Am I screwed ??
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 43
Likes: 0
From: Scottsboro AL
Am I screwed ??
Long story short....
Wife took my 85 Vette out...heard a loud noise...turned around and headed home...car was very hard to steer and smoking...( her words ) drove it about 15 miles then it went dead at a stop sign and would not start...turns out the Accessory belt broke....I replaced that and now the car runs really rough...will not idle and smokes white smoke from the exhaust....it ran like a dream before this happened...am I totally screwed or is there something else I need to do.....Please help me out....
Wife took my 85 Vette out...heard a loud noise...turned around and headed home...car was very hard to steer and smoking...( her words ) drove it about 15 miles then it went dead at a stop sign and would not start...turns out the Accessory belt broke....I replaced that and now the car runs really rough...will not idle and smokes white smoke from the exhaust....it ran like a dream before this happened...am I totally screwed or is there something else I need to do.....Please help me out....
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,488
Likes: 1,352
Sounds like the serpentine belt broke, when the belt goes the waterpump on the L98 cars quits pumping and the power stering pump quits working too. They are both belt driven. The white smoke sounds like it got really hot because she kept driing it and it popped a head gasket. Check your oil for coolant. Look at the bright side if she popped a head gasket now is the perfect time for a heads and cam swap.
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 3,835
Likes: 30
.....sounds like coolant in the combustion chambers.......also check your oil.....had a car one time that after if ran for a bit would smoke like all hell..tore it down to trash the engine and took the head off and found a dime sized hole in the top of the piston...
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,858
Likes: 7
From: Santa Maria CA
Sounds like the serpentine belt broke, when the belt goes the waterpump on the L98 cars quits pumping and the power stering pump quits working too. They are both belt driven. The white smoke sounds like it got really hot because she kept driing it and it popped a head gasket. Check your oil for coolant. Look at the bright side if she popped a head gasket now is the perfect time for a heads and cam swap.
Hopefully she did not drive it enough to overheat the motor severly though.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,858
Likes: 7
From: Santa Maria CA
She should have just pulled the car off the road and shut it off.
Perhaps women need an emergency briefing before taking the vette out. If it turns out to be a head gasket, fork her the bill.
Perhaps women need an emergency briefing before taking the vette out. If it turns out to be a head gasket, fork her the bill.
Last edited by 86PACER; Oct 8, 2007 at 08:05 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 3,270
Likes: 26
From: Winchester VA
Cruise-In V Veteran
Def sounds like a head gasket. be careful trying to start it though for checking things out. Coolant can leak into the cylinder while at rest and hydrolock the motor. If you try to start it, REALLY bad things can happen.
Remove the plugs and hit the starter, that will squirt any coolant out of the sp. plug hole.
Good luck and if nothing else, find a set of late C4 alum heads. These should be reasonably priced. The 85 heads are terrible and I could not imagine putting them back on.
Remove the plugs and hit the starter, that will squirt any coolant out of the sp. plug hole.
Good luck and if nothing else, find a set of late C4 alum heads. These should be reasonably priced. The 85 heads are terrible and I could not imagine putting them back on.
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 17,298
Likes: 33
From: The Top of Utah
She drove it until it stopped. You would be the luckiest man in the world if all it needs is a head gasket or two. That baby got cooked. I would be reluctant to use THAT as a core, depending on what you find on the tear down.
RACE ON!!!
RACE ON!!!
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
2027 Corvette vs The World: Every C8 vs Its Closest Competitor
Joe Kucinski
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,614
Likes: 163
From: Davis CA
Sorry, but it appears that the answer is, "Yes."
Look on the bright side, time to do that upgrade that you've been thinking about and you can blame it on the spouse. Not that you will actually say those words of course.
Look on the bright side, time to do that upgrade that you've been thinking about and you can blame it on the spouse. Not that you will actually say those words of course.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 24,337
Likes: 25
From: San Diego , CA Double Yellow DirtBags 1985..Z51..6-speed
If women are allowed to have drivers licenses, the dummy lights should be redesigned to pull their hair and slap them when oil pressure or coolant temp is out of spec.
Obviously the single, big, red light on the dashboard wasn't clear enough for here.
My dad put 280,000 mi on his Suburban on the original engine. Sold it to a friend and within 2 weeks the friends wife destroyed it driving without oil pressure.
Obviously the single, big, red light on the dashboard wasn't clear enough for here.
My dad put 280,000 mi on his Suburban on the original engine. Sold it to a friend and within 2 weeks the friends wife destroyed it driving without oil pressure.
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 3,835
Likes: 30
If women are allowed to have drivers licenses, the dummy lights should be redesigned to pull their hair and slap them when oil pressure or coolant temp is out of spec.
Obviously the single, big, red light on the dashboard wasn't clear enough for here.
My dad put 280,000 mi on his Suburban on the original engine. Sold it to a friend and within 2 weeks the friends wife destroyed it driving without oil pressure.
Obviously the single, big, red light on the dashboard wasn't clear enough for here.
My dad put 280,000 mi on his Suburban on the original engine. Sold it to a friend and within 2 weeks the friends wife destroyed it driving without oil pressure.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,642
Likes: 5
From: One day you're a Comet...the next day you're dust... Arkansas
Long story short....
Wife took my 85 Vette out...heard a loud noise...turned around and headed home...car was very hard to steer and smoking...( her words ) drove it about 15 miles then it went dead at a stop sign and would not start...turns out the Accessory belt broke....I replaced that and now the car runs really rough...will not idle and smokes white smoke from the exhaust....it ran like a dream before this happened...am I totally screwed or is there something else I need to do.....Please help me out....
Wife took my 85 Vette out...heard a loud noise...turned around and headed home...car was very hard to steer and smoking...( her words ) drove it about 15 miles then it went dead at a stop sign and would not start...turns out the Accessory belt broke....I replaced that and now the car runs really rough...will not idle and smokes white smoke from the exhaust....it ran like a dream before this happened...am I totally screwed or is there something else I need to do.....Please help me out....
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 936
Likes: 2
From: Tyrone PA
If women are allowed to have drivers licenses, the dummy lights should be redesigned to pull their hair and slap them when oil pressure or coolant temp is out of spec.
Obviously the single, big, red light on the dashboard wasn't clear enough for here.
My dad put 280,000 mi on his Suburban on the original engine. Sold it to a friend and within 2 weeks the friends wife destroyed it driving without oil pressure.
Obviously the single, big, red light on the dashboard wasn't clear enough for here.
My dad put 280,000 mi on his Suburban on the original engine. Sold it to a friend and within 2 weeks the friends wife destroyed it driving without oil pressure.
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 43
Likes: 0
From: Scottsboro AL
Thanks for all the replies. I am leaning toward a blown head gasket. She drove the car approx 15 miles mostly highway and said she drove normal speeds ( 60 -70 ) then when she turned off the highway into our neighborhood it went dead at the first stop sign.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 3,374
Likes: 86
From: Corbin KY
60-70 MPH for 15 miles without coolant flow after it is already at operating temp! Did the motor crank at all or slow when it died?
I would be worried about more than head gaskets!
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 11,628
Likes: 1
From: Sherwood, Arkansas
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 43
Likes: 0
From: Scottsboro AL
It cranked on the first try after I replaced the belt but just idled rough and smoked lots of white smoke from the exhaust.
