Alfa 147 Aux Belt snapped

Zipppy

OK so yesterday whilst driving along...low battery charge warning light comes on suddenly followed by loss of power steering...aux belt snapped.

Now its a cheap fix, a belt is about €15...but belt tensioners are a lot more and a bugger to fit..

So question..

Car is an 03, 83k miles, and will prob be taken 'off the road' at end of year..

Will I bother with tensioners?? Will it be ok for a while without doing tensioners?

Zip

Colts

I had the same issue recently with a Alfa GT, I just replaced the belt, but it snapped about 3 months later, and then again a few months after that, so I just bought the tensioners a couple of months back and haven't had any issues since.

alias no.9

Have you priced a tensioner, they're not that expensive and certainly not worth the saving compared to paying for another belt and having to do the job all over again. The bigger question though is what state is the cam belt in? If the aux belt and tensioner were done at the same time as the last cam belt change, then that's your bigger worry.

Zipppy

Colts wrote: »

I had the same issue recently with a Alfa GT, I just replaced the belt, but it snapped about 3 months later, and then again a few months after that, so I just bought the tensioners a couple of months back and haven't had any issues since.

Any idea of pricing on tensioners??

How much did job cost you?

alias no.9 wrote: »

Have you priced a tensioner, they're not that expensive and certainly not worth the saving compared to paying for another belt and having to do the job all over again. The bigger question though is what state is the cam belt in? If the aux belt and tensioner were done at the same time as the last cam belt change, then that's your bigger worry.

I havent actually taken old belt out from bottom of engine yet :rolleyes:

Will look this evening...

Zipppy

belt and tensioner kit from Belfast £146 delivered....

Any idea if this is an easy fix or should I leave it in ??#


Retrieved belt from engine this eve......in bits

Nissan doctor

If the aux belt tensioner/guides where the cause of the failure due to being worn/damaged/sticking then it goes without saying that they should be changed.

If the belt failed due to it being perished or cracked from age then it may be fine to leave the tensioners.

martyc5674

Idler and tensioners wear on these sending the belt off... Replace both as next time the belt comes off it may take out the timing belt with it... Not uncommon with fiat and alfas.
No harm to inspect timing belt casings to ensure the belt didn't cut through them before coming off( happened me)
Good place for parts is shop4parts.co.uk

Is it petrol or diesel??.. If it's diesel the crank pulley is a known culprit aswell.
Marty.

Zipppy

martyc5674 wrote: »

Idler and tensioners wear on these sending the belt off... Replace both as next time the belt comes off it may take out the timing belt with it... Not uncommon with fiat and alfas.
No harm to inspect timing belt casings to ensure the belt didn't cut through them before coming off( happened me)
Good place for parts is shop4parts.co.uk

Is it petrol or diesel??.. If it's diesel the crank pulley is a known culprit aswell.
Marty.

Timing belt casings look ok....

Got price of £146 online from UK

€128 from my local MF :rolleyes:

Zipppy

Can anyone offer a diagram / image of the route that the aux belt go on the 1-6 / 1.8 TS engines......or a link to a service manual ???

alias no.9

Zipppy wrote: »

Can anyone offer a diagram / image of the route that the aux belt go on the 1-6 / 1.8 TS engines......or a link to a service manual ???

I think the 1.6 and 1.8 blocks may be different so aux belt routing may be too, so look specifically for your engine size and whether you've got air con or not. Have the diagram for the 1.8 and 2.0 timing belt and balance belt (2.0 only) but not the aux belt, IIRC it was pretty obvious.

Zipppy

OK figured it out


However I discovered that one tension is in ribbons and obviously shredded belt....will have to wait till Alfa dealers open on Tues :rolleyes:

shamwari

Had the "pleasure" in assisting in the rebuild of a 146 1.4 petrol which shredded its belt due to a duff tensioner, and the shredded belt got tangled around the crank pulley and derailed the timing belt. The internal damage was - to put it mildly - catastrophic and expensive :eek: