Broken Serpentine Belt

[KevinEP3]

Can someone explain how our serpentine belt works? Long story short I thought my AC went out and smelt burning rubber but the car was driving fine. It's not over heating or hard to steer. So after a little under the hood evaulation I saw that the belt attached to the accesories was broken. Is it ok to drive a few miles maybe 30 miles. Also, is it hard to replace yourself or worth having it replaced by a mechanic. My mechanical abilities are lacking. Thanks

[RHCP0801]

its fine to run it without the belt

here is some info on it

http://www.ephatch.com/forum/showthread.php?57108-How-to-install-Serpentine-belt.

[KevinEP3]

Thanks for the quick reply. Should be pretty easy only I cant make a mental note of the placment of the belt because it doesn't have one, but I'll find one and look in the owners manual.

[Twisted-X]

Doodling from memory, hope its right. :mbiggrin:

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu261/jimmyspiffy1986/beltpath1.jpg

[RHCP0801]

yea that seems about right

[Lucid Moments]

It is absolutely NOT okay to drive very far at all without the serpentine belt. Among the other things the belt drives is the water pump and without that you will overheat very quickly.

[KevinEP3]

Doodling from memory, hope its right. :mbiggrin:

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu261/jimmyspiffy1986/beltpath1.jpg

Ok I had the belt replaced damn car overheats quick in 90+ degrees took 30 min to drive 1/2 mile but anyway car runs. But still a problem the AC doesnt blow cool air. I expected all the pulleys and X on the diagram has small sparks visible in the groove between the bottom 2 bolts about 6 o'clock. Which leads me to believe that there is a greater problem that caused the belt to break. I think it got too hot from these sparks. This may explain why there wasn't any warning (squealing) and at my last oil change no one tried to sell me one. Any body know what the problem maybe?

[dirtyduck17]

Sounds like a bad a/c compressor clutch. The clutch is electrically operated. That might be the cause of your belt break. How many miles are on your car?

[KevinEP3]

Sounds like a bad a/c compressor clutch. The clutch is electrically operated. That might be the cause of your belt break. How many miles are on your car?

120k

[KevinEP3]

I think you're right about the a/c compressor clutch when I turn on the air the pulley freezes and the car wants to die. Can the clutch be replaced or do I need to get a new compressor.

[Lucid Moments]

I think you're right about the a/c compressor clutch when I turn on the air the pulley freezes and the car wants to die. Can the clutch be replaced or do I need to get a new compressor.

New Compressor time.

[johnkimble]

New Compressor time.

bummer. this type of shit only happens in summer man lol

[KevinEP3]

bummer. this type of shit only happens in summer man lol

No shit and I live in Houston so not only does it feel like 100 deg there is 64% humidity

[dirtyduck17]

I think you're right about the a/c compressor clutch when I turn on the air the pulley freezes and the car wants to die. Can the clutch be replaced or do I need to get a new compressor.

You can replace just the clutch but if the pulley freezes when you turn on the A/C the it means your compressor has locked up. The other guys are right, new compressor time. Did you do the belt yourself? If you had a shop do it maybe you can ask them to throw a free belt if you get them to fix the compressor... never hurts to ask...

[KevinEP3]

You can replace just the clutch but if the pulley freezes when you turn on the A/C the it means your compressor has locked up. The other guys are right, new compressor time. Did you do the belt yourself? If you had a shop do it maybe you can ask them to throw a free belt if you get them to fix the compressor... never hurts to ask...

Yea it was done at shop but it was a friend of the father in laws. He only charged $25 for labor and I bought a dayco belt from advance auto parts for $31. I don't think I'm getting anything free at that rate. I checked online at Autozone, Advance, and O'Reiley but nither of them carry compressors only place I can find one is Honda for $400. As long as I dont turn it on I think I'll be alright until I get enough cash to replace it.

[Lucid Moments]

Yea it was done at shop but it was a friend of the father in laws. He only charged $25 for labor and I bought a dayco belt from advance auto parts for $31. I don't think I'm getting anything free at that rate. I checked online at Autozone, Advance, and O'Reiley but nither of them carry compressors only place I can find one is Honda for $400. As long as I dont turn it on I think I'll be alright until I get enough cash to replace it.

You can get a compressor off ebay for about $250. I've got one on my car now.

[KevinEP3]

You can get a compressor off ebay for about $250. I've got one on my car now.

thanks I saw one for $179

Damn belt broke again. Shouldn't it spin freely when the ac is off? I'm going to get the smaller belt for no ac until I can get one from ebay.

[KevinEP3]

Any reason why the pulley would be causing the belt to break even though it is off?

[thaseint]

Any reason why the pulley would be causing the belt to break even though it is off?

Because the pulley is locked. It won't turn. The A/C pulley is always spinning whether you have the A/C on or off. When you turn the A/C on you are engaging the clutch which activates the compressor.

If the pulley is locked the belt will break eventually.

The only way to get around this temporarily is to get a shorter belt that bypasses the A/C pulley...someone should be able to provide you with the correct part number. :thumbu:

[josetequila]

400 is to much for a compressor specially from honda dealer, i got mine for 236.95 and dryer for 11.25 and ex value 26.71 a total of 274.91 before taxes which in Georgia is .07..... my problem is labor i never done it, how much do you think a mechanic should charge me to change my compressor clean my lines and fill with colling..... or a DIY step by step thing???... any help is welcome.

[talonXracer]

You would be further ahead to purchase a set of wrenchs, sockets and ratchett and replace the parts yourself and then go to a A/C shop and have them perform the purge and servicing.

The steps are in the Helm's manual to replace these parts, simple hand tools untill purging and servicing.