On the day of our big launch things came very unstuck 100km in, with an unscheduled roadside stop outside of Nebo.
Just coming into Nebo we smelt burning rubber. It wafted inside just as some cars passed in the other direction. We noticed it and commented, but when it cleared a few seconds later we assumed it was somebody else’s problem. Minutes later we stopped at Nebo Junction for a quick break and toilet before heading back off. It was just enough time for the car to heat up in the sunshine.
Shortly down the road Abby realised the air conditioner wasn’t making our lives more comfortable. A few unsuccessful button presses later and we put two and two together – that burning rubber smell might just have been us. We frantically looked for a stopping bay, finding a bay a few minutes later. We strongly suspected we’d done the A/C belt.
Christian popped the bonnet and sure enough lying right on top was a shredded section of belt. The new Isuzu MU-X has been notorious for wrecking A/C belts and we’d hoped that with 13,000km on the clock we might have avoided this fate. Losing A/C heading towards Western Queensland in winter is not the end of the world. The kids would get to experience a pre-air conditioning car ride (about ~1,300km). The car was already booked for a service in Mount Isa so they could do this at the same time.
From bad to worse
Unfortunately, things were not that simple. Further examination led to the discovery that another section of belt had jammed between the pulley and another engine component. It was stuck and in danger of hitting other critical parts. We could see black marks on the radiator fan and it hung perilously close to the main drive belt. Damage to these would be a little more serious than a few warmer than desirable driving hours.
A phone call to Mount Isa Isuzu told us everything we needed to know. The belt needed to be cleared from the pulley before the vehicle was driven further or risk big damage. Christian spent a solid 30mins trying to extract the belt to no success. But with rudimentary mechanical knowledge (could that nut be loosened?) it was time to make a call for help.
Isuzu Roadside assistance (good old RACQ) would be there soon. Soon stretched towards two and a half hours before help arrived. The poor bloke had already had a tough day and unfortunately it was about to get tougher. He reached the same conclusion – clear the belt before moving. He tried to clear it the easy way (pulling, twisting, rotating), to no avail.
All clear
The nut could be loosened, however even with his range of tools it was easier said than done. An hour, a breaker bar, two torque wrenches, a rounded nut, very polite curse words and bloody knuckles later the nut was off, pulley removed and belt freed. Christian was never doing that with his tools.
We were given the removed parts, told to keep them safe, given some notes for the service department and told we could hit the road. We left our stopping bay four hours after arriving, with 300km still to do. Good thing we installed spotlights, as it would be very dark by the time we arrived at Lake Maraboon.