Built Ford Tough
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Built Ford Tough
So heading home yesterday after a weekend with the folks (350 mile trip), I lost my tensioner pulley about 240 miles into the trip. The bolt that holds the whole tensioner unit on the motor broke in two (I blame NY salt) and I saw the pulley bouncin down the highway. Pulled over, let her cool down, called my Dad (dealer mechanic from the 60s to the 80s) and he tells me that they're built to run 45-50 mph with no fan belt if need be - the airflow spins the mechanical fan that spins your water pump. 108.6 miles with no accessories, I'm home, and I'm not missing more than a pint of coolant!
Thread Starter
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Senior User
Joined: May 2007
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Score +1 for the mechanical cooling fan, too.
Just a thought, but this is probably only possible on stickshift trucks. The ambient temp was ~ 75 and the temp gauge was relatively high, but it stayed there. Also had the heat on with the fan on low - more fan is better but you need to conserve battery too. By the time I got home my headlights were very, very dim.
One thing I learned over track racing "stock" cars (aka ford escort) . If the heat works, you've got water. So as long as there's (very) hot air coming out that vent, the engine is fine. If you lose it, though, it's time to shut down.
Just a thought, but this is probably only possible on stickshift trucks. The ambient temp was ~ 75 and the temp gauge was relatively high, but it stayed there. Also had the heat on with the fan on low - more fan is better but you need to conserve battery too. By the time I got home my headlights were very, very dim.
One thing I learned over track racing "stock" cars (aka ford escort) . If the heat works, you've got water. So as long as there's (very) hot air coming out that vent, the engine is fine. If you lose it, though, it's time to shut down.
