@Stan Galat posted:You can tell immediately by the sound as well. All of the sudden, everything smooths out and all you hear is engine - it's like somebody shut off the vacuum cleaner. The engine will have nice power and be instantly more responsive - for a couple of minutes.
Shut it off as soon as it throws the belt. Don't pass go. Don't collect $200.
We can't stress this point enough, @LBoogie- what Stan said here is SUPER IMPORTANT!!! With no fan keeping temps within operating parameters it can take less than a minute for an aircooled engine to overheat. ALWAYS carry a spare (a 2nd wouldn't be a bad idea; they're not expensive) and ALWAYS carry the tools to change a belt. NEVER think "I'm almost at my destination, I'll nurse it the rest of the way"- find a place to pull over, shut if off and change the belt NOW! Just keep reminding yourself how much that engine would cost to replace (and in today's environment of spotty parts availability how long your Beauty would be down for and how much driving you would miss while waiting for this new engine).
My apologies if you already know all this- even some experienced gearheads don't get this at first when coming from the Water Cooled World.
Hope this helps. Al
PS- Congratulations- Penny is gorgeous! And don't worry about any more P badging- it's not a P and it looks great just like it is.
Oh, another PS- my apologies (again) if you've already introduced yourself, but I didn't see it- what's the L short for?