Broke down in Bozeman...nice place but we need to get back on the road.

[SierraHawk]

(2004 E350 FWD SMB 5.4 engine w/ 330,000 mi)

To prep for this trip, I did all of the regular maintenance. Since the van is high mileage, I had a shop replace the water pump, fan, alternator, thermostat and belt. A/C had been rebuilt the year before. A/C rebuild came with a 24 month/24,000 mile warranty. (Not sure what to do with the warranty.)

July 7

Headed to Glacier. A/C stopped working two days before. A/C would turn on & off without touching the controls but, after a day, the A/C and the controls stopped working altogether.

Pulled off I90 for groceries in Bozeman on Friday. Tried to start the engine. First two times it wouldn't turn all the way over - engine stopped after about a 1/4 turn. Battery is good.

Third time the engine caught but smoke billowed out from under the hood. Fan and belt not turning. Moved the van under its own power so it was out of the way and called for a tow.

Engine temp normal. Laser temps on water pump, alternator pully, tensioner spindle, power steering pully nut, upper and lower hoses, heads, block, etc are all within 140F to 170F. No loss of coolant.

Tow truck driver said that repair shops are... "booked out for 2 to 3 months"?!?!?! Fortunately, we have a friend in Bozeman who is letting us park in their yard but I do not want to be here for several months.

Crawled under the van. The new belt is delaminated and severed at the bottom of the serpentine run. Fan, tensioner, alternator, etc. rotate but A/C pump pully cannot be turned.

Looks like the 18 month old (approx 12,000 mile) A/C pump with little use is frozen (can an A/C pump just stop turning?). It is Sunday. I am trying to determine if I should drop the A/C pump, install another and take it to a shop to have the system refilled or wait for a shop to get around to looking at it.

The names of shops that will work on A/C in Bozeman and any suggestions welcome.


M