Repair Mistakes & Blunders |
My father-in-law is a retired master mechanic who ran his own shop for several years. One of his frequent customers was a kindly older gentleman who drove a 1983 AMC Concord. The car had a chronic problem of running too hot, especially at highway speeds. My father-in-law attacked the issue one visit after another until he replaced nearly every suspect part – hoses, water pump, belt, radiator, sending unit, thermostat, you name it! Still, the problem persisted. When the car’s owner passed away, the car was left to my father-in-law as thanks for all the work. Now convinced the system was somehow clogged, he removed the head on the inline 6-cylinder 258cid engine, had it professionally cleaned, and reinstalled it (with new gaskets, bolts, etc., thanks to RockAuto). Nothing. Shortly after, he made the 7-hour trip to visit us, which is when he complained to me about the problem. I suggested we both look it over. We stared at the engine as he told me all the work he did. Then I asked him to start it. No sooner did it turnover, I told him to shut it off. The fan was blowing the wrong direction! We quickly determined flipping it would make no difference because of the blade pitch. After a little research on RockAuto, we learned AMC sold the same engine with optional belt drives. The standard V-belt configuration turned the fan clockwise, while the serpentine belt configuration turned the fan counterclockwise. We replaced the fan and the old Concord has run at the correct temperature ever since. |