In Need Of Help

[kiaowner2000]

I have a 2000 Kia Sephia and the battery light came on so my husband went and bought a new one. The next day coming from work the car stopped on him and we was told that it was the Alternator. So when we got the car home this morning my husband noticed the belt for the Alternator is gone. So we are thinking that if we just get another belt and put it on then the car would run. Whats your advice?

Another ? Is the belt easy to put on?

[denisond3]

Certainly Definitely you Must replace that belt, or have it replaced. I realize you may have already fixed it. And you should not drive the car in the meantime. That same belt that spins the alternator also spins the water pump. So without the belt - the engine will quickly overheat. As for whether it is easy or not - thats relative. Its generally a tedious process to be working in that narrow space on any car. I cant recall whether there is a tensioner for the belt, or whether the alternator has to be pivoted to provide the tension.
And you need to check to see if there is a reason the belt failed. Spin the alternator with you fingers. It should spin smoothly. If it doesnt spin nicely, or if you can feel any up-down movement of the alternator pulley at all, it could be a bad bearing. That might have caused the belt to fail. If there is a spring loaded 'tenisoner' pulley that keeps the belt snug, make sure the tensioner spring isnt broken, and that the pulley is not loose on its bearing. The same is true for the other pulleys that belt goes around; the power steering pump and the a.c. compressor.
If the alternator pivots to provide the tension, its possible the bolts that holds the alternator in place got loose, and allowed the belt to loose tension - and burn out. This could also have resulted in the battery not betting charge. (A belt that loose would still be turning the water pump though - which is good.) Make sure the alternater bracket isnt loose where it mounts to the back of the engine.
And if your Kia has 70,000 or more miles on it, it is supposed to get a new timing belt. Its always advisable to replace the tensioner/idler pulley at the same time. And since replacing the water pump requires removing the timing belt - I would advise replacing the water pump at the same time.
I mention this because you also have to remove the serpentine belt (the one that went missing) in order to get to the timing belt.