Hi All,

Going to sound like a numpty and a novice at the same time here with this thread.... Just gone to turn the engine over, as it's been sat for 2 weeks doing nothing. Probably a bad move, but hey-ho I've done it now!

So, trouble is, a belt has now begun to snap. It goes from the bottom of the engine to the alternator and has split from left to right (as attached)

Is this the auxillary belt? And how much (and where best) is the replacement?
I'm pretty sure I can change it myself as there are two bolts you can undo to pivot the altenator forwards. I'm going to mark up the bolts and areas around to make sure the bolts line up at the end...

The car did start up, squeeled a lot and then died down - but as it died down the belt began to smoke (most likely burn) to which point I just turned the engine off! Only had the car on for 10 seconds at most so pretty sure no other damage is done

If it's not one thing, its another!!

Cheers,
Phil

Hi there.
theres no such thing as a stupid question

How slack is the belt as it is the now?
from what you described. I would think the belt is slack or has been perished and almost ready to go. OR... seizure of your alternator pulley.

before you replace the belt (when you have the old one off) i strongly advise that you try turn the alternator pulley by hand. it should spin freely. if it feels stuck/seized at all then you will have to repair or replace the alternator or your new belt will get instantly chewed up aswell.
the 2 bolts visible that hold the alternator are 16" if i remember right.

to answer your question as well. yes it is the auxiliary belt. a new one would be roughly £5. have a look on the net. just google "1.2 8v auxiliary drive belt" assuming that your car is an 8v?

Hi mate, Yes this is the Aux belt.

As far as buying a new one is concerned, you could buy one online e.e ebay etc.. or go to your local car parts shop. For example where i live, we have: motorparts, unipart, dorset auto spares, camberley autofactors, or even halfords might be able to order you one. They will propereley ask if your car has air con, by the looks of things it doesnt.

I work for Fiat and personally (its your decision) but i wouldnt undo the bolts which hold the alternator in place, if your not very experienced you might not be able to guess the tention of the belt very well and could cause the belt to be noisy or too slack. Personally i would put the belt on the crank pulley and sort of hold it half way over the alternator pulley and at the same time turn the engine over via the crank pulley (proberley a 17mm socket but dont quote me haha) pushing the belt over the alternator pulley at the same time. This way the tention stays correct and no adjustments need to be made. But if you struggle doing this then yeah just loosen the alternator bolts put the new belt on, hold the alternator so the belt is fairly tight and do the bolts up, hope this helps nick.

bencey said:

How slack is the belt as it is the now?
from what you described. I would think the belt is slack or has been perished and almost ready to go. OR... seizure of your alternator pulley.

Click to expand...

The belts quite tight, I think the cold snap's probably made the rubber contract a little so probably too tight for the alternator (probably why it squeeled)

bencey said:

before you replace the belt (when you have the old one off) i strongly advise that you try turn the alternator pulley by hand. it should spin freely. if it feels stuck/seized at all then you will have to repair or replace the alternator or your new belt will get instantly chewed up aswell.
the 2 bolts visible that hold the alternator are 16" if i remember right.

Click to expand...

With the belt on, I couldn't really turn the alternator pulley. I've had a search on here and it seems that the alternator can freeze from a leak at the top of the bay. I'm going to see if I can get some bubble wrap round it to keep it insulated for the time being as I've not got a garage to roll the car in to. Hopefully it'll thaw out and I'll be able to spin up the pulley.

bencey said:

to answer your question as well. yes it is the auxiliary belt. a new one would be roughly £5. have a look on the net. just google "1.2 8v auxiliary drive belt" assuming that your car is an 8v?

Click to expand...

Brilliant, not too costly then. Thank you



Nick, as for "guessing" it wouldn't really be a guess so much. I'd plan to mark the bolts and the metal around the alternator brackets to make sure they both line up when it's put back in place. Seen this done on Wheeler Dealers (yes, sad to admit it) so hopefully the same applies here. Everything seems quite visable so shouldn't be too much trouble

First thing to do....

pinch a hair drier and warm the alternator for a good while to thaw it out and dry any water thats got into it get it hot ....... (nb) ask permission from the appropriate female in the house before hand)


2nd get a new belt...


https://www.fiatforum.com/grande-punto-guides/237966-1-2-8v-evo-2-engine-cam-belt-replacement.html


(my cambelt guide shows the aux belt removal and refit if you have a read of it)



3rd once belt is off double check alternator is free


4th

check the drain isn't dumping water on it..




you can either get a piece of electicians heatshrink tubing ( BIG stuff to fit over drain and shrink it on over the original pipe and fetch it lower than the alternator

or Purchase a new modified drain fiat part number 51810013


eg (its crooked to avoid the alternator)



http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FIAT-GRAN...M&fits=Model:Grande+Punto&hash=item27cec2d3ea

Thanks Andy - much appreciated!!

Andy Monty said:

First thing to do....

pinch a hair drier and warm the alternator for a good while to thaw it out and dry any water thats got into it get it hot ....... (nb) ask permission from the appropriate female in the house before hand)

Click to expand...

Hmm, do I get permission, or just steal it. Afterall, she did crash my GP which started all this off

Andy Monty said:

2nd get a new belt...


https://www.fiatforum.com/grande-punto-guides/237966-1-2-8v-evo-2-engine-cam-belt-replacement.html


(my cambelt guide shows the aux belt removal and refit if you have a read of it)

Click to expand...

Nice one, that's not too dissimilar to what I had in mind which is reassuring!

Andy Monty said:

3rd once belt is off double check alternator is free

Click to expand...

Will do

Andy Monty said:

4th

check the drain isn't dumping water on it..

DSCF2302.AVI - YouTube


you can either get a piece of electicians heatshrink tubing ( BIG stuff to fit over drain and shrink it on over the original pipe and fetch it lower than the alternator

or Purchase a new modified drain fiat part number 51810013


eg (its crooked to avoid the alternator)



http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FIAT-GRANDE-PUNTO-ALFA-MITO-ALTERNATOR-DRAIN-TUBE-MODIFICATION-GENUINE-51810013-/170972599274?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&fits=Model%3AGrande+Punto&hash=item27cec2d3ea

Click to expand...

Ahh yes, this was the clip I saw here on FF. No doubt mine is doing that, although I haven't actually tested that. Will get that sorted if that's the case, so thanks for the tip!



Right, hopefully will get this and the rest of the problems following the bump sorted soon!! Thanks again

Hi yes seen this before . The scuttle drain tube drips water on top of the alternator which then freezes and causes this problem . A modified drain tube and a new belt should be all you need but make sure there is no old belt stuck to the pulley grooves

@ Andy, cheers for all your advice. Now that the weather has warmed up slightly I tackled the belt change today.

I managed to pick up a modified drainage tube and a geniune fiat aux belt for £28 delivered which I thought was fairly reasonable. Fitted the new tube in seconds and does as prescribed, so chuffed with that!

Before removing the belt on the alternator, I marked up the top visible bolts against the brackets to make sure that I could realign said marks. Cut the belt off with a Stanley knife and discovered there was quite a bit of old belt melted into the grooves. After about 30 minutes cleaning with a small flat head, I got all the old rubber out and dried the grooves out. The alternator span freely too which was a good sign of no seizure...

Then with the bolts and brackets marked up, I loosened the top two bolts and pivoted the alternator downwards and slipped the new belt on. Then pushed the alternator back up, realigned the marks, tightened bolts and turned over the engine. All running tickity boo now, no squeals and definitely no burning!!

Next stop, the body shop to get the wing realigned and a respray for the new panels fitted!!