Hi all,

Trying to remove the fan and cowling on my 200tdi defender, so I can fix whatever it is about the alternator that is rattling (think the pulley is loose, or possibly alternator is vibrating on it's mounts). My feeling is that a trip to mm4x4 might be in order for a new alt first thing tomorrow).

Anyway while trying to solve the conundrum of removing the fan cowl without the removing the fan first I spotted that the alternator belt was very soft and missing alot of teeth. I had to tighten the belt a week ago, and it's come loose again aswel.

When I bought the landy the previous owner left a belt under the drivers seat which is part number 563132, a quick google of it tells me it's a series 3 belt

I don't think it will be any good for the defender 'cos its not a toothed belt, it's just a plain smooth one.

Any thoughts?

Looking at Craddocks it says it's for Series vehicles and n/a and petrol defenders, but then this ETC7939 - Alternator/Fan Belt 2.5D NA.2.5TD 200TDI 2.5 Petrol Defender 90/110 is the one for 200tdis and is toothed? Also says it fits 19j engines and 2.5 n/a engines

Yeh it's a bit confusing.

I fitted it in the end and it seems to be okay, but will give it a longish run tomorrow. I plan to buy and fit the proper belts tomorrow anyway (may as well change both belts at the same time).

Can't believe how much easier everything is with the fan and cowling removed, but the long run tomorrow will also be a test to see if it makes any difference to the cooling. The engine normally runs very cool, and I've replaced the thermostat tonight as well, but when I tested the old one, it appeared to be working fine. A cheap and easy job for peace of mind anyway, and if she runs okay with no fan and cowl then I'll look at taking apart and cleaning the heater matrix next.