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I was wondering, does anyone think that there is a time (not just mileage) component to replacing these parts? Say, every 10 years on a low mileage vehicle?
I was wondering, does anyone think that there is a time (not just mileage) component to replacing these parts? Say, every 10 years on a low mileage vehicle?
I do not consider bearings as aging parts, they wear but do not age; however, the belt ages and I would consider a visual inspection. You can try with a mirror if difficult to see in the engine bay, or just take it out check and install again if it is fine. If you have the socket and the bar, it should be in and out in 20min
I grew up with my personal cars are mainly using timing belt.
Addiction to redline RPM have made me very cautious on belt life, more so timing belt which in an interference engine can total loss my engine
if it ever failed.
To me serpentine belt is a 5 years max use, mileage is always low for my use profile, under 25K KM when I replaced mine. The bearing + tensioner I did not replace....yet. The more aggressive you drive lots of WOT , with lots of sudden kick down, the shorter the belt life would be.
As for me, operating engine hours is another factor. Engine heat aged those belt too.
Since my car average speed before covid days is only 20-21 KM/H due to city massive traffic jam, 25,000 KM is already a 1,250 hours running.
In a typical generator say a USA 60 HZ version running 1,800 RPM constant, a serpentine belt typically would be replaced by 1,000 - 1,500 hours as per book.
My belt still looks good when replaced, but its actual remaining strength would probably be much reduced.
The most critical device that serpentine belt serves is the cooling water pump.
In a worst case scenario, say a hard use in a mountain drive , loss of water pump function will create engine overheating.
2 mishaps will destroy engine fast : loss of lubrication and overheating.
I was wondering, does anyone think that there is a time (not just mileage) component to replacing these parts? Say, every 10 years on a low mileage vehicle?
Few years back I bought W124, who at 25 years of age and 270k miles had a belt who look like original. It had lot of cracks, but still working just fine.
I bought new belt at indy supplier and that one disintegrated after 10 miles of driving. Good thing I kept the old one, who went back till I bought another belt from a dealer.
Belts are relatively easy to inspect. If you see loose strings coming out, you better get a new one right away. Aging belt will show cracks on inner ribs. It still might work for long time with them, but that would be good time to buy new one and do it at convenient time.
What keeps the long belt from slipping over accessories is the tension force kept by an automatic belt tensioner.
The tensioner spring is built in such a way that it carves an internal pigeonhole by doing its job. By the time the old belt begins to seriously stretch, the tensioner is virtually unabled to match any length change. So things gently gets worse courtesy of the tensioner's wear.
The more slipping is done by the serpentine, the more it stretches, the more it heats up and the longer it becomes... vicious cycle of destruction.
When the idler bearings begin to wobble the accessories are left alone to guide the belt by themselves. To preserve your precious accessories, you want replace the roller guides.
This simple maintenance can be done conveniently all in one step as soon as the belt wobbling begins to establish itself.
The maintenance for this system is a kit (tensioner, belt, idlers) at once.
Total cost around $100 excluding labor.
..
Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; 11-15-2021 at 11:48 AM.
I was wondering, does anyone think that there is a time (not just mileage) component to replacing these parts? Say, every 10 years on a low mileage vehicle?
Yes. Anything rubber has a finite life. 7 years for a low mileage vehicle is when I would replace a belt. Same for upper and lower radiator hoses and heater hoses if you plan to own the vehicle for a long time.
I plan to replace the belt in my W166 at 100k miles/5 years.
Good luck with the squeak. I've replaced the belt and pulleys twice now and it seems like it gets worse each time. I can't disparage INA enough, they can't build a quiet pulley to save their lives.
Yes. Anything rubber has a finite life. 7 years for a low mileage vehicle is when I would replace a belt. Same for upper and lower radiator hoses and heater hoses if you plan to own the vehicle for a long time.
I plan to replace the belt in my W166 at 100k miles/5 years.
Again ,inspect, inspect, inspect.
The belt in my W212 is 8 years old with >140k miles. I just check it during oil change and it is good for at least another year.
Again ,inspect, inspect, inspect.
The belt in my W212 is 8 years old with >140k miles. I just check it during oil change and it is good for at least another year.
But.... would I go on long vacations, I would carry new one and necessary tools with me.
100k on both our W212s... the upper idler was smoked, sounded like a skateboard. The rest, was in okay shape. For $150 or so you can replace it all with OEM INA/GATES components and not worry for another 100k. That's my vote.
Hello,
While I was working on the pulley replacement, I got a trouble as I completely broke a hook which holds upper radiator extension hose from the coolant reservoir...
Could you let me know the part number of the plastic part?... I marked it with black line. (I found this picture through googling.. but couldn't know the name and number of this part..)
