Sometimes I hate cars.

Having fixed the rattling heat shield yesterday, drove the car to work today (20 miles), and a mile from destination I lost power steering and every warning in sight lit up.
I suspect this is the ribbed drive belt as it was squeaking yesterday. I had a look under the bonnet but couldnt see, too dark

The car is 1/2 a mile from the dealers, but if they quote a truly silly price it will be recovered home and I will do it myself

Anyone had a belt replaced by the dealer, and if so any idea of labour costs ?
I suspect the cost of parts will be negligible compared to the labour

Are there items such as idlers / tensioners I should be replacing at the same time ?

how much of a nightmare job is it to do (i.e. do radiators need to come out, any specialist tools)
Time to go find a quiet corner and read the service manual... Too many toys, not enough time

2011 4.4 TDV8 AB Black

Car being recovered to home.
Aa man took a look but cant get the parts (not in stock)

It seems there are 4 idler pulleys. Which one(s) get replaced? Too many toys, not enough time

2011 4.4 TDV8 AB Black

Bummer Cheers, Greg
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2011 Vogue SE 4.4 with lots of toys in Stornaway

John w wrote:

Car being recovered to home.
Aa man took a look but cant get the parts (not in stock)

It seems there are 4 idler pulleys. Which one(s) get replaced?

Presumably you are aware from the Workshop Manual that their are 2 ribbed drive belts .
I guess you will want to change both once you have got it stripped down ?
What mileage have you done and have you been wading in deep water ?, they are supposed to be good for life
Mike. G reg 2.5VM Vogue Portofino red 1991- 1999
V reg 2.5td P38 Rioja red 1999- 2006
53 reg td6 Vogue Oslo blue 2006- 2015
11 reg 4.4 TdV8 Vogue SE. Baltic blue 2015- date.
https://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic56162...tty+affair

Thanks GGDR. Indeed.

Hi Baltic.
No wading. I do now suspect the ticking I heard at the start of last week and thought was possibly the gearbox might have been the belt

I spoke to the local dealer and the belt is apparently a serviceable item at 100k miles. My car has 106k on it now.
I found a link on here that says its every 150k miles (although this might be specific to petrol engines)
https://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic23549...e+schedule

I found a post on here from a few years ago that suggests the tensioner wears, and then the belt runs half off the pulley. That persons belt went at 96k. They had a pulley changed too but doesn't say which one.

Places like island4x4 stock all 4 of the idler pulleys, so that sort of suggests it could be any of them. I will try to have a fiddle later, see if any of them are noisy.
I could just replace all of them which I may well do. They are about 40 quid each for genuine ones.

Also going to see if I can replace this without having to remove the fan belt. That is a stretch belt and by all accounts is a right b@st@rd to get back on without the special service tool. Too many toys, not enough time

2011 4.4 TDV8 AB Black

northernmonkeyjones posted a how-to guide a while back.
IIRC it's one not two of the idler pulleys John.

. Cheers, Greg
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2011 Vogue SE 4.4 with lots of toys in Stornaway

Here it is:

https://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/post497615.html Cheers, Greg
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2011 Vogue SE 4.4 with lots of toys in Stornaway

I usually eyeball mine every 3 months. Haven't in a while.

As soon as it reaches the edge I'll change it.

I noticed on that thread AJGalaxy's was 5mm off the pulley.

Definitely one to watch and a stark reminder to check mine tonight.

. Cheers, Greg
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2011 Vogue SE 4.4 with lots of toys in Stornaway

Thanks for the links. I will read them when I get home.

I wish I had looked yesterday now to see why it was squeaking.
Oh well.
Just hoping it's not done any damage, and the belt & pulleys will fix it. Too many toys, not enough time

2011 4.4 TDV8 AB Black

Mine's belt is right at the edge of the tensioner pulley and has a dark edge indicating that it is rubbing on the crankshaft pulley at 115K kms.

I had a look under the bonnet at lunch time.
The belt didn't actually snap, it has come off. It is down to only 4 ribs wide though, so I suspect it was hanging off the edge of the pulley as suggested, and then the bit still on there let go.
The only thing I can see is the vacuum hose on the rack has been knocked off, no other damage.

With both of the airboxes out I could gain sufficient access to check the pulleys.
The pulleys are all free, but noted the following:
bottom left one is stiff (tricky to get to). Surface feels fine.
top left idler is quiet but has slight free-play. Internal pulley so ribbed.
top right idler is quiet but has slight free-play. surface is worn (has pitting) so needs replacing
bottom right idler sounds dry and has slight free-play. Surface is a bit worn. needs replacing.

The tensioner pulley surface is very worn as a result of belt not being fully on it so needs replacing.

I've decided to just replace all 4 idlers and be done with it. Too many toys, not enough time

2011 4.4 TDV8 AB Black

I'll be checking mine's idlers in a couple of days and if any doesn't spin smoothly then the lot will be replaced when the the tensioner is replaced. They've all done the same work so if 1 is showing signs of wear then the others wont be far behind.

Glad to hear there wasn't any collateral damage John.

Except for the arrival by low loader shame

Is it urban legend that Rolls Royce only use enclosed recovery so that nobody should ever think they break down?
I remember my Dad telling me that way back.

. Cheers, Greg
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2011 Vogue SE 4.4 with lots of toys in Stornaway

Thanks Greg.

This is the first time I've ever had to be recovered in any car or bike for it properly breaking down (petrol in diesel car incident doesn't count )
Needless to say a couple of my friends have been quite merciless the b@st@rds

I think your dad was right. The guy in the recovery truck liked a bit of a chat. He was telling me how they have a 'prestige' recovery truck for certain cars, which is essentially a curtain sided lorry. It costs double what a normal recovery costs though. Too many toys, not enough time

2011 4.4 TDV8 AB Black