Re: I let all the smoke out!

["Doyt W. Echelberger" <Doyt@nwonline.net>]

Since your car stopped unexpectedly, you probably parked in an unusual
place, and perhaps at an unusual angle....tipped to one side, or pointed up
or down a hill.  I would guess the car was tipped by the berm you parked
on, so the passenger side was lower than the driver side.  Which could have
spilled a pool or dribble of the fluid in an unusual manner that got it
onto a hot part of the exhaust system.

Think about how you were parked.....it might provide another clue.

There is a lot of stuff back there that uses petroleum based fluids. Over
time, one of those fluid levels will probably drop and reveal the source.
Spread a cardboard sheet on the ground or floor where you park the car and
see if anything drips. You say there was some oil dripping but you didn't
say how much, or where.....so you could try to follow up on that. It sounds
like your best lead so far.

Dripping oil, that got on your exhaust because of the angle you were parked.

Don't ignore looking for ATF, since I guess you have an automatic
transmission and some of them have had leaky seals.

Get out and get under, and do it safely with the car on a lift and all 4
wheels dangling. Then you can have it running while it is up there. And use
a powerful light to help find the leak(s).
And tell us what you come up with.

Doyt Echelberger


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
At 08:45 PM 6/30/1999 -2800, you wrote:
>Damn!
>
>My creaky old '89 100Q lost it's alternator yesterday,
>about 10 miles from home. Actually, that's where the battery
>finally died and the car stopped.
>
>So today I went over with a fresh battery, started it
>and drove it back home on the battery reserves.
>
>The car ran fine the whole time, but when I got home
>there was SMOKE coming from under the hood. I thought
>I had smoked te alternator or something, but no.
>
>It seems to be something in the drivetrain, right about
>where it passes underneath the firewall. There is some
>oil dripping, and that may be the cause of the smoke.
>
>It was getting dark, so I couldn't spend much time on it.
>Doesn't sound connected to the alternator problem, does it?
>What could I have smoked? Busted a final drive seal? Clutch?
>Hairy green toads from Mars?
>
>-- 
>
>Andrew L. Duane (JOT-7)			duane@zk3.dec.com
>Compaq Computer Corporation		(603)-884-1294
>110 Spit Brook Road
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>Nashua, NH    03062-2698
>
>Only my cat shares my opinions, and she's too psychotic to express it
>