so I have been meaning to replace the serpentine belt lately... just got the perfect excuse

I was about 1/2 mi from home stopped at an intersection making a left turn. As I am stopped there I hear a bang. at first I thought it was the car going by in front of me but I looked down and saw the battery light was on. So I don't think much of it, see an opening in traffic and go to squeeze in my left turn. I realized something was wrong when I was unable to move the steering wheel with one hand. Quickly I wrench the wheel left to avoid running off the side of the road. As I limp down the few blocks to my house I notice a few squirts of liquid coming up from under the hood a couple times.

It turns out the tensioner pulley had broken while I was idling at the intersection, and the serpentine belt was all wrapped around the fan pulley. So that explains the sudden lack of power steering. The squirts of liquid from under the hood would be water splashing out of the coolant overflow tank, since I had no water pump for about half a mile.

Should I worry about anything being damaged in this little incident? besides the tensioner and belt obviously lol

 

just a visual inspection of everything up front. this kind of thing happens and usually doesnt cause much damage unless you over heat. inspect your pulleys too, make sure none are locked up to cause a shat ton of friction to snap your next belt too

 

what could have caused the tensioner to break? I couldn't find the tensioner pulley anywhere, must have left it on the road. was it probably just old and on its last legs?

 

exactly. sometimes you get lucky and bearings will whine, other times, they either lock up or snap off like yours did

 

well at any rate it's a good reason to get a new serpentine belt, the old one is starting to crack and being wrapped around the fan pulley isn't going to do it any favors

 

maybe they're in love...cute

 

lol just what I need, my engine components are getting frisky

 

maybe you'll get some spare parts out of the deal

 

Just saw this movie last week. It has a protrusion that fits into a hole when mounted. It's always under stress from the internal spring. It sheers off. Belt looses tension & goes for a walk. Check for damage to your radiator core! $90/ aftermarket. $100 +/ dealer. $7/ boneyard.

You're gonna need this!

 

dmg to radiator core? as in mechanical dmg, heat dmg, what