serpentine belt snapped while driving
#1
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serpentine belt snapped while driving
while driving today all of a sudden my power steering was gone... first time i felt how heavy this car was... luckily i was coming up to a gas station and pulled in... my dash showed a red battery symbol which i've seen before but that was due to a bad battery which i replaced... after some google research, it seemed like the belt... and sure enough, i opened up the hood and the belt was broken... so i'm wondering, do i need to get my car towed in order to have this replaced? or can i safely drive my car a certain distance another day and get this belt replaced? i went ahead and drove the less than a mile i needed to get my car home... also, while this is being replaced, is there anything else that should be inspected or replaced? i'm at about 96k miles...
i've got a battery tender at home so i can keep the battery fully charged before driving to a shop...
i've got a battery tender at home so i can keep the battery fully charged before driving to a shop...
#2
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Belt runs the water pump so no don't drive it and risk overheating. Usually it's a pulley that failed and causes the belt to come off, so the shop doing the repairs will have to inspect everything and see what the actual source of failure was. It's possible you had something like an a/c compressor seize and snap the belt, a good inspection will tell you what you need.
#3
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There is a serpentine belt service kit. It replaces the tensioner and the idler pulleys. I elected to swap to Weistec pulleys at the same time.
#5
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Belt runs the water pump so no don't drive it and risk overheating. Usually it's a pulley that failed and causes the belt to come off, so the shop doing the repairs will have to inspect everything and see what the actual source of failure was. It's possible you had something like an a/c compressor seize and snap the belt, a good inspection will tell you what you need.
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/mercedes-drive-belt-kit-m156-genuine-mercedes-m156beltkit
What are the benefits of the weistec kit?
#6
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Weistec pulleys are billet aluminum with serviceable bearings instead of plastic pulleys that have been known to fail.
#7
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2012 P31 C63 Coupe Trackrat, 2019 GLE63S Coupe Beast
A little OT, but did you guys replace the tensioner when you did the Weistec pulleys? I thought I might as well while it's all apart.
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#8
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If I just wanted to fix my issue with OEM parts, does the kit pretty much cover it all? Or am I getting too many extra parts that may still be working just fine.
I guess I need a diagnosis to check the current pulleys and other belts and see if I should replace some other parts anyway or just the serpentine belt.
I guess I need a diagnosis to check the current pulleys and other belts and see if I should replace some other parts anyway or just the serpentine belt.
#9
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C63 AMG, P30
Mine snapped while driving on the highway... Talk about sketchy. Luckily I felt the steering get hard pretty quickly and smelled burning rubber and was able to pull off the road. Pulley seized and sheered off.
Just had to towed to my house and replaced the pulley. Voila -- was back in action.
Like others have said, do not drive it.
Just had to towed to my house and replaced the pulley. Voila -- was back in action.
Like others have said, do not drive it.
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Elewisamg63 (01-05-2023)
#13
Former Vendor of MBWorld
If I just wanted to fix my issue with OEM parts, does the kit pretty much cover it all? Or am I getting too many extra parts that may still be working just fine.
I guess I need a diagnosis to check the current pulleys and other belts and see if I should replace some other parts anyway or just the serpentine belt.
I guess I need a diagnosis to check the current pulleys and other belts and see if I should replace some other parts anyway or just the serpentine belt.
https://www.fcpeuro.com/blog/posts/m...rvice-tips-diy
--Kyle
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bluejae (04-20-2017)
#15
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Swiped from: https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w...t-numbers.html
- Idler Pulley at Water Pump, Grooved - MFG # 1562020619
- Idler Pulley at Water Pump, Smooth - MFG # 1562020819
- Idler Pulley at Timing Case - MFG # 1562020919
- Alternator Pulley
- Water Pump Pulley
- Crankshaft Pulley / Shock Absorber
- Idler Pulley - See Post #9 Below
- Belt Tensioner Pulley / Assembly
- AC Compressor / Pump Pulley
- Power Steering Pulley / Pump
#16
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C63 AMG, P30
Easy enough one to check quickly.
Swiped from: https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w...t-numbers.html
Swiped from: https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w...t-numbers.html
- Idler Pulley at Water Pump, Grooved - MFG # 1562020619
- Idler Pulley at Water Pump, Smooth - MFG # 1562020819
- Idler Pulley at Timing Case - MFG # 1562020919
- Alternator Pulley
- Water Pump Pulley
- Crankshaft Pulley / Shock Absorber
- Idler Pulley - See Post #9 Below
- Belt Tensioner Pulley / Assembly
- AC Compressor / Pump Pulley
- Power Steering Pulley / Pump
It started making the noise the day prior and ironically, I was driving to the dealership to pick up the new part.
#18
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My car is currently at the dealer because my belt is getting there. The car started making a squealing noise at idle that goes up with higher rpm but covered by the exhaust sound. I popped he hood and looked, the belt started to get shattered. The adviser said it's a possibility the tensioner pulley went off. But they'll check and let me know. Is it worth it replacing the idler pulleys with Weistec at this point?
Do idler pulley normally fail in our car? Anyone noticed the diff when installing the Weistec pulleys and if they're quieter at idle?
Do idler pulley normally fail in our car? Anyone noticed the diff when installing the Weistec pulleys and if they're quieter at idle?
#19
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i'm almost at 100k miles. i got this kit and had all of it replaced just to be safe
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/mer...es-m156beltkit
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/mer...es-m156beltkit
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FCPEuro (07-05-2017)
#20
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Man, if it is the original run do not walk and change it. As to the pulleys when I change mine which I will likely do next year based on age vs distance I will get rid of any idler running in a plastic bearing and replace it with one with a real bearing. My thought is I will hear a mechanical bearing failing before it fails whereas a plastic one will dump the pulley and the belt as first warning.
I see no benefit to changing a pully on a pump, compressor, crank or alternator if there are no signs of wear.
I see no benefit to changing a pully on a pump, compressor, crank or alternator if there are no signs of wear.
#21
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Man, if it is the original run do not walk and change it. As to the pulleys when I change mine which I will likely do next year based on age vs distance I will get rid of any idler running in a plastic bearing and replace it with one with a real bearing. My thought is I will hear a mechanical bearing failing before it fails whereas a plastic one will dump the pulley and the belt as first warning.
I see no benefit to changing a pully on a pump, compressor, crank or alternator if there are no signs of wear.
I see no benefit to changing a pully on a pump, compressor, crank or alternator if there are no signs of wear.
#22
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I get that but I am sure you have seen as I have good looking belts breaking when least expected.
They stretch and rubber oxidizes and weaken over time. I have seen the stretch eat up all the capacity of the tensioner to keep the belt tight on my old W124 DOHC I6 and then it will pop off at the most inopportune time.
As you saw it's just good PM in an an older car in my view.
#25
Former Vendor of MBWorld
--Kyle