Spunagain's ZT260 pages are under construction.

  Alternator Belt Failure

There are 2 issues I am aware of with the alternator belt.

1) Towards the end of my first 6000 I was checking the oil and noticed that the belt was beginning to shred! It looks at first take as though the rimmed pulley has stripped about 20% of the width of the belt along its entire length and the remains had vanished! I am at least happy that we caught this in time and no significant damage was done.

I am not the only one to see this and I now keep a spare belt in the boot (part number PQS000300) and a 10mm spanner to remove the tensioner, SMC in Slough got it for me in 24 hours although some people have had problems getting parts. I suggest you keep an eye on your ZT260 alternator belt and keep a spare.

 If you belt has shredded check all of the pulley's for swarf or damaged ribs, which may have been the cause.

To change the pulley remove the tensioner just below the alternator - one 10 mm bolt and loosen all of the 10mm bolts holding the alternator on.  Re fit the belt (make a sketch now of which way it meanders round the pulleys and stuff it in your glovebox!) and refit the tensioner and then tighten up the alternator.  It is a bit of a fiddle but takes about 5-10 mintes.

I suspect this is not a one off as I have read of at least 2 others with the same problem and these things can have a nasty habit of being more deep seated and/or commonplace given that the engine units are supposed to be run in on the bench prior to installation these days. At least the it (it also drives the aircon compressor, power steering etc) is very accessible for the mechanics given the space between the front of the engine and the rear of the radiator.

 It has been suggested problem may be due to the tensioner does not respond fast enough to fast tension changes caused by rapid changes of engine speed or switching on the air con, which causes the belt to jump.  Maybe a possible solution is to change the pulley lips size or get a stronger tensioner.  This is an open subject so tell me if you know more!

A possible sign of failure are witness marks on the front of the engine block bhind the belt where the movement of the belt has allowed it to rub on the block. This is my car - note the witness marks (arrowed)

 
2) The air conditioning compressor has been known to fail.  One solution is to replace it and the good news is that the valve is accessible, but the bad news is the cost and avaiability. RHD cars usepart no. JGE 000020 priced at £266.10 plus vat and LHD cars use JGE 000040 priced at £256.43 plus vat.

As it can take a while to get parts and one owner (reverie158) has got a third party to replace just the bearing which failed, the dealer which did this for him and should know more is  WH Brand

The compressor can fail quite dramatically with visible smoke and sparks so you shouldn’t miss it if you get this problem!