Aftermarket Tensioners + Idler Pulleys

I have always had great luck with aftermarket replacements for the idler pulleys and tensioners but I see that many advise against this with the sprinter. Is there a reason for this? Is the sprinter generally harder on these items than other vehicles? Or are the aftermarket ones (Gates, Continental) just poor quality for the sprinter? Insight is much appreciated.

I have a contenenral idle pulley in my van ( above the alternator on passenger side) going on 3 years and no problem !
A friend of mine owns an 05 sprinter with an AC Delco Tensioner going on 5 years and many thousands of Ks with no issues .
When my own tensioner was almost ready to fail I replaced it with oem because that was the only one available at the time .

Avoid non oem or littens tensioner. Otherwise aftermarket pulleys are fine.

Yeah, I only sell and install the litens tensioner. I've seen too many premature failures from other brands. At this point, there aren't too many original, factory installed tensioners out there on Sprinters. They should have been replaced at 120k miles with the rest of the cooling system maintenance.

You may have already seen this thread about aftermarket tensioners but in case you haven't. https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18310
There is at least one more good thread about comparing aftermarket tensioners vs OEM but I couldn't find it right now.
Check you alternator pulley/clutch as well.

Midwestdrifter said:

Avoid non oem or littens tensioner. Otherwise aftermarket pulleys are fine.

Click to expand...

I am confused by your statement as the OEM one that lasted me 100.000 Kms had the word “ Litens” on it besides the OEM Benz number of A646 200 0570 . Bought an AC Delco brand aka Gates 38415 and it also has the word “ Litens” and “ Made in Germany” on it !
The one in there started making squeaking noise so I changed it preemptively before it completely fails.
Called Chrysler and they no longer stock it and Benz said it’s a special order from Germany that would take up to 2 weeks to get .
I bought this as a back up till I get an OEM one but looking at both they seem to be identical except the Benz number .
I know the picture of the old one is dark but it’s actually mostly age related . October 2014 till March 2021 and some 100,000 kms later .

It is quite possible that an aftermarket part could be the same as a dealership part. Most aftermarket parts are not made by the brand name on the box. The parts are ordered from other businesses that do make them.


Some pics and discussion about failures can be found here.


vic

Midwest drifter said :
“ Avoid non OEM or Litens tensioner “ to me that sounds like “ Avoid Litens”
That’s what I meant by being confused.
But I think ? he meant “ Avoid non OEM or buy Litens “ !!!
100K on an OEM Tensioner is satisfactory to me anyway so there’s no complaint there . Perhaps it lasts longer perhaps it doesn’t but it is a wearable item just like many other parts .
I am glad I caught the noise and changed the part before it happened while out there somewhere .

Yes, it was poorly worded. Litens are good.

I got Litens from ID Parts.


bill in tomahawk