Smoke

I was gonna drive the Caddy to run some errands on Saturday morning. Of course, I took some time to check the various fluid levels since I hadn't driven it in a while. Everything looked fine.

Shortly after cranking it, I heard screeching sounds coming from the front and smoke started pouring from under the hood. I shut it down and opened the hood and found a broken drive belt.

It looks like what has happened is the Air Pump seized, causing the belt to grind against the pulley, overheat, and snap.

The air pump is part of the emissions control system. It pumps air into the exhaust port of each cylinder to help oxidize any unburned hydrocarbons. It also heats air before it goes into the carburetor. That belt also drives the water pump.

So, it looks like I need to replace the air pump, which isn't too, too pricey - about $100 for the part. The bummer is that I believe the belts were all pretty new and I hadn't planned on replacing them anytime soon, but since I have to replace one, I should replace them all.

Also, as I've mentioned before, for such a large car it is pretty tight under the hood. There isn't much room between the radiator and the front of the engine, so it is gonna be a pain to replace that pump.

Since I'm gonna be under there, I am wondering if I should replace the water pump. It seems to be working okay, but its not that expensive (about $50) and I really don't want to have to get back in there in 6 months if it goes bad.

Anyway, I guess I need to go ahead and order the parts and try to find a free weekend to put in the new parts. Sadly, it looks like I won't be driving the Eldorado for a while...