Spaghetti Serpentine Belt! $1K to replace belt on '02 Mercedes E320. CAR WIZARD explains huge bill
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 เม.ย. 2023
- Usually a serpentine belt on most vehicles costs at most a couple hundred bucks installed. Not on this 2002 Mercedes E320! Why does it cost some much for such a common item? Let the CAR WIZARD 🧙♂️ explain.
🔮🔧 AMAZON AFFILIATE STORE: www.amazon.com/shop/omegaauto... 🔧🔮
🇬🇧🇬🇧 UK AMAZON STORE: www.amazon.co.uk/shop/omegaau... 🇬🇧🇬🇧
🧰 BENDPAK LIFTS: www.bendpak.com 🧰
👕 CAR WIZARD MERCH: teespring.com/stores/carwizard 👕
📷 INSTAGRAM @realcarwizard 📷
🎸 MUSIC BY CLAYTON CAGLE: / claytoncalifornia 🎸 - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
Besides rust issues, these W210 Mercedes are really quite solid. The transmission will need a conductor plate once in a while (I usually see them fail around 150K miles) but other than basic maintenance, that drivetrain will last forever.
What is a conductor plate please?
@@JohnSmith-yv6eqit’s an electronic assembly that lives above the valve body. It has an electronic connector that has a wire connecting it to the Trans Control Unit. It usually costs under $200 for the part.
@thatv8life186 You can try putting it on cars and bids or bring a trailer, sort of a gamble but with clean original collector vehicles like yours it's generally a good way to get national exposure and fair market value without having to name a price or deal with negotiating. And if you're lucky you'll get 2 or 3 people who really want it and they get in a bidding war.
Quite right- I love mine and daily drive it for almost 4 years since getting it. Moving to DDing a newer car reminded me how premium the car still feels.
@@thatv8life186 I don't believe the seller pays any fees for either of those auctions, the buy pays the fees. There could be a listing fee or something but I wouldn't imagine it's much more than maybe a hundred bucks. But you can do whatever you want.
Why would you be surprised by the miles? M112/M113 & 5g gearbox combo is arguably the best Mercedes drivetrain from a reliability & serviceability standpoint.
As mentioned here already, rust is the only thing that kills these. Benz used a water based paint on w210's & I believe rwd's also suffered spring perches rusting out. This one must've been garaged.
Too bad for this one, that belt tensioner is around $60 & can be done in 20ish minutes if you already know the architecture. W210's are ugly to some, but very very underrated from my perspective.
An owner of 2002 E430 4matic. The w210 is a good car. The pulley and harmonic balancer are maintenance items and not expensive when they are changed before gone bad. Except infamous rust issue, front suspension change in 4matic models, driver’s side rear window regulator, they are rock solid. No ABC suspension, no SBC brake, no degrading wiring harness, no head gasket issue. M112/113 engine with 5-speed automatic transmission is a great combination, easily go over 300k without major engine overhaul.
I totally agree.
@@zm321 x2
I have an W210 E320 ('99). The tensioner pulley failed at about 162k miles without any (audible) warning. Fortunately, it happened on a cold start and I shut it down immediately when I heard it throw the belt. I got away with just replacing the tensioner pulley assy only. Also had left front suspension rust failure at low speed in a parking lot that wasn't too bad other than the wheel rolled the front fender when it broke and I had to replace it. I still think the W210 is the best built MB of the modern era. I plan to drive it for years to come.
@@Vibr8trking I too had the tensioner pulley fail on a CLK 430, there had been a noise for about a week before, fortunately no additional damage done.
I am over 300k, love my car, th-cam.com/video/FvK0pQl_5F4/w-d-xo.html
These are actually very robust cars if taken care of; there are a lot of them still on the road here in CA. I have a 2000 with 155k miles in this exact color combo and it's been a great car.
Naaa.. Car wizard says if it ain't a Toyota it doesn't last
The only problem in North America is finding the right mechanic and a shop that doesn't want to rip you off.
A dealership might run you up 3 1/2 grand for this repair or something stupid, lots of fear selling and up selling. Bastards.
@@ophirmayer1 This car lasts but with $$$$$$$$$ Scotty clearly said Moneypit dog ssssss
@@henrykim4230 that's why half of the third world keeps them running, because they are a money pit and those Albanians have too much?
@@henrykim4230 Well if your getting your car info from Scotty I'd just put down the wrench lol. I've owned my w210 for 6 years and have only replaced the conductor plate lol
Wanted to say that if you just have to replace the serpentine belt on the M112, it’s one of the easiest serpentine belts to replace because there’s so much working room. I recently bought a 2004 E320 with 220k miles, and that was the first thing I had to do because the car was sitting for a long time.
Absolutely.
E320 is a lot easier than E430 which is what I have. E320 has electric aux fans while E430 has viscous fan which has to come off to remove belt. Visco fan nut requires special tools to remove. Not hard to do except that the visco fan nut can be a fother mucker to remove sometimes.
