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Aircon Belt


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The aircon belt on my 00 IS200 has snapped and I'm wondering if there's any danger in driving away while it's gone. I don't have time to get it changed until next week, so I'm just wondering if it's OK to keep driving it, or if I could damage my aircon unit or something.

At least I think it's the aircon belt - it's the motor underneath the alternator on the right hand side of the engine (as you look at it from the front).

Sorry, I know this is almost certainly a stupid question!

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You'll be fine to drive the car with no drive belt on the ac compressor provided that it does not drive anything else....I'll have a look at mine in the morning. What I would be more worried about is why the belt snapped, if it simply became so old and decrepid that it fell apart then you need your butt kicking for lack of maintainance, if the compressor has failed and siezed then your wallet will get a kicking when it comes to have the ac repaired. Compressors are not cheap and the drier will need replacing and the system will need flushing to remove the guts of the old compressor from the pipework. I'd also be inclined to replace the expansion valve as they do not react well to metalic crud, and could have caused the failure in the first place

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I think it was just really old. The belt looked frayed and decrepit when I pulled it out. So yeah, I need by butt kicked for lack of maintenance. I only have the car a few weeks, and I'd just replaced the bonnet strut clasp (little plastic thingy for holding up the bonnet strut) and I was taking a look around the engine bay.

I'm a bit concerned at the moment though. The car overheated last night after a short drive. I was driving it fairly hard for 10 minutes. Not really hard; hit 6000 revs maybe twice and cruising at about 4000. The heat gauge was just below the red mark and there was steam venting from the radiator. I drove it to work this morning very carefully (didn't go over 3000 revs) and it didn't get hot.

Could there be any link between this and the broken aircon belt? Maybe some thermostatic control or something?

Thanks.

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Don't think there is a link apart from lack of maintenance, the water pump is driven by the cam belt.

Check the basics like coolant level and for signs of coolant leaks, as the steam was coming from the radiator I would assume that the stat is OK or the water would not get that far. Also idle the engine and check that the fan kicks in and examine the radiator core for damage or blockages to air flow.

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I'm thinking that the guy I got to take a look over the car after I bought it didn't do such a good job...

I'm not having much luck with this car so far: no master key, warped brake disks, ancient aircon belt and now this cooling problem. I hope it doesn't continue, cause I really love the car (apart from these problems, obviously!).

I'll check out the stuff you mentioned; thanks for the pointers.

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Just in case anybody's interested, here's how this one is going.

When the aircon belt went, it took out some vital bits of my cooling system with it - nasty. I tried putting in some water into the coolant reservoir this morning and it poured straight out of the bottom of the reservoir and onto the pulleys! At that stage I gave up on it and made my way into work in my old carina (which I still haven't been able to get rid of, luckily enough).

I took another look at it this evening and filled up the radiator directly. It was pretty dry and took about 1.5 litres to fill. Took it for a short spin and the cooling seems to be working fine - the fans even kicked in after a while when ticking over.

I'm guessing that the only real damage done is that the pipe joining the tank to the radiator, but I'm no expert on these things. Here's some pictures:

reservoir.jpg

This is the bottom of the coolant tank. This is where the water pours out.

rhs.jpg

This is the view from the passenger side of the car. Does the broken spline on the back of the rad make any odds? Should there be something connected to the hose in the foreground?

lhs.jpg

This is the view from the driver's side of the car. Should the circled pipes be connected to anything?

What parts do I need to get (at a guess)? Any opinions are appreciated!

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