should be negligible. I had been running 70-75 since 7AM
when the temp suddenly decided to kick up to 225-230 and stabilize.
It had been solid just about 200 all day until then. Water level was
good and steady up to that point. Funny thing was, as I slowed down,
the temp dropped a little, but stayed high until I pulled in for gas
and shut down. Had a burger and noted a slight drop in the radiator
level, but still within tolerance so I started backup and went. The
temp never got over the middle mark (210) all the way to Faytteville,
AR. I added about a pint of water before I headed back home
yesterday. Temp was still good and steady until about 500 miles down
the road when it kicked a bit high again. Same deal. Stayed high
until I shut down for a chow break, then stayed below 210 and was
stable the rest of the way in. Again, the water level was down just a
tad when I got home, but it had stayed stable until the high temp
started and it wasn't down enoughto matter. The only thing different
about the second time is that I could swear I caught a whiff of
antifreeze about the time it happened.

I'm figuring a sticking thermostat that sometimes won't open all the
way but I'm open for any other causes of this crap before I make a
mess draining the system down to change it (and fighting to burp the
system when I refill it). I'd like to check for anything else before
I button it up again.

This was an interesting trip. The alternator crapped out somewhere
between Fayettville and Witchita and I wound up stopping for a battery
charge to get into Salina. Figuring it was an electrical failure
(popped diodes or such) since the alternator was spinning quietly, I
was debating running on in to Colorado on the battery by stopping
every 250-300 miles for a charge (I have a new alternator sitting in
the garage here already) when the alternator really let go. Managed
to find a shop open and a mechanic who thought he could change mine
out in less than an hour for a reasonable price. When we checked the
alternator, it had literally exploded. The rear of the case was
dangling from the cable, the stator was thrown up on the motor mount
and the rotor was still spinning merrily away with just the front
bearing - minus 2 segments of the rotor assy. Neither the mechanic
nor I had ever seen an alternator come apart like that! Oh, and he
charged me for half an hour labor when it took a good two hours with
the skid plate, etc. Said he learned a few things...

--
Will Honea <whonea@codenet.net>