Hi everyone,

I'm fearing the worst tonight. Yesterday, my alternator belt completely shredded itself on my Stilo 1.9 JTD. I heard a lot of clattering from the engine bay and the revs went a bit funny so I turned the car off immediately and phoned the breakdown guys.
Anyway, I've got the car towed to a garage today, and on closer inspection it looks like the alternator belt has wrapped itself around the pulley and the cam belt. Nothing will budge either. The guy at the garage (he is a trustworthy chap, used him years!) says he is going to have a look and see if the valves were damaged tomorrow. But he seems to be fearing the worst as well.
He said if it has, then I could be looking at anything in the region of £600-£1000. I doubt the car is even worth that.

It is really gutting. I love the things to bits. It's just turning 80k on the clock, pretty much a full service history and has never missed a beat in the time that I have had it.

Just wanted to know if anyone has had similar experiences or could have input on how much it usually costs to get it all sorted. Also, are there normally any further complications? Some have suggested to me it might not even be worth keeping it.

Absolutely gutted. Its incredible how a £10 belt can do so much damage.

Did the alternator belt take out the cam belt cover, or was the cam belt cover not fitted? When I last looked at my alternator, I thought the cam belt was behind a cover.

Never mind, I see that it appears that the bottom portion of the cam belt is exposed somewhat (around the crank pulley) if the engine continued to run after the cam belt became locked, it may have caused similar damage to a broken cam belt, I'd assume. Hopefully it didn't. Thoughts and prayers with ya.

Just a thought - alternater belts usually last a long time but if it broke it may have been well past its replacement time.

When my alternator belt came off it was due to a worn pulley. Apparently the belts themselves don't usually break and are very hard wearing. So if you're lucky enough to have escaped serious damage as a result of the impact on the cam belt, it would be advisable to check all the pulleys before replacing the belt so that it doesn't happen again.

Cheers for all the replies

Its on 79k, 06 plate. So I don't think the belt is that old is it?
It is in the garage at the moment.. was supposed to be getting a phonecall from them today after they've had a look if there is any damage to the valves etc. But nothing as of yet.

You should regularly check the belts for wear (uneven wear in v - belts or in the grooves of serpentine belts) cracking fraying etc. Plastic idler pullies will usually fail when there is a quick temperature change (had it happen on a couple different cars). Metal pullies usually outlast the component they're attached to, unless they develop a cracking or similar.

Anyway, I check my belts whenever I have the bonnet up. If you change them before they're damaged, then you'll have a spare for when one breaks (inevitably at midnight in a snowstorm on the side of the M6 10 miles from the nearest junction)

AdrianInFlorida said:

You should regularly check the belts for wear (uneven wear in v - belts or in the grooves of serpentine belts) cracking fraying etc. Plastic idler pullies will usually fail when there is a quick temperature change (had it happen on a couple different cars). Metal pullies usually outlast the component they're attached to, unless they develop a cracking or similar.

Anyway, I check my belts whenever I have the bonnet up. If you change them before they're damaged, then you'll have a spare for when one breaks (inevitably at midnight in a snowstorm on the side of the M6 10 miles from the nearest junction)

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I agree with Adrian

Sorry to hear of this , but I was always advised to
replace auxillary belts at the same frquency as cambelts. They are both made of rubber which deteriorates with age and useage.

Accessories belts also take more of a beating as they're exposed to all the heat, fumes and crud coming up off of the road as you drive. Cambelts get a bit of protection from that. Every time you hear a squeal from an alternator belt because of moisture getting into the engine bay, it's actually burning a bit of the rubber off, like a squealing tire.