Poly V belt broke!!!

[mr. shr]

Hi guys,
My mum was on her way over to us for xmas, when she suddenly lost power steering and dash lit up all RED with warnings of this that and the other.

Recover guy comes out and says fan belt broken and tightener pulley also broken.

So when the Jesus event is over, I'll be getting a new poly v belt but need advice on the pulley side of things please.

Do I just need to buy the tightener pulley (plastic bit) or do I need the metal bit that the pulley sits on too?
i.e. are you supposed to replace them as a pair or is it ok to just replace the pulley on it's own?

Thanks,
shr.

(Oh and Merry Christmas!!)

 

[ringway]

The tensioner pulley is one piece. IIRC one of the other pulley's is plastic also, so replace that one at the same time.
They aren't expensive, I'll take a guess at £35 for the pair.

 

[mr. shr]

Looked on EPC and it looks to me that they are sold as individual bits. The plastic pulley is about 22 pounds but the tension roller (which I believe is the metal bit behind the plastic pulley) is about 130 pounds.
I think if buying from euro car parts it's about 85 pounds for both.
Is there some way of telling if the metal bit on my mum's car is failing or if it's ok to leave as is and just fit the cheap plastic bit?

 

[martyz]

The sure fix would be to replace both,granted the pulley will be the weak link,but what
caused it to fail? very difficult to advise without physically inspecting it.

Have a happy Christmas.

 

[ringway]

Complete. LINK.


Pulley only. LINK.


Pulley only. LINK.


Just the pulley on it's own is what I replaced.


What year is the car?

 

[LTD]

I'd change the cheapest option first as it's the most likeliest to have failed.

Worst case - you replace both and have spent a few extra quid in the process. Still much cheaper than a mechanic.

 

[mr. shr]

Thanks guys.
The car's a 211 from 2002.

Is there anything that actually fails on the metal bit? If not, I might as well just get the plastic bit on it's own.

I see the links above are after-market parts, which are a lot cheaper than I was looking at. MB sell them as separate items, but both items combined from ebay are cheaper than just one item from MB!!

Did you buy yours from ebay?

 

[rorf]

Replace the whole tensioner, the idler pulley and the poly belt, then good to go for another 100 000 miles.

 

[mr. shr]

My appologies, having re-looked at EPC I think it is all one part if you buy genuine.

So will try and source after market and get both bits as a set.

 

[mr. shr]

Replace the whole tensioner, the idler pulley and the poly belt, then good to go for another 100 000 miles.

Car's only done 90k!!
But, yep think I'll be doing all three.

 

[Alps]

tensioner might be the cause anyway! the pulley can be replaced on the tensioner seperately

 

[mr. shr]

Eurocar Parts are open on Friday so will pop down and get what I need.

 

[grober]

The other thing to check is if the overrun clutch pulley on the alternator is not seized /broken as these have a habit of shredding the poly V belt. If after the tensioner+pulleys are replaced if the belt still seems to be failing about I would get that replaced also- special tool required for in situ repair so auto electrician job??

before pulley replacement- notice the tensioner jumping about!
[YOUTUBE]PdrREAVNNcQ[/YOUTUBE]

and after much less movement

[YOUTUBE]S2vvVPd9YCk[/YOUTUBE]

 

[mr. shr]

OK, how do I check this?
Turn it by hand to see if it moves freely?

 

[grober]

Have amended previous post see above

 

[mr. shr]

OK thanks for this.
Sounds like it will be expensive to change the pulley on the alternator?

 

[grober]

OK thanks for this.
Sounds like it will be expensive to change the pulley on the alternator?

NO its not too bad- pretty common fault--- depends a bit on access---- a good Bosch/auto electrician should be able to sort you out if its faulty Maybe others who have had this done recently might comment on cost??

 

[mr. shr]

Ok, I'll replace the tensioner and belt at the weekend and go from there.

So it's Christmas day and we're on our fav car forum.
Are we all doing the same thing: watching kids open tons of presents whilst xmas films in the back ground on the TV. And we're just waiting until it's late enough in the day to start on the booze?

 

[mr. shr]

Just me then!

I've started already.
Well it is my birthday after all!

Have a good one everyone.

 

[Paparazi]

I can confirm that the clutch on the alternator (if it has one) are prone.

Martin