for the first time ever the old temperature gauge went over the middle marker and a pretty red light started winking at me ,

stopped , let it cool down and topped up the water ,drove another mile and it happenned again but this time the battery light came on as well ,

stopped , let it cool down , topped up the water and looked round the engine bay .

and oops no fan belt , nothing ,nada

no fanbelt = no alternator or water pump

no water pump= cold rad but hot engine

any tips on easy fanbelt replacement would be most appreciated at this time

its the b172 lump by the way

The cam belt is not very expensive and it is very easy to change..

Some years ago, i were in a trip in a Volvo 940 and the cam belt brokes... We uses this to replace it in the mean time...

Some lycra women socks




Talking about lycra

http://www.strangevehicles.com/images/c ... 106149.jpg

The hole is in the wrong place *apologies*

Give the locknuts on the adjuster a good WD-40 soaking cos they'll be rusted up (take the spare tyre out to see it) then be sure to loosen the slider off the alternator as well as that adjusting bolt and also the pivot bolt on the alternator. Tension the belt fairly tight as it should be moving only about 4mm with moderate pressure.

Mick...once replaced, keep an eye on it. It can take relatively little overheating to do serious damage. It should be ok if you shut it off quickly, but do bear that in mind.

Andy....my garageman warned about overtightening the belt, as it leads to prematurely worn waterpump bearings. Any thoughts?

cheers

James

definitely don't overtighten but if you don't get these belts tight enough, they squeal like a good'un. If it moves 4mm or so with a new belt it won't be over tight, just its a bit tighter than the usual 5-10mm spec for most of 'em.

Oh and Foggy's right about the overheating bit. Car engines suffer from heat soak and actually get hotter once they're been shut down and the oil/water movement stops.

Check under the oil filler cap after running it for a 1000 miles or so, any sign of mayonnaise and you might be looking at a warped head and blown head gasket.

cheers guys ,
I found the old belt on the road about 30 seconds from my house ,
it hadnt broken looks like it had just slipped off ,
the nut from the pivot bolt was missing so I presume the movement in the alternator could have been enough to allow the belt to come off intact

new belt fitted and seems ok but will keep an eye on it .

thanks again

There should also be a long adjuster bolt with a couple of locknuts on it, although a lot of them are broken because they seized on and the garages couldn't be bothered to loosen them off properly so just broke the bolt by twisting it instead.

took the car for a bit of a run to Oxford on sunday (only coz Julie couldent get all the caravan stuff in the trajet ) anyway it ran better than it has done for a long time only thing is the tickover has gone up a tad sincee changing the fanbelt

Maybe it was on too tight last time?