XC60 D3 2.0 - Serpentine belt tensioner dropped off!
 

Well, here's a stroke of luck.

Last night, I returned from a 5-day work trip to Belgium, clocking up over 1000 miles in my XC60.

This morning, my wife drove 20 miles to the yard where she keeps her pony and in the final three/four miles, the red battery light came on, with a 'charge warning' message.

She made it to her destination and when she called, I assumed the alternator was playing up, as I changed serpentine belt a little over a year ago, when the original one (it seems, from the service book) snapped.

She showed me the engine bay via FaceTime and there was no belt on the alternator pulley - I assumed the replacement had broken. But she didn't say the power steering had gone (which happened when it broke before) and she also managed to drive three or four miles, while the car died after about half a mile when the belt snapped before.

A chap who works at the farm had a look and fished the tensioner and belt out of the engine bay. So, clearly, the tensioner has fallen off. The belt looks brand-new still.

Two questions:
1. How on earth did she still have power steering, when the belt was clearly not driving the pump? (not vital knowledge...)
2. What size bolt do I need to fit a new tensioner? (vital information!) I'd assume that might need to come from my local Volvo dealer - can't imagine many factors or eBay sellers having the exact size needed...

I assume the original bolt has either broken/sheared off (that's going to be trouble) or has somehow loosened itself and it finally dropped off when she heard a noise like she'd run over a stick or something, just before the dash lit up...

Has anyone had this fault before?

I didn't remove the tensioner to fit the new belt, we discovered that leverage on the T60 socket in the tensioner moved it enough to fit the belt.

I'll need to get the RAC to recover the car - should I have it brought home, so I can fix it on the driveway (hopefully - I'm reasonably confident with the spanners) during my quarantine, or should I have it dragged to the local garage who serviced it for me before the last lockdown?

Update!
 

Because I'm quarantining, I haven't seen the damage but the RAC man tells me that the bolt has sheared off, in the block, with nothing left proud to get a grip on...

In fact, he says his finger went about 3mm into the block, before he got to the remains of the bolt.

So, not really a DIY prospect, especially given the restricted access.

I can get it recovered by the RAC to my home or a garage, so I need to arrange somewhere for it to get fixed...

Naturally, I'd rather not take it to a Volvo dealer on cost grounds, so does anyone know of a good Volvo specialist in Warwickshire/West Midlands?

Horton Cars is about 40 miles away from Warwickshire. Cant recommend them enough.

I’ll second that, they’re a good outfit. They serviced my Autobox, great company to deal with.

TT