Vauxhall Corsa Air Con Belt broken?

[drumlegend]

So my partners car has started making a loud noise from the front. Sounds like a Pneumatic drill at a construction site.

The AA came out and said it's the Air Conditioning Belt. (Never heard of this before)

He said it will cost around £400 to replace and without it, the car won't start. The noise has stopped as the belt is now jammed but he has said that it will snap and then the car won't work.

I assume this won't be the cam belt as Vauxhall Corsa's have a timing chain.

Does anyone know what he's talking about as I can't find anything on google.

Thanks in advance

Just been updated that it's the mechanism not the belt and the belt is getting jammed because of this

Edited by drumlegend on Wednesday 14th June 11:45

[Krikkit]

Sounds like the internals of the AC pump have jammed, as they should be self-clutching, causing the auxiliary belt to stop turning correctly.

Depending on the layout of the aux belt you might be able to buy a different belt and bypass the AC pump. What age/engine is it?

[stevieturbo]

drumlegend said:

So my partners car has started making a loud noise from the front. Sounds like a Pneumatic drill at a construction site.

The AA came out and said it's the Air Conditioning Belt. (Never heard of this before)

He said it will cost around £400 to replace and without it, the car won't start. The noise has stopped as the belt is now jammed but he has said that it will snap and then the car won't work.

I assume this won't be the cam belt as Vauxhall Corsa's have a timing chain.

Does anyone know what he's talking about as I can't find anything on google.

Thanks in advance

Just been updated that it's the mechanism not the belt and the belt is getting jammed because of this

Edited by drumlegend on Wednesday 14th June 11:45

Clearly there is a miscommunication here. Whether what they told you, or what you are telling us.

And no, not all Corsas have a timing chain, but then you dont give any details of which corsa or engine you have.

And by mechanism, exactly what do you mean ? Tensioner, the air con pump itself, the pulley, the clutch inside the pulley ?

All will have varying costs to rectify, and most likely the same belt runs the aircon, water pump, alternator....so again more detail required.

[drumlegend]

I'm going off what my partner told me. The AA told her that the mechanism that turns the AC belt is jammed and after a while it will cause the belt to snap. She has the 1.4 Corsa (56 plate) Think it's the ecotec engine

[bungz]

Think the 1.4 of that era should be a timing belt. Corsa C on a 56 plate?

Sounds like as has been mentioned the compressor is failing and that could mean the belt will wear as it fights the compressor pulley. Will rive other things such as PAS so it needs to be sorted.

Take it to a garage, either get it changed or put a belt on that is for cars without AC so it misses the shagged compressor out like krikkit said.

[drumlegend]

Thank you, I will suggest that. I think she might be selling it now as it already cost us £500 to pass the warranty but if that is a cheap option we could try that

[drumlegend]

Just a quick question, so is this different to the timing belt?

I'm aware if that snaps it will completely mess up the engine but the AA just said you are ok to keep driving it but do at your own risk as it will snap. If this snaps will it cause serious damage?

[GreenV8S]

The timing belt/chain connects the crank shaft and cam shaft together and controls the timing of the engine valves. This is typically inside the engine's front cover. For belts, it will be a toothed belt. If this fails, on some engines it can result in valve/piston contact which can cause very expensive damage.

The auxiliary drive belt connects the crank shaft to various bits mounted on the engine that need a mechanical drive, such as the alternator, engine cooling pump and PAS pump. It's typically visible on the outside of the engine although it may be covered by a guard. On modern engines it's typically a 'poly V' belt. If this fails there is a small chance that the belt can damage something while the broken end flails around the engine bay, but usually it's uneventful and just results in the engine overheating if you don't notice it. However, if you have PAS then it will be very difficult to steer if the pump drive fails and depending on circumstances that could be very dangerous.

[drumlegend]

I heard it can affect your power steering and if it goes there is nothing to charge your battery. They are quoting a lot to fix it though, I wish I had the skills to fix it myself

[E-bmw]

It sounds like you need to get the full story first hand as not a lot of any of what you have said actually makes a lot of sense.

You need to get it into a trusted garage to properly diagnose the problem and stop listening to whoever tells you these "apparently" things.

[stevieturbo]

Cant fix what hasnt been diagnosed...and it's all over the place.

Whether this relates to yours or not....well it might give an idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43bvnwxr9lc

But it could be a simple fix if you want to exclude the Aircon for the future, or more expensive if you want to repair it. If of course it is the fault.

But really...just take it to a garage, and ask them for options.