Exactly. Done it multiple times and it's super easy.
You can use the wheel spanner on the belt tensioner to replace the belt on the side of the road. The tensioner has a hex shape molded into it which makes it very easy. I keep a spare belt in my CLK320
I’ve got a 03 c320 with the m112 and i haven’t had to do the belt yet but it looks about as easy as it could get.
What people don’t talk about enough is that, ironically, this is a good starter car for a teenager. They are very, very robust and safe. You cAn pick them up for almost nothing, and even if you have to sink 5K into it, you’ve maybe spent 8k on a car that will go for a long time and keep your kid safe. And they get to say they have Benz. If it’s religiously maintained it will do 250-300k.
Great idea! Super safe, fully depreciated.... Save a ton of $, too.
Just have it checked out.
Before you buy it, please!
( I have never enjoyed watching folks cry....)
My first car is an 03 c320 coupe and it’s an absolute dream, reliable, fun, cheap, and very pretty.
If I can find a diesel model, I will buy it
The 2000 and up is a lot safer than the 1996-99 just in case anyone is looking to buy one for their kid. You can see the crash test comparison on TH-cam.
My parents bought me a 01 E320 for my first car (in 2011). I am happy to say, i still own that car. It has 180,000, still my daily driver and it runs strong! I had to repair some things along the way, but overall, not 1 major headache. Super reliable car
I'm old enough to remember when 100,000 miles meant your car was just about done. Watching that 5 digit odometer turn over you knew it was time to find another car. It's pretty amazing that now 200,000 miles is normal. My grandson's Ford has 235,000 and my E46 BMW has 243,000!
Ya, I was going to say the same thing. I'm not that old (feeling like it recently) but I think that the 100k mile limit is something passed down since cars legitimately did only last that long in the not too distant past. Same with tractors, I remember when people used to trade equipment in with 4000-5000 hours and that was normal, now it makes more sense to just keep rebuilding and go well over 10k. Part of this I think is how good lubricants and filters are now, also partially how easily accessible replacement parts are for most everything. A huge huge thing though is the absurd replacement cost of new vehicles and equipment.
@@TheMCD1989 A lot has to do with the federally required emissions warranty. it used to be that manufacturers used low nickel content iron on all but the most expensive cars (looking at you, Chevy and Ford!). Very few low cost manufacturers used a high nickel iron on lower end models. The two I can think of are AMC and Datsun, and Ford switched to it on the Windsor in the mid 80's. This is one of the reasons why they had the reputation for longevity that they had back in the day and why many modern cars last so long now. Another big factor is electronic fuel injection. The better atomization of fuel allows for more complete combustion and less fuel to wash oil off the cylinders like in a carburated car. Running a car rich will kill an engine very quickly because it accelerates bore wear. The same is true with leaving excess fuel in the chamber that does not burn.
Back then cars were cheap and getting an engine rebuilt wasn't that expensive either
I remember when 50,000 miles was time to get a new car.
I got the same car 1998..230k miles same trans and engine..car needs a bumper and new paint on the hood.besides that solid
This is why you should maintain your car. Always replace the belt and tensioner on time. Do NOT forget the tensioner.
Ah the M112/113 (113 in the E430). One of Mercedes best engines ever made. I know Magic Mike would agree.
The 112 has some nice working room, the 113 a little less but it's still not too bad. Def ain't nothing like when a V12 gets crammed in there.
I love this gen e class. Yes, the paint sucks, but I got mine to get me through university in Canada. It was a 99 e320 rwd with 210,000 Kms for $400 with broken front spring perch's (another common fault). My dad welded them back to the car for me and she was all set. Some minor things like a serpentine belt and pulleys came up, but that's about it. I think motor mounts were the most expensive thing I had to do. Apart from that, the only weird thing that came about was transmission fluid wicking itz way up the trans wire harness into the TCM. Only knew about it from forums. Took it apart and lo and behold my TCM had trans fluid in it LOL. Cleaned it all out, new seals on the trans harness socket and trans fluid exchange. Lasted me 3 yrs through school when I sold it for 2 grand and 246,000 Kms. Last I saw it was for sale again with 300 k
I have a 1997 E420 with the M119, The thing has been a tank for 2 1/2 years I've had it, I love the car
I have a '96 E200 with a 5-speed manual (Europe). I bought it as my first car because it was very cheap and in good condition. It now has almost 380,000 km (236 K miles) and I'm very impressed with the quality. It needed a new clutch at 300,000 km and the head gasket blew at 320,000 km but I decided to have it fixed because I still like the car. Since the head gasket replacement, it hasn't been in the shop for anything except small repairs and regular maintenance.
Is your car a W124 or W210?
@@daltonhanleyjr4142 It's a W210
1K seems pretty good value to keep an E320 on the road :)
I used to pay 1000 bucks for nearly every service when I owned one. But that also meant that the car always came back flawless. I was happy to pay as I spent a lot of time on road back then.
