Huge Problem With My Stag. Not Sure How I Go About Fixing It.

[patrickd79]

Hi all. I bought the car back in September. Had all the maintenance done that it required etc etc. Part of the work done included new belts as they hadnt ever been done. Yesterday two out of three belts came off. I checked the belts, they all have the same markings on them, so either they were all replaced or none of them were. My receipts states that they were.

Extent of damage thus far is not known apart from what I can see.

Belt for the alternator is gone

Belt for the thermo fan is also gone

When the belt for the fan came off, the fan came loose, sheared off from everything. In doing so it has sliced at least one radiator hose and taken out the radiator completely.

The last belt is still on. To the best of my knowledge this all took place in my driveway when moving the car. So damage may be minimal? I have no idea.

Given that I have an invoice to the tune of $1500 that included new belts, they should last a lot longer than six or seven thousand km's. So who is at fault here? Belts are supposed to be good for around the 100k mark, maybe a tad less depending on car and application.

There is a fair chunk of work here and I genuinely dont see how any of this up and coming repair bill is mine in any way shape or form. If this were your problem, how would you go about it? Obviously i have to contact my mechanic and tell him whats happened at some point and see how they feel about it.

What are your thoughts? What would you do?

[Ben C34]

Goods luck with it.

Sounds like the fan was never tightened properly and that's what caused the belts to come off.

[Ben C34]

And there is no thermo fan, it's a clutch fan. The fan and alternator belt are the same one.

The are

fan/ alternator

air con

power steering

[KiwiRS4T]

In the first instance contact the shop that did the work as soon as possible.

Could be tricky as they may be closed for Christmas.

Do they belong to a trade association to which you can complain if necessary?

Make some enquiries about the relevant consumer protection laws so you can quote them if necessary.

In this country the last resort would be the small claims court/ disputes tribunal

But try the direct approach first and be calm and polite but insistent!

Damage is likely to be limited to what you have observed unless the cambelt has also gone - which is unlikely.

[66yostagea]

This exact thing happened to the 25G. The fan/waterpump belt was overtightened. The water pump shaft sheared. The fan had a whirling orgasm under the bonnet.

New radiator, new (VL) water pump, new belts.

[C34S2STAG]

Call the shop first thing for sure. The belt could have been over tightened putting big pressure on water pump and if the fan bolts were left loose then it would do 2 hat you are saying for sure. They are at fault

[patrickd79]

Hey all. Thanks for the responses. As you can see I am no mechanic and have only mentioned what I can see. So, from what I have described, no internal damage to the engine then?

Yep, wrong time of year. I will give them a call tomorrow and see what happens.

[Ben C34]

Hey all. Thanks for the responses. As you can see I am no mechanic and have only mentioned what I can see. So, from what I have described, no internal damage to the engine then?

Yep, wrong time of year. I will give them a call tomorrow and see what happens.

No internal damage, so don't stress.

Let us know how you go!

[SkudR33]

Belts only cost about $30 - if there is no other damage I wouldn't bother arguing with them - if your located in western Sydney I'd be more than happy to refit them for free for ya...

Problem is these dodgy mechanics always find a reason to not be liable for their f**k ups!