VW Passat TDI, PD engine. One lucky customer.

This car was brought to the workshop by the AA when it broke down with an alternator fault. On inspection it was found that the alternator had seized up and thrown its drive belt. Before fitting a replacement unit and new belt we advised the customer to have the timing belt checked while it was easy to remove the covers.
The following pictures are what we found, caused by the auxillary belt shredding.

We could not believe that the timing belt had not snapped or jumped, which would have caused major damaged to the engine.