BELTS , as in CHECK YOUR...

[lacroupade]

Had a nasty shock Friday night which made me miss my offroading Saturday but could easily have trashed the truck as well, all for the sake of a fanbelt!

Was happily proceeding along the Merthyr Tydfil bypass at about 6pm, doing a fair rate of knots, when I heard a loud TWAAAANG from under the bonnet....nothing amiss for a moment until I noticed the battery warning light on, so pretty safe to assume the alternator belt had busted...lots of traffic, nowhere to stop so carried on approaching the roundabout.

Went to turn the wheel to negotiate said roundabout (still doing 40, with two busy lanes of traffic) only it wouldn't work!! slowed down as much as I dared and absolutely hung on to the wheel and just about made it round, stopping as soon as it was safe....but it was a bit of a 'brown trouser' moment.

Turned out when I lifted the bonnet that the alternator belt had indeed snapped, but had ripped the power steering pump (and water pump) belt off in the process. Won't bore you with the details, but luckily I had my toolkit with me (we were supposed to be going out with Makeitifit after all!) so was able to refit the steering pump belt and drive the remaining 40 miles home....then took me until this morning to find a replacement alternator belt.

Moral of the story? Check your belts and if they look the slightest bit dodgy don't take any chances - at a fiver a piece its foolishness not to replace them and save yourself a lot of trouble (and possibly danger!). If you don't believe me, try turning the wheel with the ignition off - thats what its like at speed as well!

Here endeth the lesson...

 

[Liam]

Good tip,thanks. Happened the missus in her Rover just the other day,luckily she was just about to go to work so was still outside the house. Came into to me to say there was a problem with the brakes???? Women,haven't a clue ,have they

 

[lacroupade]

Women,haven't a clue ,have they

just as well sometimes Liam!!! LMFAO! :lol:lol:lol:lol:lol

 

[Liam]

One of my mate's reckons someone is going to get a great deal on his firearms when he dies,as naturally he told the missus they were a LOT less expensive than they actually were. I keep reading the obituaries and scanning for his name so I can pick up a bargain.:thumbs

 

[rossco]

Quick tip:
If you replace all your belts at the same time, hold onto the old ones and use them for spares even if a bit worn, throw them under the back seat

I have and had to use an old one and is quite handy particularly in the middle of the bush miles from any where.

Like you say the old power steering is good when it going, but man try driving off road without it .

Another interesting thing in the Mistral if you break the alternator belt a buzzer comes on.

 

[lacroupade]

Quick tip:
If you replace all your belts at the same time, hold onto the old ones and use them for spares even if a bit worn, throw them under the back seat

I have and had to use an old one and is quite handy particularly in the middle of the bush miles from any where.

Like you say the old power steering is good when it going, but man try driving off road without it .

Another interesting thing in the Mistral if you break the alternator belt a buzzer comes on.

I'd second that, and even if you can't be bothered to change them now, for gods sake carry spares....like I said, they are about £5 each and providing you've got your spanners they are pretty easy to change by the roadside if you bust one....just makes sense to take the pain and do them all together.

On mine I needed to remove the battery to get access to the PS pump pivot bolt, then its just a matter of undoing the tensioner, move the pump over and fit the new belt....similarly the alternator just needs access to the lower pivot bolt and the upper clamp bolt (no tensioner so you need to put a lever in to get the alternator to take up the slack), and although I didn't do the aircon pump belt as its right at the bottom and looked OK, theres also a tensioner on that, so can't see any of it being that difficult, although much easier in your garage obviously.

If in doubt, change them I'd say! For £15-18 worths of bits and at worst an hours labour its worth it for the peace of mind!

 

[dino]

Checked mine today and fitted new :thumb2
for approx £5.00 for both :thumbs
Took about 3/4 of an hour

 

[rossco]

And what did you do with your old ones ?????

 

[sprokit]

When changing all three belts on 2.7 tdi do i need to remove the radiator fan?

 

[extreme-4x4]

When changing all three belts on 2.7 tdi do i need to remove the radiator fan?

no...

 

[sprokit]

Thanks, better get on with it.

 

[lacroupade]

Thanks, better get on with it.

Hi sprokit....there are simple tensioners for the power steering/water pump belt and the aircon pump belt (if you have one) and the alternator has the traditional support bracket and pivot bolt arrangement, so just needs soimething to lever it away from the mounting while you retighten it. Its easier to remove the battery to get at the PS/water pump belt, plus you can clean/check your terminals at the same time! Bonus! :thumbs

Pivot bolts can all be loosened up from the front.

 

[sprokit]

Thanks for the reply, will have to do it tomorrow now, its just started the rain.

 

[dino]

And what did you do with your old ones ?????

In the bin :thumb2 not worth keeping for that price

 

[dsgrnmcm]

Dont want to seem like a total re-tard! but the one to the left (as you look at the engine from the front) thats the power steering?, one to the right alternator, and water pump at the bottom, if i loosen off the tensioners, and slip the belts off, where or how do i get them off?

 

[lacroupade]

Dont want to seem like a total re-tard! but the one to the left (as you look at the engine from the front) thats the power steering?, one to the right alternator, and water pump at the bottom, if i loosen off the tensioners, and slip the belts off, where or how do i get them off?

Just feed them round the fan, one blade at a time.

If you have aircon, theres a third belt at the bottom thats shorter than the other two but I think that goes straight on (after loosening the tensioner).

And yes, PS pump is l/h side as you stand at front, alternator is r/h side.

useful tip, since I just busted two belts before getting it right....when you take the PS pump belt off, loosen clamp and pivot bolts off as much as you like, but before you fit the new belts, tighten the clamp and pivot bolts up again almost tight but not quite, otherwise you'll find that when you tighten the tensioner bolt it pulls the pump and pulley out of line, meaning your belt is likely to twist round and eventually break (mine did twice til I spotted this!)...so then just tighten tensioner (not too tight, you can always tighten more later) then fully tighten pivot and clamp bolt.

And as advised earlier, easiest to remove battery first for access to PS pump pivot bolt (which you only need access to the radiator end of, the other end is a captive nut).

BY THE WAY - WATER PUMP IS IMMEDIATELY BEHIND FAN; ITS ALL ONE ASSEMBLY.