Help! Need advice to tell my garage what to do....

I have a 300Tdi 1998 GS Discovery and I love it.

However, I have a garage who I am sure does not share the same feelings about it because things keep going wrong and I am convinced that they don't know what they are doing. But am I wrong?

There have been several problems which seem to be connected to the same thing but not being a mechanic I don't have a leg to stand on when it comes to making a complaint about things.

The list:-

3 new fan belts in two years - 2 this year. Used compatible ones - not Land Rover despite me saying that I wanted original. Squeal still squealing.

Belt tensioner replaced earlier this year - RAC man says that the new one is already knackered probably because of over-tightening.

Water pump replaced 2 years ago - but when the 2nd belt was put in - they said that it needed replacing again! So put in a new one.

Then there was something to do with some housing which connected all these different belt/pump components - a bolt sheered off and the whole thing had to be replaced. They told me it was a quirk of Land Rover! Hmmm Really?

I kept complaining about the squealing and all they did was use some belt conditioner - no result.

According to the RAC guy - there are some five belts for the these land rovers and if they are one mm out then they will squeal.

The squealing has now stopped and I suspect that it is because it has now re-aligned itself by chewing up the plastic bit between the belt tensioner and the belt. RAC guy says it is knackered and needs replacing - What! Another belt tensioner In less than a year.

So...... I am looking for someone local to service and maintain it without feeding me BS

More importantly I am looking for some advice and technical stuff so that I can prove to the garage that they are .........

Any thoughts?

where in the world are you ArtLady?

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f38/300tdi-squeeling-belt-penny-trick-64595.html?highlight=penny+trick

works every time, parently!

mjltigger said:

where in the world are you ArtLady?

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Monmouthshire! Wales UK - up a mountain! Well foothill of a large hill if you are talking in International terms.

ArtyLady said:

3 new fan belts in two years - 2 this year. Used compatible ones - not Land Rover despite me saying that I wanted original. Squeal still squealing.

Belt tensioner replaced earlier this year - RAC man says that the new one is already knackered probably because of over-tightening.

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a new belt should cost you less than a tenna,
the 'penny trick' you can do with the change.

A new tensioner unit will cost you £50-60 whare as a new tensioner 'bearing' about £5

I would suggest you go out and get a new belt and tensioner bearing and fit them yourself, will take you only about 20 minutes to do the whole thing including fitting the 'Penny'

there are only 2 sizes of belt, order by VIN number and you should be OK....

and if anyone is nearby I am sure you coudl get help...

would offer to assist but a long way to there from here..

mjltigger said:

and if anyone is nearby I am sure you coudl get help...

would offer to assist but a long way to there from here..

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great thing about owning a Landy... someone always willing to help...

Changing the belt and tensioner bearing is an easy job, it only really requires a 15mm socket, pliers and a mallet!!

you dont even need to take the fan off (though if you do, it make it less fiddly!)

If you need help, just park up with on the side of a main road with the bonnet up. Have the belt and bearing and penny handy. Give it about 15 mins and someone will stop.
I stopped in the layby by Stonehenge to check the oil when I bought my Landy and in 5 minutes 2 people stopped to check I was OK.

Nice bunch these Landy owners

I had a bolt shear off on the altenator that caused it to swing forward onto a pulley .The noise it made almost made me lose control of bodily functions.Someone else said the same happened to them.Think it can happen if the bolt gets over tightened.

Never mind the garage, it sounds like the RAC man doesn't know what he's talking about. You can't overtighten the belt tensioner. Its got a bloody great spring in it. You just fit it and it does the tensioning automatically.
Sure it wasn't the RAC mans grandfather? He probably won't have seen flat belts before. Every other mechanic has.

Great replies guys - just need to decipher it all and try to work out how I can get this to work.

Heard of the penny trick before - quite happy to try that one.

a new belt should cost you less than a tenna,
the 'penny trick' you can do with the change.

A new tensioner unit will cost you £50-60 whare as a new tensioner 'bearing' about £5

I would suggest you go out and get a new belt and tensioner bearing and fit them yourself, will take you only about 20 minutes to do the whole thing including fitting the 'Penny'

there are only 2 sizes of belt, order by VIN number and you should be OK....

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Thanks Batenberg - got any step by step instructions? I have done many practical things in life from hanging doors, plumbing in new toilet, wiring, putting up shelves, tiling, wood turning, baking cakes, great curry, build websites, unblock drains, and so on - but not had a go at anything mechanical like fiddle with the car - oh I lie - learnt how to bash a starter motor on a few ford cars in my time - but then that was years ago.

