2002 V40 1.8i belt snapped

[Martiny]

Hi
New to this and not all that clued up on cars. Looking for some advice if possible on my 52 plate Volvo v40 1.8i. I've only had the car a couple of months. It had sat while I was away for a couple of weeks. When I tried to start it the bty was dead, had another bty so changed it over. The car then started but there was a smell of burning rubber from under the bonnet and the engine wouldn't keep running unless I dipped the accelerator slightly. I knew something wasn't right so killed the engine and on inspection noticed what I assume to be the cam belt had snapped but it's been melted. The timing belt is intact as far as I know but like I said I don't know a lot about cars and I could be completely wrong. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Don't wantto get a mechanic out if it's not going to be worth it financially although I've got quite attached to the old girl.

[Martiny]

This is the best pic I could get at the time if it's any help to diagnose the issue.

[Martiny]

Right update, as I mentioned don't know much about cars but I'm guessing it's the alternator belt, pulley and tensioner that needs replaced. Is this an inexpensive job or am I looking at denting the bank account?

[magnuz]

While the belt is off check all the pulleys (except the crankshaft pulley) & tensioner for roughness, play & stiffness in the bearings...ideally they should all rotate smoothly ! Also check that the failed auxilliary belt has not got wrapped around the crankshaft pulley, as it can find it's way inside the timing belt cover & get tangled up with the timing belt !

[ITSv40]

As he said ^^^^^^^.

Get a new belt and tensioner. Can be a little tricky to fit if you are not handy with the spanners. You need to work out the route of the belt around the pulleys as it is easy to get it wrong and the belt will either be too short or too long if not routed correctly. I'm sure someone on here will be able to post a diagram showing the correct route. If it is too much for you to DIY, get a mobile mechanic to do it for you, as presumably the car is not drivable at the moment.

[flyingtech55]

This can be caused by a seized alternator. Had the same thing happen on my Mazda Mx5 for the same reason. The clearance between the rotor and stator is pretty small and if the car is left unused rust can cause a temporary seize. If you can free it off it may well be OK. In the case of the Mazda, I chose to renew the alternator because the car was a second car and not used daily.

HTH

TimR

[skyship007]

Don't forget that you will need the engine number rather than the VIN number when ordering an Aux belt. It's on the ECU cover sticker on most cars, rather than the bulkhead VIN plate.
My Indy managed to fit the wrong belt, as the length of the 2 options is the same, but they have a different number of ribs.
Not sure if the petrol versions are the same in terms of different belts or not.

The Aux belt should be changed when the main cam belt service is done and the
tensioner bearing checked for wear at the same time. One way to do that is to remove it, place it on your finger and spin it up. If there is any sign of vibration or play in the bearing it needs to be replaced.
My Aux tensioner started to make a chirpy sound at warm idle before I replaced it.

Checking the alternator bearing is a bit more complicated, as it's the run on clutch function that fails. Spin it up by hand, then grab the pulley to see if it stops. It should carry on spinning. Alas a bad alternator pulley unit will make a similar sound to other Aux belt bearings.

[Worms]

Could it not also be a seized clutch on the air con pump (if air con fitted)?

[skyship007]

Originally Posted by Worms

Could it not also be a seized clutch on the air con pump (if air con fitted)?

Yes, although they seem to last longer than the tensioners and alternator. The idler pulley is another possibiliy.

[mrfixer]

This model with the gdi engine the alternator is the tensioner so you need to check every item this belt drives to find culprit