oh what a night

[coolguy147]

so we just dropped my uncle off at the house then going back home. we have buick lasabre 98' i believe. only has 46k miles not and we bought it at 42k miles. for only 2500!!!

so the first stop sign i hear something strange from the engine. whine but i wasnt sure what it was. i told my mom go back so i can check it out... go back...go back. no well do it when we check the neighbors mail(out for a while so we check mail) half way there the car suddenly stops. thought did the battery fall out? nope the belt fell off. look down below and found a circular peice that broke off. we just got the oil changed too. the mechanic said that we should replace the belt cause there are these very small bumps on it. would this cause it fall and the circular peice it runs on to fall off?

so what to do? any car mechanics? so far very good running car.

 

[DECK SWABBER 58]

Re: oh what a night

Oh boy.

Sounds like you are not qualified enough to provide enough
info here. Tow it to your mechanic.

Merry Christmas.

 

[coolguy147]

Re: oh what a night

hey! i know enough lmao.

give me a boat i fix it for you.

 

[rbh]

Re: oh what a night

Sounds like the belt took out the belt idler/tensioner wheel, tomorrow when its light out look inside the hood and find the belt schematic, follow the path with your eyes or fingers and it could be that little arm with no roller on it.
but enjoy christmas first, have a good night.
rob

 

[642mx]

Re: oh what a night

give me a boat i fix it for you.

No thanks!

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: oh what a night

Sounds like the idler / tensioner pulley.

 

[Stachi]

Re: oh what a night

are you serious ?????

 

[Stachi]

Re: oh what a night

No thanks!

AHHHHHAHAHAHAHA 642 ! IHEAR YOU BROTHER ! ...lol

 

[Stachi]

Re: oh what a night

guys, just so you know,... it would be a bad bearing in one of the belt driven components that would take out a belt (in this case..),the belt itself can't take out anything.....unless it was over tightened, (not likely on a serpentine belt, if the tensioning spring breaks ,the tensioner stops tensioning) a pulley bearing freezes and shreds the belt, if this is what happened , you will know by turning all of the component pulleys by hand , one will feel like it has sand in it , or it won't even rotate or it will have in-and-out play...... the tensioner pulley , and idler pulley are two different components... there is no such thing as an idler/tensioner pulley... look under your hood at the belt schematic... you will see both, follow the path of the belt untill you see a pulley that is either bolted to the block , or a bracket, that is your idler pulley.... . Power steering pump , Alternator , and A/C compressor all have bearings that go bad ,... not sure if his vehicle has a blower on it..probably not since it is a 1998 , but that would have bearings that fail as well... I do this for a living...Merry Christmas all !

 

[Stachi]

Re: oh what a night

this is fun to watch...lol...DON"T TRY THIS AT HOME !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0t6TeWVNLyE

 

[coolguy147]

Re: oh what a night

No thanks!

hi-performance baja sounds good about now

yeah that sounds just about right on the belt tensioner. it didnt seem to be connected to anything.

bearings??? sounds expensive. hope wont be the case. very good running motor must say. only has 46k miles.

by the way i made a mistake... its a 1997 buick not sure if thats a big difference

 

[Stachi]

Re: oh what a night

the tensioner will be bolted to an arm,.. the idler will be bolted to the block or a bracket...big difference in replacement cost...unbolt it and bring it with you to the auto parts supplier...some tensioner pulleys can be bought as just the pulley that can be bolted back on to the arm , others require replacement of the assembly... pulley and bearing is much cheaper...good luck bro

 

[Stachi]

Re: oh what a night

hi-performance baja sounds good about now

yeah that sounds just about right on the belt tensioner. it didnt seem to be connected to anything.

bearings??? sounds expensive. hope wont be the case. very good running motor must say. only has 46k miles.

by the way i made a mistake... its a 1997 buick not sure if thats a big difference

ahh jeeeze......I meant component bearings...not internal crankshaft or camshaft bearings... completely different animal... I am talking about the components that are BELT driven ,....tensioner pulley bearings , idler pulley bearings... it gets expensive when it is alternator or A/C compressor bearings, or power steering bearings,these components must be chaged as a unit.......any component that is driven by your crankshaft pulley, has bearings...if your tensioner failed ,it was a bearing failure.....again , Merry Christmas

 

[pduquette]

Re: oh what a night

Hi Coolguy ! I had one for about a year - overall I thought it was a good car . I still have a chilton's so i can check for info for you if you need it . Sorry to hear you got stuck just before the holidays . peter

 

[JB]

Re: oh what a night

i hear something strange from the engine. whine but i wasnt sure what it was.

That was your engine screaming for help, cool one. A bearing, probably in the idler pulley, was trying to freeze. You did the right thing asking mom to stop.

If it really was the idler/tensioner pulley it is simple to replace. Replace the belt at the same time and you will be back on the road.

Merry Christmas.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: oh what a night

agree, tension pulley. and guys if you think he can't fix it, i bet he can. this 15 year old is determined.

 

[coolguy147]

Re: oh what a night

i believe you guys are right on the dot. its right below the alternator.

she tried to keep the rpm below 1500. told her to stop. but even we stopped and it didnt break while were on the road. i probably wouldnt have been able to find what the problem was.

 

[coolguy147]

Re: oh what a night

this makes me worry about my mercury hahaha gotta love johnyrude.

( the timing belt on the old mercs but omc had there v4's with one also)

 

[coolguy147]

Re: oh what a night

agree, tension pulley. and guys if you think he can't fix it, i bet he can. this 15 year old is determined.

yeah i probably could. probably isnt that hard only thing im worried about is that dont you have to time it and sync cause it runs the ignition doesnt it?

 

[Stachi]

Re: oh what a night

no , thats the TIMING belt you are thinking about...you can not even see that one without taking half of the engine apart....the belt you need to replace is called the serpentine belt...it does nothing more than drive the components such as the alternator , a/c compressor , power steering pump, and possibly the water pump....you should probably have a friend who works on cars often help you with this repair....you seem to have little experience under the hood of an automobile ...good luck and Merry Christmas...