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HELP! Alt. belt broke now car doesnt run!

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imagine-02

imagine-02

15+ Year Contributor
169
3
Apr 19, 2008
Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
As I was driving the alternator belt broke, so the car was running off the battery for about a mile. Then the car made some kind of noise (I cant even remember what it sounded like) and the engine slowly bogged down and shut off.
I thought it was just an intercooler coupler that poped of. So I checked and they all looked good still.
So I put a new alt belt on and tried starting it, but it wont start. It makes a whining noise but wont fire. All the belts turn while trying to start it (timing, alt, and ps).

So im thinking the valves are not opening or its not sending in fuel.

HELP ME PLEASE!!!!!:cry:
 
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I assume you charged your battery? It died because the battery ran out of juice to run the car. If the alternator was the only belt that snapped you should just have had to replace the belt, charge the battery and it should fire right up.
 
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Well, the battery sound like its still good cause its cranking up the motor. even if your alternator is bad, it should still start, off of a good battery.

Check if your getting spark and fuel.
 
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The alternator belt in our (4G63 powered) cars also runs the water pump. It runs around the crank, over the water pump pulley, around the alternator, then back to the crank. Are you sure you didn't overheat and possibly ruin anything that's water cooled?

On most 4G63's, that includes a lot of things: the oil's water cooled, so's the turbo, not to mention blowing the head gasket and getting water in the cylinders.

There's a lot of things that can go wrong with no water pressure. I wish you the best of luck, and hope it's nothing big.
 
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Absolutely not. There'd be no compression. All the air/fuel mix would be squeezing out of the gap between the head and the block.

Your problem could be compounded if there's water in there, as well. Water doesn't compress as well as air does, and does nasty things to engine parts. I know a guy who drove his 2004 Audi S4 through an (admittedly deep) puddle. It was so deep, the car ingested water and the force of the piston pushing the water against the bottom of the cylinder head bent the crap out of all the valves. The engine was a total loss. It cost his insurance company twenty five thousand dollars to replace. Lucky for him it went down as an "act of God" and not "act of owner stupidity."

With that being said, you probably wouldn't have it that bad. In his case, there was nowhere else for the water in his cylinder to go. In your case, a blown headgasket would just shoot the water out the gap that the air's going through.
 
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Right now its sounding like I will need to replace the head gasket and maybe a new head. GREAT!!!
When I get it home ill do a compression test and we will see.

so if its not the headgasket, then most likely its fuel or spark?
 
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kwbunn said:
Absolutely not. There'd be no compression. All the air/fuel mix would be squeezing out of the gap between the head and the block.

Your problem could be compounded if there's water in there, as well. Water doesn't compress as well as air does, and does nasty things to engine parts. I know a guy who drove his 2004 Audi S4 through an (admittedly deep) puddle. It was so deep, the car ingested water and the force of the piston pushing the water against the bottom of the cylinder head bent the crap out of all the valves. The engine was a total loss. It cost his insurance company twenty five thousand dollars to replace. Lucky for him it went down as an "act of God" and not "act of owner stupidity."

With that being said, you probably wouldn't have it that bad. In his case, there was nowhere else for the water in his cylinder to go. In your case, a blown headgasket would just shoot the water out the gap that the air's going through.
Click to expand...

A head gasket is rarely cause for a car to not run. Your problem lies elsewhere - I'd look for damage caused by the broken belt itself.
 
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Just off the top of my head. I would check and see if the belt knocked off that small rubber hose connecting the water oil cooler...That hose Never gets replaced and are very easy to burst and or remove by a 500mph belt. probly not, but check it anyways.

A vehical running on battery power alone will do exactly the symptoms you described. A slow bog and finnaly die. As of the sound you heard, That was more then likely caused by the belt slapping the holy $hit out of another part of the car. Inspect the entire area Carefully for damage..
As for not starting. I have no clue, But I would begin by resetting the ECU.

Check the ALT for bad bearings. It possibly could have temporaily seized up causeing the busted belt. And now Could be the source of the whine noise you hear.

As of over heating due to alternator belt loss, NOWAY. The AC belt ALSO runs around the water pump and the crank!.
Even if ALL 4 cyclinders had blown or burnt the head gasket the car WILL still fire and run, just VERY badly.
I know 1st hand about this, A buddys done it twice in a supra.. Hell he drove around for weeks with a completly burnt up head gasket. As in filling up the radiator almost daily to replace the vaporized water.

Check for Blown fuses also.

GL!
 
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Ouch. No AC. Then yea you probly over heated....
Should put that in your profile. As thats the first place I went, to see if you had removed the AC...
 
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I think you may have blown a main Fuse...check the fuses under the hood...especially the ones with the plastic clear tops..the big ones.

Your alt may have a problem and it shorted out.

Its an easy thing to check before you go replacing head gaskets and what not
 
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I don't think you have a head gasket problem but another problem somewhere. I would not rule out the HG though. Did you check to see if your alternator bolts are in and tight? Mine just recently, broke the belt and then I replaced it and then the pulley locked up spinning and warped and broke that second belt. The bolts had backed out and stuck in the pully hole. Fixed it, put another new belt on and good to go. All that was covered by warranty. I have never heard one of my head gaskets make a noise when they blew, but that would probably be because I was in super sonic boost mode and could only hear my heart beating...LOL Check the fuses, EVERYTHING around the belt area and just give the motor a good look over. Check your battery to just in case. Good luck.
 
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My alternator is missing a bolt on the bottom. so it could move a little bit (i was actually on my way home to fix it). i think thats why the belt broke.
But do you think that the alternator might be messed up, so its not spinning right?
Ill check the alternator when i get it home.
Would that slow the cranking of the engine enough making it not fire?
 
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I don't think it would slow it down enough to make it not start but I also don't think that is your main problem. Once you get it home check everything and get back to us and this GREAT DSM community WILL help you get it fixed..well at least diagnosed...LOL
 
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Ouch I hate to say it but you might have skipped some teeth on your timing belt, causing your Valves to Hit The pistons. Thats the only reason your rockers would come off.

put the rockers back on if you can and do a compression test to see if you bent your valves (likely) and/or broke holes in the top of you pistons.
 
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