Serpentine belt thrown
 

Hey gang


My '97 XK8 has for the past few days making a chirp noise from the front of the engine at a certain engine rpm speed. All of the pulleys seem fine, no roughness in movement and no wobble.


However today, upon starting the engine (from warm), the serpentine belt was thrown off the pulleys. I got it back on with the help of a diagram (everyone should print one of these off for the glovebox !!) as the belt otherwise looked fine, no cracks or splits.


I figure one of the pulleys may start to seize when cold, I will check in the morning.


Has anyone else suffered a thrown belt ?


I have an oil leak from the front of the engine, either the timing covers or else the crank oil seal in the timing cover. Either way, looks like I will be doing some front-end work this week


Frank

Usually in a different context, but my first thought is the "t" word ............ tensioner.
If that's gone weak, it could explain why a belt might get thrown off the pulleys. When I replaced my water pump, and therefore had to remove the belt, I was surprised at how much force was required to release the tension - it took a big spanner and a fair bit of leverage. Might be worth checking that as well as the bearings in the various pulleys.