fault on 97 3 series....???

can anybody give me a pointer on this.....

switched car on... battery light stays on. power steering not working...

everything else seems fine and car moves around fine and steers all be it with effort...

thanks in advance.

Lee

Reply to
Lee Taylor
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Does it get hot?

You are describing a broken belt. The belt operates the water pump, power steering pump, alternator, and air conditioner. If the steerign and alternator do not work, you should also check to see if the A/C works -- the water pump will make itself apparent on the temp guage.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

cheers... will check it out when it is daytime again....

computers are my thing and I am useless on cars... it should be easy to spot a broken belt? easy fix? expensive?

Lee

Reply to
Lee Taylor

It should be an easy fix, assuming you have basic mechanical skills.

You can move the Idler Pulley out of the way with a large screwdriver or other suitable lever to use as a prybar. Route the belt properly -- this is not difficult, the pullies that are smooth are moved by the flat side of the belt, and the pullies that are grooved and moved by the inside of the belt, making the belt only fit one way. When the belt routed properly, use the pry bar to lift the idler pulley, and slip the belt underneath it and release the prybar.

There should be a map to help you route the belt properly, but the belt can not fit all of the pullies that it goes to if it goes to any pulley in the wrong order.

There is a chance you might need to remove the fan and fan shroud to gain access, but this is pretty straight forward. HINT the fan uses a reverse threaded nut to hold it on.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

thanks for all that.. spot on diagnosis...

belt was off... pretty chewed up so will be replacing it tommorow...

cheers Lee

Reply to
Lee Taylor

Better to use the correct torx bit, surely?

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Better? Probably. Required? No. At least on my E36s it was easy to hold the idler up with a prybar. (MAYBE my mind's eye is remembering a different car, but I'm pretty sure it was my E36.)

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

You surprise me. On my E39 which could have the same engine the pulley has to be swung quite a long way from rest to fit the new belt - difficult I'd say by levering.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Chewed up, you say? Make sure the idler pulley has not lost its plastic outer part. If it has, it will be shiny metal with rough edges and look suspiciously small in diameter. (This may not be relevant if they've changed the design of it.)

Andrew

Reply to
Andrew Morton

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