Alternator belt came off while driving!!

[JoeMarano]

So I was driving down the A14 when...

The car started to feel odd and the battery warning light came on the dash. Assuming it was the French protesting as usual I carried on. Now some smoke appears behind me followed briefly by an engine light.

Immediately I pull over lift up the hood and the coolant is boiling away in its bottle! I panic and open the lid...

Look down to the alternator and the belt has come off! Not snapped....come off so I free it and its new looking and all intact.

For the last week or so the car has been making some odd noises and now I think of it....from around the front right engine bay area. I assumed it was to do with the new ktec stealth system.

Obviously not. The recovery etc is another story in itself but long snd short its at a garage opposite my work (RAF camp) what should I be expecting and how much am.i looking at?

If its to replace a belt or tensioners etc are there any specialist tools required?

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

So it never took the cambelt with it then? You're a lucky boy!

 

[Phase1Dom]

Sounds like a pulley or water pump failure .

 

[JoeMarano]

Its majorly fucked me off as I bought it off the boss at reno tec on the understanding it had had ALL belts changed etc as well as a new alternator.
Maybe its just a failurr I hope it doesnt relate back to them

 

[JoeMarano]

I do wish I had bought a cup now though. I don't even use air con!

 

[Gus]

Opening the bottle when its boiling can be well dangerous. Had a mate who did it and the pressure caused the coolant to spray all over his face burning his skin, he was ugly anyway but still....

 

[Gus]

Forgot to say, had this happen on a golf and it was just the tensioner that had gone - the tensioner wheel was made of plastic and the belt melted it causing massive smoke, that was only £50 to fix at VW. As above it might be the water pump thats gone though.

 

[ADS_V6]

optical reading that i just tipped my tea you nutter lol

 

[JoeMarano]

Funny you should say that optical as I made sure I covered up just in case lol

The fact the temperature got high (barely above the halfway mark tbh) and boiled the coolant...thats not going to cause any damage is it?

 

[Gus]

Should be fine especially as you noticed the coolant. Ive been doing a lot of searching in the last 10 minutes and statistically it looks like the water pumps never fail so hopefully it wont be that. Id bet on it just being a tensioner that needs replacing and the belt if it looks damaged. You dont need any specialist tools apart from a 75mm jubilee clip to compress the tensioner.

 

[JoeMarano]

Fingers crossed then.

 

[Gus]

have a look here http://www.cliosport.net/threads/aux-belt-change.671659/ you dont need the tool they mention, just the 75mm jubilee clip. the belt routes like in the pic - this is where you have an advantage - looks like your son in the profile pics will have hands perfect for this haha - get him started on car maintenance at an early age.

 

[realnumber 1]

For the price of a new belt you'd be daft not to replace it imo.

Sounds like the OP was very lucky!

 

[Cupman29]

Sounds like the tensioner has gone or something has got caught in the belt causing it jump off the pulley.

 

[JoeMarano]

Yeah was the tensioner. How the hell does a part like that fail?!

 

[Gus]

Yeah was the tensioner. How the hell does a part like that fail?!

Good news then.... in that its not too expensive or hard to fix. Still annoying it failed. It must have had bearing failure on the wheel and then stopped it spinning and the plastic wheel burned causing the smoke. Is it fixed now?

 

[JoeMarano]

Not getting the part till tomorrow and wont get the caf back till the day after. To be honesg I would rather have spent the cash on some decent front tyred or a whiteline ARB. But I guess these things happen...

 

[JoeMarano]

Im hoping i was just tired after a nightshift and misunderstood the garage but im sure they said parts came to £178 then i go online and find this...http://renaultpartsdirect.co.uk/products/Renault-Clio-172-Alternator-Belt-Kit.html for £60

Im hoping there must be a mix up as im not paying that much if the kit is a hundred pounds cheaper!

 

[JoeMarano]

Hopefully they aren't trying to pull a fast one as I would like to get back home sunday morning and its not going anywhere if it isnt fixed!

 

[Addicted]

Very very lucky!

 

[Rob669]

You need to know why that belt fell off, they don't do that normally. I lost a belt because one of the nuts on the timing belt cover wasn't tightened, it came off and caused the aux belt to come off (I was also lucky too that it didn't damage the timing belt/engine). You can fit a new aux belt with a hose clip although it isn't recommended to, and you need to find one of the stronger Jubilee type makes of clip not one from Halfords I've tried and they are too weak - a 75 clip won't do it either, it needs to be about 100-105. I got some strong clips from a farm equipment supplier.

