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Duncan wrote:There are two belts. Presumably its the long belt not the little one on the aircon. Sometimes the crank pulley fails, theres a bit of rubber between inside and outside. I guess if it goes really bad the belt could then come off but not sure. The power steering fluid reservoir is under the bonnet. Hopefully someone can post a photo, but I doubt thats the root cause.
The tensioner is spring loaded, you need a long spanner to turn it while refitting the belt. But before you do,
you need to find out why it came off. I've seen one belt that had partly split but not snapped. It could also be an idler or the tensioner.
PaulT wrote:When the pulley starts to go it does make a noise which then gets even louder. Do think that with the way that it is constructed there would be sufficient movement to allow the belt to come off. Suppose it could also be the tensioner.
I would replace the belt. Think it is a thin 24mm spanner you need for the tensioner. To get the new belt in you will probably have to turn it slightly on its edge to get it in.
If it is the pulley the manual states remove the starter motor and jam the starter ring. Had to replace mine earlier this year. The pulley has a couple of cut outs in it and I used an old pipe wrench with one end supported on an axle stand. The bolt is a normal thread. However, mine was so tight that even with a socket, bar and a piece of pipe for even more leverage the bar bent so much that if I had put more torque on the bar would have snapped. The air wrench also did nothing. Put the old a/c belt on and fitted a new 'other' belt and drove it to a garage where they managed to undo the bolt, which they said was extremely tight (already knew that and was expecting the bolt to shear) and fitted the new pulley and new a/c belt. This was in France and the cost was 40 euros (£28). I then drove it home and refitted the wheel liner.
Perhaps some pulley bolts come undone easier and perhaps Hans when he assembled the engine thought 'let's see if you can undo this' as he overtightened the bolt.If I was doing the job again then if the bolt seemed it did not want to come undone then I would take it to a
garage where they hopefully have some heavier duty tools to do the job to just have the pulley changed. The
other option would be the purchase of a 3/4" or 1" socket and bar.
PaulT wrote:
do not really see how the official £150 tool would be more beneficial.
Rover418275 wrote:What should a garage charge to replace the pulley,parts and labour?
Mike