Initially, I thought it was something stuck in a tire, but then it stopped the battery, and the check engine lights came on and the steering wheel appeared to lock.
I was only about 1k away from home with only 3 more turns to make so I kept going. The first turn came up and I really needed two more arms to get around, couldn't believe how heavy it was...finally got it home, with no sign of overheating.
When I checked under the bonnet, sure enough, the big belt that drives everything was all but gone, just some bits wrapped around one of the pulleys and a big hole in one of the CV boots
I've never experienced that before and somehow thought there was some kind of mechanical backup.
Called the local garage and arranged a tow. The guys who turned up were surprised to see a V6, and said they are quite rare ....which surprised me, I thought all Mondeos were V-6s.
They mentioned that the power steering pump didn't look too happy and would be hard to find ...bloody hell.
Anyway, I asked for a high-end quote and was told about $1200 ...bloody hell again. However, turned out that the pump wasn't that bad and could be put back on ..... they couldn't find a replacement one anywhere( for the V6), and took advice from the power steering guy in town ...happy ending, total damage was $550.
I'm really glad I wasn't far away and on some winding road, it's not a really big car, but it became a really heavy car very fast. And thankfully the belt that drives the water pump at the rear of the engine.
I did a bit of research and found out that that engine is the same one they put in some Jaguars...who knew.
So remember when you check the oil and water etc ...just have a quick look at the belts.