 

[MRBILLYUK]

Just had my aux belt come off driving down the M6. Temp gauge went to the top, stop and battery light came on. I managed to drive it slowly to the next service station and waiting for breakdown recovery.
I had a new aux belt kit fitted at Birchdown at the beginning of March this year, only done 1000 miles since. The belt looks ok , just off and jammed. I think the cambelt is ok as it was still driveable, just no power steering as the belt was off.
I'm wondering if the belt can be refitted by the breakdown recovery guy, coolant refilled ?

 

[Louis]

Just had my aux belt come off driving down the M6. Temp gauge went to the top, stop and battery light came on. I managed to drive it slowly to the next service station and waiting for breakdown recovery.
I had a new aux belt kit fitted at Birchdown at the beginning of March this year, only done 1000 miles since. The belt looks ok , just off and jammed. I think the cambelt is ok as it was still driveable, just no power steering as the belt was off.
I'm wondering if the belt can be refitted by the breakdown recovery guy, coolant refilled ?

Why would the coolant need re-filling? You want to find out the reason it's slipped off, and go back to birchdown.

 

[JamesBryan]

DON'T refit the belt.

It's likely the tensioner has failed!

P.S. you lucky lucky b*****d.

 

[MRBILLYUK]

Why would the coolant need re-filling? You want to find out the reason it's slipped off, and go back to birchdown.

When i lifted the bonnet it had blown the coolant, probably why the temp gauge shot up. Breakdown guy just arrived now. I phoned Birchdown but got no answer.

 

[Louis]

When i lifted the bonnet it had blown the coolant, probably why the temp gauge shot up. Breakdown guy just arrived now. I phoned Birchdown but got no answer.

Water pump potentially s**t itself, seized and blown the belt?

 

[JamesBryan]

Water pump potentially s**t itself, seized and blown the belt?

Could be this too.

Either way, you're getting trailered home 😏

 

[MRBILLYUK]

Waiting the get trailered now.

 

[MRBILLYUK]

Water pump potentially s**t itself, seized and blown the belt?

Card been running sweet since the aux belt was done in March. f**k knows what's caused this. The aux belt from what I can see looks ok, just come off the pulleys and stuck.

 

[JamesBryan]

Waiting the get trailered now.

If he does try and start the car, at least take the belt out the way. If that ends up round the cambelt you're knackered.

 

[MRBILLYUK]

If he does try and start the car, at least take the belt out the way. If that ends up round the cambelt you're knackered.

I will do. Cheers mate.

 

[MRBILLYUK]

Home now. I can't pull the belt off as it's jammed between the alternator pulley and the bodywork. It's slightly damaged so will need replacing.
What I have noticed is that the alternator itself is loose and moving about. I'm guessing that's enough to throw the aux belt off?

 

[Louis]

Home now. I can't pull the belt off as it's jammed between the alternator pulley and the bodywork. It's slightly damaged so will need replacing.
What I have noticed is that the alternator itself is loose and moving about. I'm guessing that's enough to throw the aux belt off?

Yeah thatll do it. Is the water pump seized? I'd be getting in touch asap with birchdown

 

[MRBILLYUK]

Yeah thatll do it. Is the water pump seized? I'd be getting in touch asap with birchdown

I don't know if it's seized. I've tried phoning Birchdown but it's answer machine only with this covid malarkey. I've left then them a message so hopefully they'll get back to me soon.
The only problem is they're 90 miles away from where I live.

 

[Typhoon]

Yeah, that alternator shouldn’t be moving like it is!

 

[MRBILLYUK]

I've ordered 5 litres of coolant , I don't know how much it lost when it blew it out.
The aux belt kit is only 2 months old so I'm hoping it's just a new belt needed. Can you buy just the belt on its own? On RPD they only seem to sell it as a kit.
I'm hoping it's just the alternator coming loose that's caused the problem.
I'm reluctant to take it any local garage cos the last 2 local garages I took it to both of them broke the tensioner.
I'm new to this area but I've found a garage with good reviews so I'll probably have to take it there .

 

[JamesBryan]

You can get the belt on it's own.

Looks like the top alternator bolt has come out/broken.

 

[botfch]

How bizarre have you had the alternator replaced recently or anything?

 

[MRBILLYUK]

You can get the belt on it's own.

Looks like the top alternator bolt has come out/broken.

I'll try and have a look tomorrow. I'm hoping it's just something as simple as needing a new bolt.
Whereabouts can you get the belt on its own? I can't find it on RPDs website.

 

[MRBILLYUK]

How bizarre have you had the alternator replaced recently or anything?

The alternator was replaced last August after I'd garaged the car for the previous 7 months and I had problems charging the battery. It was done locally at small garage.