Fiat Punto Fan Belt Broke Wont Start Possible TIming Problem?

[ukplankton]

OK.

Car stopped suddenly and after bit of trying managed to get it started up again and to my home with no power streeting and the battery light on all the way.

It wouldn't start up again and the problem seemed to be flat battery (wouldn't kick over and the clock resets to zero etc). However couldnt get a jump from my mates diseal van or my portable battery pack.

My mate looked at it and the Fan belt has bust (no power to alternator means no power to steering and battery not charging etc) and my more knowledable mate has said he thinks the whole engine has frozen solid and that the cam/timing belt has shredded as a result of the cold and the fan belt going so no amount of jump/boosting will get it going and the engine will have to be stripped etc which will cost £4-500 Quid.

Now there is a little bit of ice (size of 50p) at the very top of the coolant neck, the coolant itself isnt frozen, the pipes all over are all flexible (nothing solid in them), I had head gasket replaced within last couple of years and a new bigger battery battery within a year.

So questions is do you think its as bad as my mate thinks or in theory should new fan belt and a charged up battery see me right?
The coolant in the fill bottle doesnt appear to be frozen (the little bit of ice is at top of the neck when you unscrew the cap) but inside the fill bottle its sloshing about nicely.

It is indeed the 8v 1.2 model.

 

[ChristianBoyce]

if the cambelt is ok then just charge batteru/new fanbelt.
if the cambelt has snapped however. a new head is cheapest option on the 8v.

ANY ice mooching around the cooling system can jam the waterpump and fanbelt.put in really strong if not neat antifreeze to stop this happening again.
should be ok.

 

[HairyJim]

On the Punto Fire engine, the water pump is cambelt driven. If, as you say, your coolant is frozen, then the water pump will not rotate. It will then strip teeth off the belt. If you have the 8V engine, it is a "Freewheeling" unit, and no internal damage will have happened. If the 12 or 16V engine, it's highly likely you will need to replace valves, necessitating cylinder head removal.

 

[EvelynTheModifiedDoge]

I'm inclined to think it's the cold, lots of people on here are asking similar questions right now. The ancillary drive belt (it doesn't drive the fan, so it's not really a fanbelt) should have no bearing on the cambelt. If you can get a socket onto the crank pulley nut and turn it you should be able to see from the oil filler cap if the top of the engine is connected to the bottom.

I'm guessing that your battery, like so many others, has succumbed to the cold. If you can take it out and give it a good overnight charge try it again tomorrow.