Lose aux belt overheat...

[jamesis2]

Does this sound possible?

A month or so ago I was driving to work and while on a dual carrage way in the outside lane my car temp gauge hit the limit and lights come on. I pulled over quite quickly and called the AA. The bloke who came thought it was the themostat so he poked it out, so to speak, so that it ran cold and meaning I could drive home. I should point out that the aux belt on the car was making a really bad noise espcially when I turned the steering wheel. Anyway, I booked it in to the mechanic who changed the thermostat and the aux belt, for a smaller one.
Since then until last week the temp on the car has been fine and no noise from the belt. But during last week she started to squeak again... then this morning driving to work the steering made the belt make a horrid noise and even a bit of a loss of power steering! I got about 2 miles down the road and the engine said it was up to temp but the internal heater was blowing cold air. Thought this was a bit odd but the temp climbed so pulled over, being caucious after the previous overheat, and waited a bit hopeing it would be OK. I thought it best to drive home and just as I turned the last corner for the road home the car overheated again! I coasted the last 50 meters.

This morning was so similar to the last time this happened so I keep thinking that it's the lose belt that is causing the overheating. What do you think??
Am I going mad!?

Cheers,

James

 

[sideways danny]

possible. Aux belt runs the water pump too.

belt being changed for a "shorter" one???? bullshit it's auto tensioned and they're a pain in the arse being the length they are already. Happy to have a look if you want to come over to JMS in Uxbridge when i'm there

 

[lemonnobby]

as danny said why just fit a belt i expecvt the tensioner is flapping about and its not driveing anything properly including the water pump

 

[Nicolasticity]

Aux belt on a 172 has too work very hard - dont mess with it. I check mine every month. A while back a small piece of it broke away found its way into the cam cover, lifted the cambelt on the crank and smashed all my valves.

Did it myself over £500 in tools and bits.

 

[sideways danny]

as danny said why just fit a belt i expecvt the tensioner is flapping about and its not driveing anything properly including the water pump

tensioner pivot has probably seized

 

[lemonnobby]

yea they like to jump about dont they

 

[sideways danny]

last one i went to de-tension was so rusted up the ally casting shattered, lol

 

[lemonnobby]

oh never seen that

 

[Fred@BTM]

sure that wasn't your ganster tool that broke it danny?

 

[jamesis2]

I'm starting to wonder about the mechanic I use! Any mechanics in Woking? :O)
Is it a quick and easy thing to change, the tensioner that is? Are they expensive? Do I need a reno one??

I had a look under the bonet earlier today and the very bottom pully I can move with my fingers!! Actually, the bottom two. The large one to the right, nearer the front of the car, and the very bottom small pully. Could it be the larger pully that's the problem, I think it wobbled a bit when I pushed it round.

Thanks for all the help people

 

[Fred@BTM]

get it to a specialist ASAP, if your aux belt lets go - bye bye engine (it has a 99% chance of wrapping itself round the crank and f**king the cambelt)

2.2 hour job off the top of my head, for an amateur without the aux tool i'd say more like 4hours

 

[Nicolasticity]

get it to a specialist ASAP, if your aux belt lets go - bye bye engine (it has a 99% chance of wrapping itself round the crank and lovely the cambelt)

2.2 hour job off the top of my head, for an amateur without the aux tool i'd say more like 4hours

had the tools - took me 2 months!

(ran like a dream until Sunday when the immobiliser packed up)

 

[lemonnobby]

yep i would agree with fred you need to change the tensioner and small idler pulley more or less every time really

 

[sideways danny]

I'm starting to wonder about the mechanic I use! Any mechanics in Woking? :O)

look at my earlier post Uxbridge isn't far

 

[jamesis2]

get it to a specialist ASAP, if your aux belt lets go - bye bye engine (it has a 99% chance of wrapping itself round the crank and lovely the cambelt)

2.2 hour job off the top of my head, for an amateur without the aux tool i'd say more like 4hours

So all I would need is this:
http://www.k-tecracing.com/show_product.asp?id=2685

and some kind of tool to undo those odd bolts, something like this:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_216036_langId_-1_categoryId_165572

Then just slip off the old and on with the new!

 

[jamesis2]

Just saw the double discount December for k-tec... v. tempting! Save me some £££ and I need to!

 

[_WILL_]

If your doing the aux belt would it not be worth getting all the belts changed while your at it?

 

[jamesis2]

Got a new tensioner on the car now, with a new belt and it's fine!! :O) The belt that was on it was not in good shape and it was only a few weeks old! Amazing what happens when the tensioner doesn't work properly. It must have been the tensioner because the mechanic was complaining how hard it was to put the new belt on, and he didn't say that last time he changed the belt!

Anywho, apart from that it's running fine now apart from the thermostat, I think, which was a little cooked when it overheat, slight fluctuation in temp when it's warmed up.

Cheers chaps!