Abrown3mtg

My car just hit the 45k mile mark. I've been neglecting an off and on stuck open thermostat. I'm tackling it this week. As it appears the belt needs to come off, anybother suggestions of items to check/replace? I've gotten an intermittent belt squeak on cold start and already have a new serpentine sitting in the trunk. I'd planned to do it last week until I realized how tight things are in there and decided to hold off until the back ordered thermostat showed.

Side note, with the car on a lift, do you find it worthwhile to remove the fan shroud or is there adequate room? Between my girlfriend's a6. My car, and work, I feel like I lack any other life (aside from an occasional Saturday hangover).

KEY08

Yes, check all of your pulleys for wear and replace as necessary. At that mileage they may be suspect. Good luck in there!

fosterelli

Pulleys suspect at only 45K miles?

sprfrkr

Just spin the tensioner pulley to see if it is smooth or not. Replace as needed. Might as well do the belt if it has not been done in a recent dealer service.

belarus27

is it possible to change the belt without a lift?
i was thinking about trying it , but been busy with other things for now , so maybe sometime soon.

KEY08

Yes, that's what I said. Your hearing is very good. Plastic breaks down, and yes there is plastic in there. What else would you like to know?
Why is the thermostat failing after only 45K miles as well?

cetialpha5

That's pretty low mileage. On my M272, I got a kit from Rockauto that had the tensioner, idler pulleys and the belt for a little over $100. I think they have a kit for your car too depending on the date of manufacture, about $122. I think buying them separately would have been a bit more. If you search the threads, it's one of those things that tend to go on MB, I think in one of my other cars, I hit 200k without having to change any of those parts. The kit is a continental which bought out Goodyear so it should be a decent belt. Belts seem to be much better these days, should last 100k+, if it's making noise, it's probably some misalignment and a part needs changing.

belarus27

good to know that there are kits like this , but can it be bought at any autoparts store you think? we dont have Rockauto store here in CA , unless its an online store.
and unless its not making any noises (mine has a lil noise on a cold start up for a min and then disappears until cold again) you would recommend to replace any of those? 93k miles

cetialpha5

Rockauto.com is an online store. If you go to retailmenot.com, they also usually lists a 5% discount code, it can make up for the shipping that they charge. If you were changing the thermostat, you mind as well change them all as I think you have to take off a pulley anyway to get to the thermostat and also the belt. The other pulley and tensioner don't take that long. You could also try and figure out which one is making the noise, but I think if you just replace one, it's only a matter of time before the other one goes so you mind as well do them all at once. I think if you just buy the parts individually, it's in the $180-$200 range so the kit does offer some savings if it fits your car. It was easy on the V6, not sure how much room you have on the V8 or if it's all the same.

fosterelli

Having a bad day keyboard slayer?

Thermostats are much more common to change out than pulleys. No manufacturer recommends 45K change outs on pulleys. You're just throwing time & money away unless you have an identified pulley problem, but to each their own. If I had to remove one, I'd replace it. That goes for tensioners too, easy enough. But for those not touched in the given task, I wouldn't replace them at 45K or even 70K.

I haven't had a pulley fail in at least 20 years over dozens of vehicles over many brands. Guess I'm lucky, or the 2010s have crappy pulleys? I have 70K miles on my 2014 E350 and mine are just fine. We average 90K miles driven annually between our cars. Then again we don't have old cars, once they're over 5 years old we move into something new...except the beloved Cobra.

cetialpha5

Yeah, 45k is low mileage for the pulley to go. But if you're taking one off, you mind as well just replace it while you're there. Every car line tends to have their own little quirks. For some reason, MB ones don't seem to last as long as other brands. There's many threads of them going bad. I think you just have to take off one pulley so you could just replace a single one. But he has a squeal and that's usually a misalignment of the pulley or something is wrong with his system so he mind as well replace them all, the diagnostic time will cost as much as the parts.

belarus27

does anybody know if it can be done in home garage or needs to be taken to a shop with a lift? how hard is the process??

Abrown3mtg

I would suggest ramps at minimum to access and drain the radiator. I know getting the belt back on the lower pulleys will be far easier from the bottom as well. I'm sure a lift will make this FAR easier without removing the shroud, which I have yet to have done myself. I will report back once it is all completed (I'm going to cheat with a lift but will see how access goes without it.

belarus27

take some pics , and also thanks for your help.
btw did you fix that issues with turning permanently?

Abrown3mtg

I spliced the wire that looked iffy at the YAW rate sensor. The problem seems to have gone away and it has only happened maybe 1 time since. I believe there is still something going on in the CAN network as a headlight went out for a moment. I jostled the harness and while that did nothing while the lamp was out, it hasn't occurred again either.

