[CaAT]

Hi all,

My friend was driving home his Indigo yesterday evening. Suddenly he heard some noise from the bonnet. His first thoughts were some belt has snapped.

He took his car to the nearest TATA dealer and upon investigation it was found that the alternator belt had worn out and was almost on the verge of giving away. His Indigo had run approximately 25k kms.

My questions:

a) What is the life span of alternator belt?

b) What is the worst case scenario if the alternator belt snaps suddenly?

[amitpunjani]

[



Personally i have seen that the alternator belts go upto 50,000 kms easily. The best thing to have periodic visible checks when ever you open the bonnet.

In case the belt breaks suddenly, try and minimize the use of electricals in the car. Just with the battery the car go upto 8 to 10 Kms without coming to dead stop.

Thanks

Amit

[anonymous]

In my case, the alternator belt lasted for 77k KM, got it changed today along with alternator. Cost is 350 Rs of the belt

[Jaggu]

Ideally the belt should last for atleast 40k kms.

[IndigoXLGrandDi]

The Alternator Belt of our Indigo XL Grand Dicor wears out in <5000 kms. The Grooves get wore out in such less distance.
What is the cause behind this?
I am using 5PK730 for Alternator Belt.

[anky]

My indigo dicor belt too would wear out regularly in less than 5k kms . Tata could not satisfy me as to why the belt kept getting worn out . Finally sold the car in sept . Too many niggling problems in an otherwise great car .

[amit_purohit20]

I think there is some problem with alignment of the pulleys. Check the tension and alignment of the pulleys. The life should not be so low of 5000 kms.

Checking alignment is itself a difficult job, I really dont know how the workshop does it and whether they really have any tool for that.

[IndigoXLGrandDi]

The mechanic (FNG) suggested me to replace the Crank Pulley and Alternator Pulley and check whether the problem gets solved.

He only advised me to use 5PK730 as against 5PK740 since the latter used to make squeaking noise (He said that 740 is bigger than 730 and the former cannot get tightened as required and remains loose and hence makes squeaking noise).
What to do?

[ramzsys]

Originally Posted by IndigoXLGrandDi

The mechanic (FNG) suggested me to replace the Crank Pulley and Alternator Pulley and check whether the problem gets solved.

Yours must be a high mileage Indigo i guess, hence such an issue. The mechanic is probably right, the pulleys must have worn and hence 'eating' the belt grooves. If possible, check which pulley is worn more, most of the time it will be the alternator pulley only.

This happens on my fiat 137d, but since the belt is cheaper, i don't bother much.

[IndigoXLGrandDi]

Originally Posted by ramzsys

Yours must be a high mileage Indigo i guess, hence such an issue. The mechanic is probably right, the pulleys must have worn and hence 'eating' the belt grooves. If possible, check which pulley is worn more, most of the time it will be the alternator pulley only.

This happens on my fiat 137d, but since the belt is cheaper, i don't bother much.

This 'eating' the grooves is going on since the car was New.
Is it possible that the pulley(s) (don't know which one/both of above) have got impact due to an accident that the car faced at odo reading @8500 kms? A dog had come in front of car.
The radiator, bumper, etc were replaced. The cost was more than 35K.

Regarding Belt cost to be less, it is not wise to keep replacing the belt that costs Rs. 200-250/- every 5-10 kkms if the pulley costs @2500. Spending that 2.5k is better.

[Sutripta]

^^^
Is the bottom of any of the pulleys showing a polished appearance?

Regards
Sutripta

[IndigoXLGrandDi]

Originally Posted by Sutripta

Is the bottom of any of the pulleys showing a polished appearance?

Are you referring the "Bottom" part after removing the belt and observing the pulley from below the car (without removing the pulley from the car)?
If yes, I will check this out and report here for further assistance.
If no, please clarify.

EDIT: -
The car has completed 179 KKms.

[Sutripta]

^^^
Bottom of the groove.
V Belts grip at the sides. If it touches the bottom of the groove, it means that the pulley groove is too wide for the belt, and the belt will not last.

My gut feel is an alignment problem, or an eccentricity problem. Also do check for burrs inside all the pulleys.

Regards
Sutripta

[IndigoXLGrandDi]

I checked the Alternator Pulley and the Crank Pulley (I don't know whether it is Crank Pulley or otherwise but that pulley was the other end of alternator belt apart from Alternator pulley). I myself inspected the pulleys

The Bottom of Groove of Alternator Pulley was looking as if polished.
So it is this one which eats the belt since the other Pulley's (on which alternator belt is wound) bottom of groove was dull finished.

I will replace the alternator pulley and report the result but after driving the car for 3-4kkms atleast.

Thanks Sutripta.

[wanderernomad]

Originally Posted by IndigoXLGrandDi

The Bottom of Groove of Alternator Pulley was looking as if polished.
So it is this one which eats the belt since the other Pulley's (on which alternator belt is wound) bottom of groove was dull finished.

I will replace the alternator pulley and report the result but after driving the car for 3-4kkms atleast.

Thanks Sutripta.

Wont it be better if you changed to a thicker/bigger belt so that the grip is onto the sides and not rub against the pulley's bottom? God the words make the line sound as soft porn