Page 1 of Quick Q for those of you who know your way around under a car bonnet (that not a euphanism ;-)

Right so my sister was driving one of my vans and she said she heard a sudden noise from the engine like they just `gritted a road` and the stones had sprayed up.

The power steering then cut out. Her hubby reckons it was `the belt that links the power steering` to something else that recharges the battery...or something like that. had snapped.

So in a nutshell the power steering dont work.


My car engine knowledge is shockingly bad and certainly earns me nil point on the man-points front. Can anyone enlighten me?

Thanks in advance as always :)

Im having a mental image of a yellow 3 wheeler ;)

call the local dealership for the make of your van and describe the issue Im sure they will know what the problem can be.

bugger that. I`d rather ask you lot. You`re friendlier.

There will be a belt drives the power steering pump.
It could be a `serpentine belt`, that being one belt that drives loads of things like the alternator/water pump/power steering.
Or it could be one dedicated belt.
If she`s not getting any other warning lights, sounds like it`s a dedicated belt.
Not a massively expensive job in either case, assuming access is easy and that`s the only problem.

Edit, BTW, if it`s a serpentine belt, she shouldn;t drive any further than necessary.
It drives the water pump too, she`s chancing the car overheating etc.

This item was edited on Wednesday, 2nd December 2009, 14:01

Also, if it`s a serpentine belt it should have been running the alternator too and therefore should now have a dashboard light illuminated to say it`s no longer charging.

Make n model of the van please, including year and engine and I`ll have a butcher`s on the database and might be able to send you pics of what the belt should look like in place.
(in most cases you slacken the alternator or similar to give some free play, wrap the belt around the pulleys in the correct direction and order then tighten said alternator to complete job.)

Info if it was my Zafira would be:

Make: Vauxhall
Model: Zafira (A)
Engine: 2.0 Dti
Fuel Type: Diesel
Model Year: 2004
Aircon: Yes
Engine Code: Y20DTL

Most of that is on the registration document, just gimme as much as you can so I can have the aforementioned look, and might be able to send a pic of the belt order too.
(Goes for anyone experiencing similar with cars... I can get info on most to around 2007)

Jimbo : oÞ

"Making Teenagers depressed is like shooting fish inna barrel"

Same thing happened to my VW LT35 two weeks back. Sounds like a pulley has disintegrated, so you`ll have lost your belt, and as advised your temp. will rise if you`re stuck in traffic. Got my van from S.Kensington to St. Albans after though, just got a bit worried watching the needle rise in the traffic on the North Circular Road.
Good for the guns, Ise like Popeyes I`ll tells ya !