What would cause this?

[OLJustice]

As some of you may or may not know, I have been without my car for the better part of 2 months since a front-end accident that just got worse and worse. Long story short, this allowed me to get a brand new Grip tuning fascia and an opportunity to get a proper prep job done on a brand new Trufiber SRT hood. Well I picked it up today, looked great.

Here's the problem- I get on the highway for 2 minutes and decide to go WOT to get that 'feel' back . Well as soon as i go WOT I hear a loud 'POP' sound. The steering IMMEDIATELY locks up where its nearly impossible to turn even an inch and my battery indicator light goes off. I BARELY manage to muscle the wheel to the right enough to get off the next exit and VERY nearly missed a curb trying to turn onto a side street (mind you, I'm doing about 1 mph... thats how difficult the wheel was to turn). I also notice at that point that my engine temperature gauge is literally off the scale waaay into the red. Strange cause i didnt smell anything or see any smoke. So i put the hazards on and pop the trunk... checked power steering and radiator fluids - very low, but still driveable. Then I figure'd i'd check the floor to see if there were any leaks.

Thats when i saw it..

My drivebelt completely off the pulleys just dangling on the floor. So I pull it off completely, toss it in the drivers seat, and call the ******* shop that had my car for nearly a month. I get towed back to the shop and they are going to look into it tomorrow.

My question is, what would cause a belt to just slip off the pulleys? it didnt appear damaged at all, and I thought that our cars automatically adjusted the tension. I have no faith in the mechanic of the shop but since its their problem I have no other options. I simply want to be able to toss some suggestions out there that he may overlook tomorrow morning.

Anyone?



FYI, the accident was an extremely low speed (~5 mph) front collision. Bumper wasnt even pushed in, just pushed downward. first 3 inches of hood was folded down.

[dabirdzR/T]

if it was a front end crash, i would guess a pulley is bent, and did not get replaced, or they did replace a bent piece and did not properly tighten the belt up.

[Keir]

I agree sounds like a bent pulley or bad tensioner.

[fnkychkn]

as dabirdz said, possible bent pulley or sticky tensioner.

[OLJustice]

as dabirdz said, possible bent pulley or sticky tensioner.

Assuming its the lesser of the 2-'sticky tensioner'. What would be the fix? Also, any surefire way to determine if a pulley is bent? I imagine that if its a slight bend it may not be too visible to the eye. This mechanic doesn't look to be well equipped so I'm just trying to figure out how he could tell. I'm going to be watching while he fixes it. No more waiting for me with this particular shop...

[fnkychkn]

not much you can do with the tensioner but replace it.
the accurate way to check for a bent pulley is using a dial guage. if none is available, guess you'll have to eyeball it. also need to check for pulley alignment.

[OLJustice]

Thanks fnky. I'll be looking over this guy's shoulder. Hate to be an ass but this shop is the king of excuses and delays.

[Fargo59]

if its bent enough to throw a belt, spinning the pulley with your finger on the side of it should give you a slight "runout" feel. ive had sticky tensioners on these cars before. i have used penetrating fluid on them before, but its really only temporary.

[OLJustice]

FYI - it was a broke tensioner pulley. Thanks fnky and everyone else who provided their insight.