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Can you run the car without accessory belt?

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Max_Power

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Discussion starter · #1 · (Edited)
Maybe a stupid question, I know what implies this belt and that put to work the ac, the water pump, power steering and the alternator. My GF zx3 broke the belt and her job is close to my house, can I drive lets say 5 min? Or it is a no no?

Edit:
BTW, the SVT accessory belt and the regular Zetec, both with AC, are the same??
 
#3 ·
Yeah, you can drive it for a real short distance from cold startup. Yes, the serpentine belt is the same.
 
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#5 ·
5 min is too far. Remember there is no coolant moving from the water pump.

With the proper tool (15mm? been awhile) and another wrench to help pry you and the gf should be able to do the belt in the parking lot in 5 minutes. now if you took out a pulley that is another matter.
 
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#6 ·
snake eyes said:
5 min is too far. Remember there is no coolant moving from the water pump.

With the proper tool (15mm? been awhile) and another wrench to help pry you and the gf should be able to do the belt in the parking lot in 5 minutes. now if you took out a pulley that is another matter.
Click to expand...
very true, you might not even see the high temp on the gauge, but the coolant in the block will be boiling.

i've only risked idling in the drive way for a minute with out the belt (trying to trouble shoot a vibration, didnt know if it was a pully or engine mount)
 
#7 ·
Remember, the engine and more importantly the ECU is designed to get the engine up to tempurature in 90 seconds once running for emissions purposes. Theoretically at 90 seconds your engine would be at full operating temp, but this DOES NOT compensate for the coolant not being circulated in the block as it has been mentioned, and it takes LONGER for the cooler coolant to heat to temp than the coolant that IS at temperature as said as well.

I wouldn't run it for more than 60 seconds unless in an extreme need, like a life or death shot to ER, but at that point it would make it a throw away device, and an expensive one at that.
 
#8 ·
A regular ZX-3? Should be fine. I remember reading something in my old 02's owner manual about if the car over heats bad enough the ECU will switch it to a 2 cylinder and use two cylinders as an air pump as a last ditch cooling method.
 
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#9 ·
Bad idea for sure. Don't drive it.

Got a bike? A five minute drive is usually not much longer by bike.

The belts are not all the same, there is some variation from year to year but since we don't have that information I can't say if yours will interchange or not.

-Steve
 
#10 ·
COSVT03 said:
Remember, the engine and more importantly the ECU is designed to get the engine up to tempurature in 90 seconds once running for emissions purposes. Theoretically at 90 seconds your engine would be at full operating temp, but this DOES NOT compensate for the coolant not being circulated in the block as it has been mentioned, and it takes LONGER for the cooler coolant to heat to temp than the coolant that IS at temperature as said as well.

I wouldn't run it for more than 60 seconds unless in an extreme need, like a life or death shot to ER, but at that point it would make it a throw away device, and an expensive one at that.
Click to expand...
Really? It takes my ZX3 MUCH longer than any Duratec to heat up. If just idling, will take a solid 5 minutes to get up to temp. Driving is a bit less in 60ish degree temps.
 
#11 ·
Older cars have different emissions. But anything newer 2006-2007 ish should have that emissions standard.
And as said, it can take the surrounding fluid, including the one on the COLD side of the thermostat (where the control portion of the thermostat is) to read the correct temperature.

But yes, they can run, but i'm not going to be the one to tell someone who may not know the difference between their ass and elbow how long they can run it. If they are asking, they aren't gonna be able to do it. Not trying to be an ass, just saying.
 
#12 ·
Oh, I agree on 5minutes being too long since that warmup includes the waterpump spinning. I'm taking the warmup time based on the CHT reading which isn't really coolant based. A Duratec car (2.3 ST) was at full temp before I left my apartment complex. My ZX3 takes until I'm 2-3 miles down the road.
 
#13 ·
Obviously a vastly different animal than a Zetec but years back I had the belt snap in my '69 Skylark and the temp gauge shot up very quickly, in fact pretty much instantaneously.

Thankfully I was only a block from home, when the water stops moving the temps go up very quickly.



.
 
Discussion starter · #14 ·
:D
Thanks for all the info guys, here is what happened after
Like two blocks from her job there is a mechanic, so she called him and put the belt, no biggies there, and was working till today.
In the morning she calls me to pick er up because the car was overheating and also told me that the steering was hard, as soon as she was finish the sentence I said that the belt was bad installed or something and seems to be, because she told me that the belt was all ripped apart and get stuck there so I am guessing maybe a bad installation, or something was hitting the belt I don't know, I wasn't able to take a look because we were late for work.

The mechanic that day told me that the water pump was about to fail, I don't know if the water pump failed and maybe that lead to the broken belt, from my experience with other cars, if it fails just fails and start leaking water and stuff (my GF told me that besides the broken belt the car was leaking water) but I never have seen a broken belt because a bad water pump, but I could be wrong.
So what you guys think?
 
#15 ·
I think if the guy installed the new belt without bothering to see how the pulleys were spinning he may be a former short bus rider.

Especially if the old belt had just failed, typically belts don't fail on their own, something else causes the failure.
 
#16 ·
Sounds as if something is messed up - Idler or tensioner are the most common failures, but the water pump can be checked pretty easily by hand.
 
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#18 ·
Spin them by hand. Should be nice & smooth with zero play.
 
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Discussion starter · #19 ·
FORDSVTPARTS said:
I think if the guy installed the new belt without bothering to see how the pulleys were spinning he may be a former short bus rider.

Especially if the old belt had just failed, typically belts don't fail on their own, something else causes the failure.
Click to expand...
svtf02red said:
Sounds as if something is messed up - Idler or tensioner are the most common failures, but the water pump can be checked pretty easily by hand.
Click to expand...
svtf02red said:
Spin them by hand. Should be nice & smooth with zero play.
Click to expand...
Roger that :D
 
Discussion starter · #20 ·
Any tips for changing the water pump, idler and tensioner?
I have change the water pump on my mom's altima but never on a focus. I Just take out and put in.
Was looking around the forum but couldn't find anything.
 
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Max_Power
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