InnoVAN
New member
My sprinter, which I've had for 125,000 of its 250,000 miles has now chewed up 5 serpentine belts.
I have really not been driving her much lately, as my Saab wagon has been doing a great job of saving me dollars and hassles... But I was going kayaking this weekend, and 2 kayaks can fit IN the Sprinter... Guess I'll invest in a kayak rack for the Saab after this trip...
I hadn't driven it in about a month... had to recharge the battery to get started, left it running for about 10 minutes while I got organized. Drove to the take out spot on the river, then drove to the put in about 14 miles away... Parked. No issues.
After kayaking, drove the other vehicle up to the put in, then switched vehicles, drove back to take out, got the kayaks, and my girlfriend and drove back to pick up her vehicle at the put in... it's crazy all the shuffling for 7 miles downriver...
On the way back home I heard a weird hiss... gravelly sound from the engine and the battery light was on. I could tell it was the Serpentine. Heard that before... Got to my exit (about 1.5 miles from recognizing the problem, and pulled into a shopping center... no Power steering... yeesh.
Girlfriend behind, we made the last 2.5 miles to my house, keeping an eye on the temps, which got about half a bar from the red zone. in the driveway, yay.
Serpentine was gone. Not a strand left except for a couple bits stuck in the suspension/frame.
Last one was about a year ago... Leaky low pressure fuel line sprayed diesel on it on 100+ degree day and it just sorta disintegrated. I also replaced the accessory belt for the rear AC at this point.
Before that, Dr. A replaced it a couple months earlier. I think he also replaced the harmonic balancer which he said was about to explode.
Before that, I think I had one replaced in about 2010.
Before that, I had it explode on me in 2007. I've never had so many belts go.
Does sitting still do that much damage? I have been daily driving it up to late last year. This summer has been a lot of road trips, and I'm afraid to leave the area code with the sprinter these days!
Could I be dealing with something else? a misaligned pulley?
I have really not been driving her much lately, as my Saab wagon has been doing a great job of saving me dollars and hassles... But I was going kayaking this weekend, and 2 kayaks can fit IN the Sprinter... Guess I'll invest in a kayak rack for the Saab after this trip...
I hadn't driven it in about a month... had to recharge the battery to get started, left it running for about 10 minutes while I got organized. Drove to the take out spot on the river, then drove to the put in about 14 miles away... Parked. No issues.
After kayaking, drove the other vehicle up to the put in, then switched vehicles, drove back to take out, got the kayaks, and my girlfriend and drove back to pick up her vehicle at the put in... it's crazy all the shuffling for 7 miles downriver...
On the way back home I heard a weird hiss... gravelly sound from the engine and the battery light was on. I could tell it was the Serpentine. Heard that before... Got to my exit (about 1.5 miles from recognizing the problem, and pulled into a shopping center... no Power steering... yeesh.
Girlfriend behind, we made the last 2.5 miles to my house, keeping an eye on the temps, which got about half a bar from the red zone. in the driveway, yay.
Serpentine was gone. Not a strand left except for a couple bits stuck in the suspension/frame.
Last one was about a year ago... Leaky low pressure fuel line sprayed diesel on it on 100+ degree day and it just sorta disintegrated. I also replaced the accessory belt for the rear AC at this point.
Before that, Dr. A replaced it a couple months earlier. I think he also replaced the harmonic balancer which he said was about to explode.
Before that, I think I had one replaced in about 2010.
Before that, I had it explode on me in 2007. I've never had so many belts go.
Does sitting still do that much damage? I have been daily driving it up to late last year. This summer has been a lot of road trips, and I'm afraid to leave the area code with the sprinter these days!
Could I be dealing with something else? a misaligned pulley?