I took a quick breather on my car due to needing to knock out a few tasks on my girlfriends Audi (abs module repair, vacuum leak i'm still looking for, and adaptive headlight wire I believe has a short in it so one side doesn't turn to the right).

I'll be back on mine soon. I have the parts all pulled up on my buddies shop account right now and just sorting through what all I will use OEM vs aftermarket on. Also debating if I'm going to do the rear struts now or wait and see if they are actually problematic again this winter.

belarus27

Damn man , u got hella sh**t going on.... i hope u will take of all that.
And yes... take pics g.

And rear struts or springs?

Abrown3mtg

HAHAHAHA, I wouldn't say that at all. I have one small issue that I haven't pin pointed yet but currently isn't a headache . I WILL find it. It will be a chaffed wire or faulty module. I just wish everything wasn't QUITE so tied together.

Considering I got the car 18 months ago with 20k miles on it, I really have only done 4 oil changes in 26k miles (other than upgrades/mods)... The rest of the little issues have just temporarily gone away on their own.

Rear Air Spring. I have the first gen ones that had a TSB. They only acted up in super cold weather last year occasionally and would sag. I'm going to replace the silica in the compressor and ensure moisture/freezing valve block wasn't the issue first.

The rest of it is just maintenance I need to do. Car is a 2010.... Regardless of mileage, rubber/parts need attention and if thermostats unfortunately fail (mine only acts up when it gets cold). I may as well just do everything at once. I'll spend about 103.00 in parts/fluids for my tranny, 160 for the pulleys and belt, and 80 for the thermostat, another hundred or so for brake pads. (I'll just machine the rotors with a few quick passes for good measure while I am knocking out other tasks). I'm one for solid planning and knowing that a.) I'll have everything there I need in advance, and b.) How to do what I'm doing.

Lessons learned after multiple project vehicles .

After that, I cross my fingers the electrical non-sense is resolved, or focus on the harness area near the front headlight..... I figure I can do that easily on the way to the tint shop .

belarus27

I meant like your whip needs attention and your gf's audi , and all these plans you have for yours.. thats what i meant.

Yeah never noticed my car was sitting low until the temperature went down below 60 here in cali , everything was good but once that happened i noticed it right away and that was bothering me , so i just bought an arnott spring n replaced it. Will see tomorrow morning how it is , before work.

Lucky you that you have a lift available , my friend got a shop but no lift there since hes only sking parts otherwise id have way more diy and experiments , but good for you... also to have the Star computer.. you pretty much can do anything.
Keep us posted with your work n take pics... that would help a lot.

Abrown3mtg

Touche'

I couldn't agree more with being lucky. As for the GF's car, I knew the ABS module needed to be rebuilt but just neglected doing so as it wasn't a big deal in the summer aside from an annoying beep. Winter prep has me scrambling .

markgm

Changing the thermostat is pretty easy. You don't need a lift, you can do it all from the top of the engine. On the V8 it's a little tight; I'd imagine it's even easier on the V6. I probably lost a cup of coolant when changing mine (went at around 85k miles).

cetialpha5

There are youtube videos on how to do it on the V6, not sure about the V8. I did it when it was hot so the radiator was drained, but not flushed, lost a little over a gallon of coolant on the V6.

belarus27

Youtube videos is the way to go jsut to have an idea then?
..or i could wait on some pics from Abrown3mtg lol
its alwasys good to know in advance

belarus27

you changed it on your 550?
what tools did you need , or any tips or tricks on it? would be nice , and thank you.

Abrown3mtg

I just did the Thermostat this afternoon (from the top). Belt was good and pulleys felt smooth. All the lifts were taken so we did it "pro mechanic" style.... Didn't drain the radiator.... took 15 minutes, released the tension from the belt, removed the pulley that blocks the lower bolt, pulled the thermostat, replaced, put the air intakes back on and buttoned it up. Rinsed the spilt coolant off the front of the engine, topped her off, brought it up to temp and cleared the codes. Good to go! It's really tight to work in that space but a lot less problematic than I had presumed.

I'll replace the pulleys and belt at a later time from the bottom once it's actually needed.

markgm

Yeah, I had to change mine on my 550 maybe 2 years ago. Abrown3mtg pretty much explained it, the only tools I remember were a socket set (for the thermostat bolts) and a breaker bar (for the idler pulley). I can't find it at the moment, but I believe I followed a YouTube video. When I removed the radiator hose I remembered thinking I'd lose a ton of coolant, but only lost a cup or two. The biggest pain is doing a lot of the work blind.