Whether it’s good or bad.
Yesterday marked the first time my ’97 has ever let me down—but it was my fault. Typical of an aging vehicle (130,000 miles, 12½ years old now), the idler pulley on the tensioner assembly had served its time, and decided to take the rest of the afternoon off as I was 40 miles from my final destination. Now, I mentioned this was my fault because I had in my possession a tensioner assembly a few weeks back, but returned it because I didn’t like the quality of parts that that particular auto parts store sells, and I thought it was a sub-par product (I don't approve of Taiwan bearings).
Good news, the serpentine belt didn’t get caught up or damage anything when the pulley gave, so getting back on the road was no big deal. However, the experience did give me a couple, subtle, carnage-type photos, which we all like seeing here at the magazine.