On driving the old Toyota Yaris this morning, I heard a 'belt squeal' for a couple of miles, then I heard it snap. Car seems to drive fine except I have lost power steering. Is it safe enough to drive?

If the waterpump is driven by the same aux belt on these, it won't be safe to drive any distance.  I'll try and check the exact belt run online now.

Looks like it is just one belt for alternator/AC/PAS and waterpump.  So you can probably drive it half a mile from cold, but even that is potentially risky.  Sadly it's not an easy belt to change, the engine mount needs to be removed to swap it which means supporting the engine.  Obviously the battery won't be charging if you do decide to drive it a short distance, so keep electrical consumers switched off.  

You may also find it's not just the belt at fault, with a constant squeal before it snapped that means one of the pulleys could have seized.

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

Looks like it is just one belt for alternator/AC/PAS and waterpump. 

Just saw this YouTube, he didn't remove any engine mounts but he did use a big hammer 🤣 I'm hoping my guy can do it in a similar manner to keep costs down as low as possible. I'm not having much luck with cars these days, and I'm sure it's nothing to do with one being 20 tears old and the other 24 years old LOL

 

4 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

Just saw this YouTube, he didn't remove any engine mounts but he did use a big hammer 🤣 I'm hoping my guy can do it in a similar manner to keep costs down as low as possible. I'm not having much luck with cars these days, and I'm sure it's nothing to do with one being 20 tears old and the other 24 years old LOL

That's good then.  The belt run must be slightly different to the one I saw as the belt went around the mount.  No amount of hammering would change that.

It does seem like everything happens at once, and at the worst possible time.  At least this is taking your mind off tomorrow though...

 

I second Tom's point about the Pulleys needing checked, Belts don't just squeal either something being turned by the Belt is is faulty to the point of having a high resistance or a Tensioner Pully Bearings are completely shot. 

17 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

That's good then.  The belt run must be slightly different to the one I saw as the belt went around the mount.  No amount of hammering would change that.

Both those videos show a car exactly like mine, so am unsure which method is 'right'. On further inspection, I found the broken belt, I just assumed it had fallen on road!

1 minute ago, Tizer said:

I second Tom's point about the Pulleys needing checked, Belts don't just squeal either something being turned by the Belt is is faulty to the point of having a high resistance or a Tensioner Pully Bearings are completely shot. 

Mr Google just told me on asking if a worn belt can cause a squeal,

"Yes, a worn auxiliary belt can definitely cause a squealing noise. A worn belt may lose tension and slip on the pulleys, leading to the squealing sound. Other factors like misaligned pulleys, poor quality belts, or incorrect tensioning can also contribute to the squeal"

Now on thinking, the squeal did totally disappear on accelerating, or engine under load. I have my fingers crossed the worn belt caused the noise.

1 hour ago, StephenFord said:

Mr Google just told me on asking if a worn belt can cause a squeal,

I've got to disagree with Mr Google, that kind of Belt doesn't just loose its tension for no reason.

29 minutes ago, Tizer said:

I've got to disagree with Mr Google, that kind of Belt doesn't just loose its tension for no reason.

Have a look at how worn it is, I guess after 24 years it just shrugged it's shoulders saying, 'Ive had enough...' 🤣

 

After being let down last week by a mobile mechanic, phoned another one today. Within an hour of phoning, he was at house replacing the belt. Had confidence when he asked if the car had A/C or not to make sure he brought the correct belt. Fabulous service getting someone to call out to your house , and not that expensive...

I now have 2 x working cars again.

Yet another poor mechanic who had hair before working on one of Stephens cars 🤣

Good to know the car is now fixed and his hair loss was not in vain 🎉

Most mechanics loose there hair eventually. All that head scratching at these modern cars takes its toll. Also sore throats from the sharp intake of breath before giving a price on the job😂😂😂😂