Aaron you're about to spend way too much money, go with the OE manufacturer, but not the dealer brand.
2 INA pulleys
FEBI tensioner
Contitech belt
$136 and parts warranty on everything
Originally Posted by atraudes
Good luck with the squeak. I've replaced the belt and pulleys twice now and it seems like it gets worse each time. I can't disparage INA enough, they can't build a quiet pulley to save their lives.
No kidding, I replace pulleys every two years, the tensioner holds up but customers are coming back with 3 year old pulleys howling on these and the AMG's
When MB is not manufacturing belts, not manufacturing tires and not manufacturing fluids, it test those things and make recommendations.
Whenever you buy something, always check for warranty. US MB dealers give 2 years warranty on all parts, although belts might be exempt.
And there is no reason to bash Chinese. I have Chinese big tool set, that I bought in Poland 40 years ago. It beats Craftsman hands down and I would compare it to SnapOn.
The difference is that Polish suppliers were ordering quality stuff from China, when US suppliers had 3 criteria.
1 cheap
2 cheap
3 cheap.
When MB is not manufacturing belts, not manufacturing tires and not manufacturing fluids, it test those things and make recommendations.
Whenever you buy something, always check for warranty. US MB dealers give 2 years warranty on all parts, although belts might be exempt.
And there is no reason to bash Chinese. I have Chinese big tool set, that I bought in Poland 40 years ago. It beats Craftsman hands down and I would compare it to SnapOn.
The difference is that Polish suppliers were ordering quality stuff from China, when US suppliers had 3 criteria.
1 cheap
2 cheap
3 cheap.
Snap-On has never confirmed they were made in the US, either. You're paying for the tool truck ecosystem.
I prefer my Sonic, Wright, and SK tools to Snap-On. Snap-On electric tools have been *** in our usage as well, Milwaukee has been a godsend and much better for our hearing.
The INA pulleys are awful on these cars but I suspect the belt has a lot more tension than their counterparts. Ferrari/Lambo use INA as well and MB is particularly picky about its manufacturers they work with.
Ferrari/Lambo use INA as well and MB is particularly picky about its manufacturers they work with.
I personally do not look at Italian car manufacturers for quality, or seal of approval on their selection of suppliers regardless of where the parts are made.
After experiencing, myself and close friends, the pain of maintaining FIAT, AlfaRomeo, Maserati, and how frequently a Ferrari goes to the shop for maintenance I do not spend too much time evaluating nor getting informed about those brands. If I see them on the streets or at malls, take a look, notice how beautiful they may be and that is the end of it.
I drove Fiat 125 in Poland commercially
For each 2 days of driving I spend 1 day repairing.
But my tenant in California had 1980's Corvette and he had the same statistics.
As for tools choice, I did work with heavy machinery and when it comes to heavy tools, Proto and Rigid don't have much competition.
I have Proto 12" "crescent" wrench. Not only it opens at least 1 size wider than competition, but on 1 foot long wrench I was adding 3 foot cheater pipe and was pushing it with my legs. The wrench never failed.
Same with Proto extended 1/2" ratchet, that I used to break lugs on 20-tons bulldozer.
I did replace my 350/M276 belt at 35900 miles/~9 years, and the belt grooves were very "dry" but not cracked yet, I could probably have gotten a few more years out of it. I'm glad that I did the swap (in the SUMMER), it wasn't expensive and fairly easy (draw a diagram FIRST). The only minor trouble that I had was self-inflicted, I thought that I would use a breaker bar for leverage instead of a ratchet (to compensate for my being older and from me working in offices for 45+ years). When the belt tensioner has no belt, it wants to swing pretty far to the right, and with no ratchet and a long handle, this was a problem as to how to get it "off" the tensioner nut because I ran out of room for the breaker bar handle. So I did a naughty thing and used a ratcheting 1/2 torque wrench set to 100 ft-lbs (not to torque anything, but for the ratcheting action). This is an easy job for any shade-tree mechanic, just don't get "pinched" and ensure that the belt is squarely on the idlers before starting the engine. In order to see this, it is absolutely worth taking off the top plastic piece first as seen in YouTube videos.
Neoprene belts (belts that crack with age) were phased out in the late 90s, Today, most if not all belts are made with EPDM. This material seldom shows age but high points on these belts will disappear with miles driven. An inexpensive gauge is available to measure this wear.
After 80-100K miles the drive belt & pulleys may still look new. At that mileage, one or more pulley bearings will have a loose wobble and the belt ridges are probably more than half gone. The water pump shaft in not far behind.
11-09-2021, 09:46 PM
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However, the minister of the internal affair of our household (a.k.a wife) orders me to use the dealer brand... :P
I am sure she does not like Prada, Channel or LV knock off either.
