PDA

View Full Version : Don't ignore a chirping poly-v belt !



TheTree
23rd October 2015, 05:09 PM
I had a chirping belt on my engine and I was intending to change it however I ran out of time before I had to go to hospital for radioiodine therapy,

On my way up the M1 and the engine watchdog hit 105 and started going off, after a minute or so the temp dropped a few degrees so I kept going

Next thing the temp shot up to 112! Luckily i was near a turning bay so I braked hard and stopped the engine. It was at 117 for maybe 30 secs.

Upon inspection the belt had started to lose strips off the side, the belt was there but half as wide :eek: Some of the strips which had come off had wrapped around the fan and stopped it working which explained the initial temperature rise. One of the heater hoses had blown off the thermostat which explained the sudden temp rise !

Got it home on a tow truck and used the spare car to go to hospital a few hours late.

Once I took the old belt off I saw that the idler pulley was loose, arrrghh. I replaced it and put some permatex blue on the bolt for added security

So the moral of the story is, if your poly-v belt is chirping, at the very least take it off and check everything :angel:

Oh and things like the Engine Watchdog are very well worth fitting to these vehicles. Almost compulsory :nazilock:

No damage seems to have been sustained anywhere that I can see :cool:

In future I am only going to use Jubilee Clips on my hoses as well, it seems that once those factory ones get a boit old they lose their grip


Steve

Rextheute
23rd October 2015, 07:25 PM
That would have raised the stress levels , a hot p38 .....

I love my watchdog - cheap insurance and very accurate .
Agree on the dodgy factory clipss and I carry a spare belt !

I had a slight leak on the bypass hose , have traced it to the clip - now I have replaced it and done it up , all good .

Keithy P38
23rd October 2015, 09:45 PM
I agree regarding the clips.

First order of business with all of my P38's has been a complete hose clamp change to worm drives.

You've got it nutted having that watchdog! Life saver!

Cheers
Keithy

davidsonsm
25th October 2015, 12:08 PM
I have two jubilee clips on most of my hoses. Keep meaning to fit a watchdog. Relying on the torque app isn't good enough - cos i don't use it consistently.

TheTree
27th October 2015, 02:26 PM
It seems that my radiator bottom tank did not survive the cooling system stress test either :o

I had planned to fit an Aussie Desert cooler before the summer heat kicked in so now that plan has been moved forward to now !

Steve