2001 SAAB 9-3 repair Question Driving with broken drive belt

TONAMIE

MEMBER
2001 SAAB 9-3
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
73,000 MILES

The serpentine or drive belt broke while I was driving. I did not know that I had to stop the car immediately and call AAA. I drove the car (with difficulty) 8 miles approx passing through two 5 min stop lights, and came home to park the car. The car was hot and there was 'ssssssss; noise as well as the sound of the fan (i think) rotating with a loud whirring noise. The triangular hazard sign along with the check battery sign was on all the time. I had it towed to Saab dealership the next morning and they replaced the belt, pulley system and thermostat as well as coolant as they said that the coolant was gone. The car was driving again without any problems (so far) and I have these important questions:
Have I damaged the engine? If so how much? And would it have performed as it is now, if even minor damage was done? How will I know for sure that the engine won't give up on me in the very near future as a result of this even though it is driving now?
Thank you for your help in advance.

Tonamie

1 Reply

MNTHNY4

MECHANIC
612 POSTS

Hey what'S up, u r a lucky person, if the engine is now running without any knocking or pinging then u have nothing to worry about, if I were u has of now I would say only use full syn oil, when doing oil changes that helps in cases like that, for a few miles driving, but note at all times if that was to happen again and u r in a safe place pull over & call AAA, note driving without serpentine belt for too long can cause major internal engine damage, like piston ring failure, head gasket failure or eng cooling system component failure, so again u r a lucky person.