Two belts broken on pressure washer.

I have a pressure washer a 16hp Van Guard with a 200 gallon tank..
Think about a 4 or 5 gpm.. any I was doing a job yesterday a big job, huge house patio drive way gutters,,, I had been washing about 3 hrs straight.. then NO WATER I looked took off the belt cover and BOTH BELTS WERE BROKE APART.. Ok I still got about 2 hrs to go so I go get a belt and no belt at the first place,, Then to another and they had it, I bought 4 .. SO I get to looking to put on and I don't see not pulley bolt to loosen up.. Go to another shop and he shows me you got to unbolt push forward the washer pump and put on that way....

Tell me if anybody knows about washers how do you tell when you pump goes OUT? I know no pressure comes out but is there a way to tell for sure.

What made BOTH BLETS break apart? Is pump going out???
Tell me how to cipher all of this out if you will

Thank you in advance
David
Tenn

 

Old belts, worn pulleys, misaligned pulleys, wrong style belts, pump bearings going bad, pick one.
We have no model number, no pictures, no idea how old those belts where so where all going to have to make guesses.

 

There is a lot of stress on those belts. They would be considered a normally serviced part.

 

Are the two belts running between the same two pulleys (in other words, a double belt)? If so, it may be that one belt broke first and you didn't notice it until the second belt broke. When one belt of a pair breaks, the other usually goes fairly soon afterward because of the increased load.

The pumps are generally reliable as long as they are not allowed to freeze with water inside. Pump saver spray used when the pump won't be used for a while helps blow any water out and lubricates the internals. Running pump with no water flow is another common way to ruin to a pump. Pumps can fail in different ways....low pressure is common, noise coming from the pump and pulsating pressure are other common problems. Problem is, all those things can be caused by other things, like clogged inlet screens, low water flow, bad unloader valve...etc. Pump can also seize up, which will usually break or throw the belts (if belt driven). A seized pump is usually obvious...the shaft can't be turned.

If it worked again after you changed the belts, and you get good, steady high pressure without unusual noise or pulsation, your pump is probably fine.

 

Good Points I was looking for,, yea it is a double pulley, I have owned it bought used 3 years ago, been using it hard the last month. Had about 6 jobs washing houses driveways in the last 2 mos..
Im going to finish it up tomorrow and see what happens

 

I went today my engine would not crank not move,, I got to messing with it tighten every thing.. Then it started.. It ran 2 1/2 hours fine I finished the job.. Later got home tried to start I just get one click no start

 

See if you can spin the engine by hand at least 2 full revolutions...?

 

yea it is real hard has always been that way.. you can never pull crank it... it will go around twice