A4 2012 2.0 TDI Serpentine Belt Routing

[Windsor66]

Hi there

I'm a newbie on here so my apologies if this info is somewhere within an existing thread, but any advice/pointers in the right direction would be gratefully received. I have an A4 2012 2.0TDI & the serpentine belt snapped yesterday due to a siezed air con compressor clutch. The air con hasn't worked for 2 months now & finally the belt gave up the ghost. A very nice repair man fitted a shorter replacement belt to get me home but that has also now snapped, so the car is now off the road.

Question is can I get hold of a shorter serpentine belt to bypass the air con compressor altogether & if so, what length would I need? I'm not fussed about the air con as I can happily live without it, however I might tackle that in due course.

Any advice would be welcomed.

Thank you
Ian (aka Windsor66)

[nevo]

Have you got the old belt to measure its circumference or measure it with some string,failing that dismantle the clutch so its freewheeling,if you can measure it I can tell you if a 1.9 tdi will fit.

[warp_speed]

you need to also find out why the shorter belt snapped as well. Something tells me it might be one of the idler pulleys which has seized, since the belt is off check the idlers turn freely without noise.

[nevo]

Sorry I meant measure the shortened run.

[Windsor66]

HI all

Thanks for your replies. I've checked the alternator pulley & the two idler pulleys & they are all running OK. One idler pulley is a little stiffer but still turns OK, though not as much as the other one which spins freely. It's only the A/C pulley that's totally seized.

If I've got the run of the belt mapped correctly, the total length is 102 cm. That's assuming I need to secure the belt round both idler pulleys & avoid the A/C unit altogether (as it's totally seized solid). Sorry for the poor graphic, best I could do in the time I have!

Belt Run.jpg

[nevo]

The one I was going to suggest off a 1.9 with a separate a/c belt is 1435mm so thats out, might not be possible to get one,may be worth getting a second hand comp.

[Windsor66]

Ah blast, no worries - thanks for the suggestions, most appreciated. The a/c pulley is seized solid but I've not been able to check if it's just the clutch that's gone or the entire unit. I'll have a look when I can & see if the clutch has welded shut before going down the route of a new compressor.

The car is immobile right now so anything that needs doing will have to be done on the driveway.

..and there's me thinking this was a dream car to own!

[nevo]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-FAI-AU...0AAOSw5IJWhGBv

[Windsor66]

Last update for the day. I've now managed to get the compressor pulley to turn, and turn relatively freely after a fair bit of WD40 and some elbow grease (well, wrist grease to be precise). Will have another look tomorrow as I've given up for the day on account of the fact it's now dark & my hands are bleeding!

If the A/C pulley frees up & spins nicely, I should be able to fit the proper sized belt around all pulleys - fingers crossed (when they've stopped bleeding that is!)

Thanks for all your help, will keep you posted on how it all pans out

[Windsor66]

Afternoon.

Right, after purchasing a new serpentine belt (and a trolley jack & axle stands to remove the undertray so I could clean out the remains of the old belt!), I finally got the new one fitted. Streuth, that wasn't easy! Managed to get the belt round the crank & AC pulleys, then round the tensioner but couldn't get it over the alternator pulley. I managed to concoct a long spanner to pull the tensioner aside and then fitted the belt OK - took minutes once I'd worked out how to do it.

Trouble is now the engine management system cuts the car out almost immediately on starting, followed by the flashing EMS light & a warning tone. Now I have no idea what to do as I can't move the car to get it to a garage to be checked over.

Any ideas for some possible obvious things to check? I've disconnected the battery to try and reset the EMS, no luck there. Hoping it might be something simple but unlikely. Good news is that the new belt is at least turning so if I can get the car going, at least the battery will charge.

Thanks