$1000 Serpentine Belt

68protour

07 D 144 high rebadged MB
I have a 2007 144 with 65K miles on it and just spent close to $1000 after Serpentine Belt failed. The belt came apart and one or two of the cords jammed between the two pulleys on Harmonic balancer (look at your pulley there is a 1/8" gap between) and moved inside pulley and balancer toward engine. This resulted in the rubber that is part of Harmonic Balancer tearing apart.
New Harmonic Balancer plus seal plus install plus towing just under a $1000.
Yes I knew belt was getting old so I'm kicking myself pretty hard about not replacing it sooner....Hope this helps others learn from my mistake.
 

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Trayscott

Member
That's not many miles but obviously rubber ages, used or not. They make it so easy to replace too ..sarcasm. Clutch fan has to be removed. Stretch belt for the clutch fan comes off while cranking over the engine with the 27 mm socket and breaker bar you have laying around then you can finally get to the serpentine. Did they replace any idler pulleys or the tensioner or the clutch fan mount? Not many miles but the shaft and bearing for the clutch fan is significantly larger and although mine went 252000 on my 08, the bearings were very rough and fortunately didn't fail while in the middle of nowhere! Thanks for the info
 

68protour

07 D 144 high rebadged MB
Belt Tensioner, Idle pulleys and fan are fine but I'm thinking of replacing them all BEFORE they go bad and just keeping the old ones a spares encase I break down along the road some day.
 

220629

Well-known member
Belt Tensioner, Idle pulleys and fan are fine but I'm thinking of replacing them all BEFORE they go bad and just keeping the old ones a spares encase I break down along the road some day.
I carry more spare parts than I should. There is real value in that though. One of the problems with Sprinter repairs is parts sourcing. In most cases if you have the parts any good mechanic can install them for you. I believe that is especially true for the T1N models.

Many of my spares are parts which were removed prior to complete failure or as PM replacements.

vic
 

lindenengineering

Well-known member
Sadly a good expensive lesson!
Industry recommends replacement of accessory belts and tensioner/guide pulleys at 100,000 miles.

Sprinter service for the 906 states check belts etc at 40,000 and onward intervals.
This can be expensive and we have seen much worse when it all lets go!
Dennis
 

tinman

Well-known member
I have a 2007 144 with 65K miles on it...
Yes I knew belt was getting old so I'm kicking myself pretty hard about not replacing it sooner....Hope this helps others learn from my mistake.
Did your belt look at all rough or ragged before it failed? I've got about the same mileage on mine, but it's a year or two older. I do carry a spare, and the pulleys and tensioner, so maybe it's false economy to wait for the 100k on a low-utilization vehicle.
 

68protour

07 D 144 high rebadged MB
I carry more spare parts than I should. There is real value in that though. One of the problems with Sprinter repairs is parts sourcing. In most cases if you have the parts any good mechanic can install them for you. I believe that is especially true for the T1N models.

Many of my spares are parts which were removed prior to complete failure or as PM replacements.

vic
I'm making up a list right now of rad hoses/ belts etc. to replace now and keep old ones as spares.
 

richard cabesa

Active member
This is the kind of stuff that I inspect and discuss with my mechanic at every service. $178 for belt, idler, tensioner and an hour labor is so cheap compared to a tow and getting bent over with someone you don't know. Not to mention a ruined road trip sitting on the side of the road waiting for the tow, maybe paying for some crappy motel, and eating at Denny's because it's the only thing around while waiting for parts.

Pay now or pay more later

It's called PREVENTITIVE maintenance. Heck, I've even changed tires that have miles left on them just so I don't have to deal with it on a trip
 

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