E46 broken belt

[MagicMan0027]

Need some advise. Was driving home today and about 3km from home I heard some noise. The battery light came on and about a km later the temperature gauge went into the red. I did slow down but did not stop. Drove the last 2km slowly to my home. I know I should have stopped.

When I got home I checked and saw the belt (serpentine??) was shred to pieces. (The waterpump/alternator belt.) I phoned the mechanic that usually works on my car and he advised me that they can only come and tow my car on Monday.

What extra damage could there be by me driving it back home with the temp gauge in the red ?

 

[danieljames]

Head gasket.......possibility.you should've stopped. Eish.

 

[moranor@axis]

you may have cooked the block then you will need a new engine... lets hope it did not get that hot...

 

[Waseem 333i]

You should have stopped. Always stop and check why there is a warning light. Your head gasket is definitely gone because the water pump could not do its job.

 

[MagicMan0027]

So the car went in early this morning. They replaced the 2 belts and 1 of the pulleys that seized. They say no other damage was caused.

 

[car_fanatic]

Glad to hear.

 

[moranor@axis]

So the car went in early this morning. They replaced the 2 belts and 1 of the pulleys that seized. They say no other damage was caused.

lets hope this is true and it did not get as hot as feared

 

[Waseem 333i]

Take it for a pressure test. Just to be sure.

 

[GPGrobler]

You should check that the oil and water has not mixed, and you should change out all fluids anyway after the car got that hot. Any engine oil getting that hot loses its ability to protect the engine's moving parts.

 

[Ratslaaf]

It happened to me on an E46 328. The belt was replaced and seemed seemed ok. Over a period of 2 years the car started using water, slowly at first but then gradually got worse. Point is, the issue will only raise its head sometime down the line, not now.

 

[Low N Slow]

same thing happened to me a few years back. luckily it was about 1km from my house...turned out my pulley seized and snapped the belt...

the car didnt go into the red, but literally just pulled the car in repalced the parts the next day...

touch wood, all is fine

 

[GPGrobler]

It happened to me on an E46 328. The belt was replaced and seemed seemed ok. Over a period of 2 years the car started using water, slowly at first but then gradually got worse. Point is, the issue will only raise its head sometime down the line, not now.

What was the solution, was it possible to save the engine by replacing the head gasket? Did the car have any other symptoms, performance issues?

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So the car went in early this morning. They replaced the 2 belts and 1 of the pulleys that seized. They say no other damage was caused.

Which pulleys, the two plastic ones, and they only replaced the one? :thinking:

 

[Ratslaaf]

It happened to me on an E46 328. The belt was replaced and seemed seemed ok. Over a period of 2 years the car started using water, slowly at first but then gradually got worse. Point is, the issue will only raise its head sometime down the line, not now.

What was the solution, was it possible to save the engine by replacing the head gasket? Did the car have any other symptoms, performance issues?

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Rebuilt engine I'm afraid. But only because I drove it for so long like that. Had I fixed it when it started then I would've only had to replace the head. I was young and dumb then...