Not my timing belt fortunately, but an accessory belt. AC I believe (the one on the passenger side, right?) I was driving home on Saturday, and halfway up my street I heard a horrible screeching noise, followed by a big cloud of white smoke coming out of my engine bay and a burning smell!!! No warning lights, or bad noises after that, the car still drove so I just continued the last 100m or so to my driveway to check the problem. Popped the bonnet and could see that an accessory belt had snapped! I did my 100k service about 15,000kms ago so was surprised that it had gone so soon. Quick question. Do I need to put a new belt on before driving again at all, or will it just affect the AC? Also, is it likely that I screwed the AC compressor or something (hence the smoke and burning smell?) Anyone smarter than me care to shed some light? I have another run around, so it's not too urgent. Thanks heaps
It wouldn't have stuffed the compressor, but I reckon a stuffed compressor killed the belt Try and rotate the compressor and the tensioner by hand with no belt on it. $10 it's seized...
overtightening can also cause the belt to fail.... if you need 2 replace your compressor. its not cheap as the job is labour intensive (if you have a TT) and needs 2 be done by a AC specialist as releasing ac gas into the oxygen can get you a 15k fine
Yes, bit of a prick of a job. Need to get the gas removed too. Bolts are in really tricky spots to get to.
Thanks, I guess I may have overtightened when I did the 100k. I have an NA, so it's not as bad then? My AC needed a re-gas anyway so I suppose it wouldn't be the end of the world... Could I just leave it for now? I mean I've been driving for years with no AC anyway or should I not drive without that belt. Will it cause some kind of unbalance with the pulley?
If its just the clutch mechanism on the front that has seized you can replace that without having to degass the system
If the clutch on the front has seized then it would just run the compressor the whole time and wouldn't strip the belt Yes you can leave it wit the belt off for all eternity with no adverse effects if you like.
I had the same issue, driving home from work, and screeeeeeching with smoke etc...then it threw the a/c belt onto the highway. I am wondering if we had similar issues as mine was in need of a regass aswell, and i had the compressor tested and it was fine after that happend. Perhaps the low gas does something to the compressor while its in motion....and the belt isnt enough to rotate it. or it locks up?? I just removed my entire a/c system and am replacing it with a complete system from another forum member. to erase any issue in mine. I am curiose why it broke the belt, i done a 100k service on mine and it was a brand new gates belt, and not over tightend... Mistery lol
sorry to be off topic, but i have no clutch on my compressor, the previous owner took it off, not sure why. I am suspecting that the clutched seized as described above. How can i test if the compressor is still good and if i can just reattach a good clutch, any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
As Ben said, it can be a tough job but not too bad as far as Zed things go. To start, decant AC gas. There's a car valve somewhere near the battery that's part of the AC plumbing - I think that's where it's done. Get an AC guy to do it before you start. With front of car on jackstands, from memory, basically, radiator out, so: Drain it, remove top and bottom hoses, remove radiator retainer brackets, overflow hose, remove bottom fan cowl, wiggle out radiator, Remove fan, Loosen AC drive belt (in your case skip this as you don't have one), unbolt AC pipes that go into compressor - you may need a cut-off spanner, bar and mallet to get to one of them. Unclip the electrical connector lead (clip is about 10 cm along the lead - you can't see it but have to go by feel and it's hard to get to), Undo blind bolts/nuts that hold the compressor on - there is a nut right at the back of the compressor. Suggest you will need some cutoff spanners and a long bar and mallet to bash the spanners with. Can't remember the spanner size for these 13 or 14 mm I think. Last time we did this we used two cut off spanners, one slightly longer than the other for the hard-to-get-the nuts/bolts including one of the AC gas pipes. Other than radiator work, almost all work is done from above, however once the compressor is unbolted, it can be removed by someone under the car. A person under the car can also locate the cut-off spanner and bar prior to bashing it with the mallet. It helps to have 2 people but can be done solo. I've probably missed a couple of things but I'm sure you'll work it out. I'm sure there's a tech article somewhere. If it's your first time allow at least a couple of hours. Good luck. Cheers, Peter __________________
Pics would be hard to take as there is no room? If the compressor seizes will it still spin? Or does the clutch snap off? Is there any way of diagnosing it?
