Big bang! --> Tensioner Stud Snapped

[ibruceuk]

Just happily driving along today and suddenly and almighty bang and I get the battery light on and I have Geoff Capes fighting me trying to turn the steering.

It was a worryingly loud bang.  So I open the bonnet and I see the aux belt flapping and I'm sure something was missing.

Sure enough the whole tensioner assembly was missing.  It seems the stud snapped sending it flying into the viscous fan.  So it managed to smash the fan cowling to pieces and also remove a number of blades from the fan. :(

I managed to bodge up a belt with a bit of flex soldered into a loop to drive the water pump so I could get home.

I've got the broken stud out of the tensioner, but the rest is snapped just below the surface of whatever it screws into.

Any ideas on how I can remove the snapped stud from the engine bit, as it doesn't seem to want to budge.

[Mud-muncher1]

Drill and and re thread the hole, well thats what i'd do but others might do it differently



Jav.

[ibruceuk]

Yeah that's what I thought.  I'm gonna give it a go with a Dremel first to try and cut a slot in it and use a screw driver to turn it out.  In theory it shouldn't be too tight with it being snapped!

The whole water pump and PAS pump and alternator assembly has to come off to get at it to be able to drill it. :(

[peasey]

Before you get the dremmel out try turning it out with a center punch and a hammer,punch it hard on one side with the punch and tap it round i have seen some big old bolts come out like that and the vibration helps to loosen the thread,other than that it drill and tap time.

[Chris Putt]

Tack a nut on with a welder?

[bobtailed disco]

center punch then left hand drill bit they work wonders. If that fails stud extracter.
Rob

[KingWolf]

Depending on available space I'd go straight for the stud extractors. Mainly because I have a set in my tool box...lol

Mark.

[Range Rover Blues]

Never had much joy with stud extractors.  The bi metal corrososion will have welded the stud in place, try getting the engine hot beofreyou remove it as Ali grows at twice the rate of steel, also put loads of WD40 on it the night before.

[loony landy]

Same thing happenned to me lasy week , i tied everything to get it out but eventually i drilles it out but damaged the original thread 

Because of this the original bolt would not grip so i drilled all the way through the fixing and added a tapped plate to the rear of it, works fine and it wont go again.

Also be careful when buying belts as i bought a replacement and fitted it and then it happenned , turns out there are two belts for my model and the second one is 25mm longer so putting less strasin on the tensioner !!!!!



hope it helps

tony

[ibruceuk]

Cheers for all the replies.

I've managed to fix it! Yay!!  :D

Because of the limited space I used a cordless dremel, used an incredibly fine milling bit to "centre punch" the centre of it and then either side of the centre.

I then used a 3mm drill in the Dremel to drill three holes across the middle of it about 2mm deep. then joined them together.

Then simply used a screwdriver and a lot of force and swearing and out it came!  92p for the replacement and straight on :)

I've took the fan off too, don't really need it with the weather and the fact that 7 blades are smashed off it means it would have been out of balance.  I'll probably put an electric one on it when it gets a bit warmer.

Now just need to fix the PAS leak for the MOT...

[freeagent]

Same thing happened to mine on Sunday... how strange.

Mine has gone into a garage as it needs the timing belt replacing fairly shortly, and I don't have time to fix it at the moment..

I think a spare stud might be going in my box of expedition spares in future...

[Range Rover Blues]

My sister's has a diffenreet tensioner problem.  I swapped it as a precaution when I did the head.  Now I'd found the pulley runs out of true and makes the blet ride up over the front of the water pump pulley, shredding the belt and eating the top hose to boot.  This combination then manifests itslef in PAS pump slip and no PAS just when you need it.  All because a Dayco replacement part is s**t

[muddyjames]

, turns out there are two belts for my model and the second one is 25mm longer so putting less strasin on the tensioner !!!!!
hope it helps

tony

I got given the wrong belt once as well and it doesnt quiet fit by about 2mm. Alot of cursing and swearing later I gave up and put the old one back on and got the right size belt!!