My Octavia ’04 2.0TDi has developed a slow diesel leak above the alternator belt, the belt has shredded and ended up as a bundle of oily rubber bands. From the belt failing I had to drive some 50 miles with the lights on so the battery did some work. At the end of the trip the engine sounded like it was running on two cylinders at tick over but rev’ed ok, guessing the volts were a bit low for the injection system. So I’ve charged the battery and the engine now ticks over ok but is it safe to drive to the dealers? Below the alternator there is a further pulley, looks like a pump of some kind, this other pump is not the power steering as that still works, I’m guessing air con.

What does the team think?

Thanks in advance.

The power steering is electric on the Octavia II, it's the air conditioning compressor as it's down the bottom in front of the block under the alternator.

The engine was most likely misbehaving due to the low voltage after the 50 mile drive.

As long as your dealer is pretty close you should be OK provided you keep the electrical load to a bare minimum, watch your electric power steering as it will not like the lack of power for obvious reasons. If you aren't 100% confident driving it to the dealers it might be wise to call the RAC/AA/Whoever to transport it there. Personally I would just drive there

Make sure the diesel hasn't got to the cam belt as well, it's covered so it probably hasn't but it's worth checking.

And welcome to Briskoda, stick around once your car is fixed