Medusa - fab suggestion!!

diver - this is my problem - I am aware that I have had BS passed to me from all sides and with a £600 bill that I am reluctant to pay because essentially the job has still not been made right - I have to do SOMETHING! Getting answers like - oh they just go like that - does NOT endear me to them in the slightest. I may not be a mechanic but I am not a fool.

So - question for you all - can a wrong belt cause any damage to anything else? Can a right belt be fitted wrongly?

The bolt sheared off when I had just picked the car up again having complained about the squeal - they supposedly slapped it with some belt conditioner. The bolt went while I was going round a very large and VERY busy roundabout off the motorway. Everything went - steering and power everything. Warning lights glaring at me - whilst I struggled to get it somewhere safe to park up. Yes noise was not pretty either. Had a car load of teenagers - and ended up sitting by the side of this VERY busy road for three hours until 1.30am waiting to be rescued by RAC. Not a particularly happy evening.

Another incident that has exacerbated my frustration! This has been going on for two years now.

so are you getting the gist of my stress yet??

I stand rebuked. Sorry, but I run a workshop (boats not cars) and I get annoyed when customers are given bad advice by professionals who should know better.
Having said that, some things don't quite stack up. You mention the plastic bit between the tensioner and the belt. The tensioner on these engines is all metal. There is no plastic. Also, the comment from an RAC man re overtightening the belt. This would explain the failure of the water pump and possibly a snapped bolt on the alternator. But you can't overtighten these belts because the tensioner self adjusts. Notwithstanding what I said earlier, the RAC man would know this.
The only other possibility is that a belt has been fitted that is too short, and this would make things too tight. Again, any professional is unlikely to make a mistake like this(at least not more than once). I think the 2 sizes of belt depend on whether you have got aircon or not. The wrong one would be so obvious that it just would not fit.
Something doesn't sound right. Have you got apicture of the belt/tensioner area you could post.

I am glad that someone agrees that things don't add up.

I am very aware that the RAC man potentially had a vested interest as he was saying I needed to go to a garage in the next town. He could have just been helpful but who knows what tips and benefits he gets for introducing new customers.

I will try to do a picture tomorrow - none of it makes sense to me either but then I think what do I know? However, this can be my failing because SOME people think that they can fob me off with blinding goobledygook techno talk and get away with it.

diver - I was not rebuking you - it is the garage and the RAC guy I am frustrated with.....

ArtyLady said:

I am glad that someone agrees that things don't add up.

I am very aware that the RAC man potentially had a vested interest as he was saying I needed to go to a garage in the next town. He could have just been helpful but who knows what tips and benefits he gets for introducing new customers.

I will try to do a picture tomorrow - none of it makes sense to me either but then I think what do I know? However, this can be my failing because SOME people think that they can fob me off with blinding goobledygook techno talk and get away with it.

diver - I was not rebuking you - it is the garage and the RAC guy I am frustrated with.....

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Have you got air-con on the car. The idler pulley on the air-con belt makes one hell of a row when it's knackered.

You can put the belt on these things incorrectly, there is an obvoius way to most mechanics and there is the right way.

We had belts slipping about 8 years ago before I did all the work myself and it was due to the belt being routed the wrong way.

Google it, there is a belt routing page somewhere, print it out and go compate what they look like. If its wrong, take it back and give them the print out.

Thank you discomania - will try that.

Have you got air-con on the car. The idler pulley on the air-con belt makes one hell of a row when it's knackered.

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Nigel1943 - No air-con sadly so it isn't that.

Sorry I haven't got back with photos - suddenly got really busy with business. Will try to do it on the weekend - it will be fantastic to get some help!!

ArtyLady said:

Thank you discomania - will try that.


Nigel1943 - No air-con sadly so it isn't that.

Sorry I haven't got back with photos - suddenly got really busy with business. Will try to do it on the weekend - it will be fantastic to get some help!!

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Are you a Bailiff?

ArtyLady said:

Great replies guys - just need to decipher it all and try to work out how I can get this to work.

Heard of the penny trick before - quite happy to try that one.



Thanks Batenberg - got any step by step instructions?

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look in the common questions section of the site...

rollin danny said:

Are you a Bailiff?

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Yes - a cute pink fluffy one!