Changed Serpentine belt and idler pulleys = PITA
#1
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Thread Starter
Changed Serpentine belt and idler pulleys = PITA
I changed my serpentine belt, tensioner, and idler pulleys today.
What a goat rope.
I had initially attempted to do this a couple of weekends ago but gave up because I couldn't get access to the pulley behind the intercooler fluid reservoir.
Let me tell you even knowing what I know now, I would take a couple of deep breaths (and shots of Bourbon )before attempting this job again. Which is funny, because I WILL be doing this again on my wife's car.
One thing to note, the Febi-Bilstein idler pulley uses a T-10 torx head bolt and not the Mercedes spec E-12 Etorx bolt.
I could find NO way to get a T-10 bit behind the intercooler reservoir, so MB spec part, or the Gates replacement part are (in my book) required for that pulley.
I put the Febi pulley on the driver's side mount without issue.
What a goat rope.
I had initially attempted to do this a couple of weekends ago but gave up because I couldn't get access to the pulley behind the intercooler fluid reservoir.
Let me tell you even knowing what I know now, I would take a couple of deep breaths (and shots of Bourbon )before attempting this job again. Which is funny, because I WILL be doing this again on my wife's car.
One thing to note, the Febi-Bilstein idler pulley uses a T-10 torx head bolt and not the Mercedes spec E-12 Etorx bolt.
I could find NO way to get a T-10 bit behind the intercooler reservoir, so MB spec part, or the Gates replacement part are (in my book) required for that pulley.
I put the Febi pulley on the driver's side mount without issue.
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Darrington (06-15-2024)
#2
Super Member
Pain
In
The
A**
??
Or bread used in middle eastern flatbread dishes?
In
The
A**
??
Or bread used in middle eastern flatbread dishes?
#4
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Join Date: Dec 2019
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PFL205.064 with M276.823 (Oil pump solenoid defeated)
I changed my serpentine belt, tensioner, and idler pulleys today.
What a goat rope.
I had initially attempted to do this a couple of weekends ago but gave up because I couldn't get access to the pulley behind the intercooler fluid reservoir.
Let me tell you even knowing what I know now, I would take a couple of deep breaths (and shots of Bourbon )before attempting this job again. Which is funny, because I WILL be doing this again on my wife's car.
One thing to note, the Febi-Bilstein idler pulley uses a T-10 torx head bolt and not the Mercedes spec E-12 Etorx bolt.
I could find NO way to get a T-10 bit behind the intercooler reservoir, so MB spec part, or the Gates replacement part are (in my book) required for that pulley.
I put the Febi pulley on the driver's side mount without issue.
What a goat rope.
I had initially attempted to do this a couple of weekends ago but gave up because I couldn't get access to the pulley behind the intercooler fluid reservoir.
Let me tell you even knowing what I know now, I would take a couple of deep breaths (and shots of Bourbon )before attempting this job again. Which is funny, because I WILL be doing this again on my wife's car.
One thing to note, the Febi-Bilstein idler pulley uses a T-10 torx head bolt and not the Mercedes spec E-12 Etorx bolt.
I could find NO way to get a T-10 bit behind the intercooler reservoir, so MB spec part, or the Gates replacement part are (in my book) required for that pulley.
I put the Febi pulley on the driver's side mount without issue.
#5
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Thread Starter
#6
Out Of Control!!
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: Yours to Discover
Posts: 13,660
Received 2,599 Likes
on
2,210 Posts
PFL205.064 with M276.823 (Oil pump solenoid defeated)
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TwoC400s (06-16-2024)
#7
I’m about the same mileage and year, guess I need to look into this…
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#8
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Darrington (06-17-2024)
#9
Cool, thanks for the advice. In terms of ordering parts, is it just the 3 parts, or other components / consumables? I’m sure there’s a YouTube video on it somewhere too!
#10
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Thread Starter
You can use the Febi/Bilstein brand idler pulley on the driver's side, but I couldn't get a normal Torx bit back to where the mount is for the passenger side. The Gates idler uses a factory style e-torx head bolt, and I used the pass through socket and ratcheting wrench on that one.
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Darrington (06-17-2024)
#11
Awesome, thanks for the info.
The belt, tensioner and TWO idler pulleys. The MB parts are kinda obscenely priced, so I went with Gates idlers, INA tensioner, and Continental belt.
You can use the Febi/Bilstein brand idler pulley on the driver's side, but I couldn't get a normal Torx bit back to where the mount is for the passenger side. The Gates idler uses a factory style e-torx head bolt, and I used the pass through socket and ratcheting wrench on that one.
You can use the Febi/Bilstein brand idler pulley on the driver's side, but I couldn't get a normal Torx bit back to where the mount is for the passenger side. The Gates idler uses a factory style e-torx head bolt, and I used the pass through socket and ratcheting wrench on that one.
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TwoC400s (06-17-2024)
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Darrington (06-18-2024)
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Darrington (08-07-2024),
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#15
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Thread Starter
I don't know how many hours this job books for, but the thought of a tech racing to beat book time with all of these hoses and connectors was enough to make me do it myself.