That model was popular in Europe as a Taxi, which is testament to how well they were built.
That tensioner had to have been singing it's song for quite awhile before failing. That $100 tensioner should've been changed a month ago.
you not kidding, my bmw e90 was singing for like 2 days. I decided to check it out and my serpentine belt was halfway coming off my belt tensioner. the aluminum bolt had broken off and was hanging on by a thread literaly.😅
I have always change the belt tensioner when ever I change a belt . Preventive maintenance goes a long way
that tensioner had to be making noise and probably a women driving it kept driving it you can hear the noise when they start to go
That's actually a good idea. They always go bad it seems and atleast for most domestic cars are like 15 to 25 bucks. Worth it in my opinion.
@@lutomson3496 with 200,000 miles on the car it’s a distinct possibility that the car has had multiple belts put on but never a new belt tensioner. Common practice is whenever the belt gets changed you change the tensioner as well. What happened here is a classic example of why “ new belt / new tensioner”
In my experience with European cars, the belt tensioner is pretty much a wear item and I'll replace them when I change the belt. Especially on engines where if it fails things can go sideways really fast - which is pretty much anything German.
Agreed. Cheap insurance to replace both each 50k on my 297,000mi g500.
W210s are like the Crown Victorias, they will last forever! Had an E320 with 300k miles until gramps crashed it. Currently have an E430 with 88K miles and feels like new. Keep them maintained and they will be nice to you. Not like W220 😂
100 % agree
I've seen and owned w220s with insanely high miles only big problem is the airmatic
@@porsche928s4if that’s your 210, I love it. Just put Newer E53 style rims on mine.
I have a 2002 E430 with 245476 miles as of today. This is 1 year older than my son. All my children learned to drive and had their share of accidents.
The catalytic converters were replaced under the MB waranty program some years ago.
I am still driving it around after my kids moved on to their own cars.
It was not cheap when I bought it new, but my car still pulls strong. No main bearing seal leak yet. I think it was one of the best investments I ever did.
I changed engine oil every 3 to 5k since 2022, almost no exception.
Wizard, the tire date code “1020” is not October of 2020, it’s the 10th week of 2020.
I think he might have had a pre-boomer moment there. I'm already well rehearsed in that.
Normally he says it correctly
Yep March 2020 tyre
the moral of the story: don't ignore strange noises
1000 bucks really ain’t that bad…the durability of these cars are great. The money is still worth it
Once that money is spent, the owner probably won’t have to spend that kind of money for a long time
Unless the transmission (conductor plate) starts acting up. But it's a one and done fix, won't need to be replaced for a very long time.
@@mogumede8211 how much to fix one of those conductor plates on the average you think?
@@75lord I really don't know. I have had several W124s but no W210s. AlI know is that the conductor plate in the transmission is an issue in the 722.6 transmission.
@@75lord if you do it yourself it’s like a 250 usd job include everything you need (plate, new filter, seal, fluid). Don’t send it to random shop unless they know what they are doing, I’ve seen many of them fucked up by the Indy shop.
@@mogumede8211 yeah the 722 is the one I have
I get more GS vibes from this car than LS
I have a 1996 MBZ S320W that I bought used in 2002 with 52,000 miles. I now have 317,000 miles. With this many miles of normal driving wear and tear, the components that gave me problems were the entire smog system, and the climate system (run off of vacuum lines) with the blower motor and regulator failing. The car runs fine, but the CA sun has faded and stripped the clear coat off the paint and the leather seats are badly worn. But, it gets me from A to B and I have not had a monthly car payment over 17 years. I consider the maintenance costs my monthly payment LOL (I found a good independent repair shop, with the same owner/mechanic since 2004). MBZ repair costs can be expensive.
as a friend told me when i bought my clk "maintain it and it will last you a lifetime". Paint the car man
Good video man!! Those are really good cars. When I was a tech for Mercedes a lot of us had these as our personal cars, they were so reliable. I bought my wife a used 1999 E320 4matic years ago, I remember she called me one day and said the battery light came on and she had no power steering. I knew the tensioner probably failed. That night I brought home a belt, tensioner, and idler pulley, luckily that’s all it was. Only down side on those cars is the metal rusted so bad if you were in the Salt Belt. Other than that they were tanks.
Good day. I have a 1998 E320 4 Matic and had the same problem with that belt. 200,000 km... I don't have a rusty chassis. I'm the second owner and the Mercedes was driven in Switzerland and had a perfect service all the time. I'm very satisfied and I don't want a new car!
My 2002 w220 S 430 has 203k miles on her. I got her at 148k she was a little neglected then she came into my life and has been taken care of. No major repairs just the air ride of course and surprisingly enough all repairs i have done have all been stock parts. She was routinely maintenanced by mercedes until the warranty expired then neglected. These cars will last a long time if taken care of. All cars will last if taken care of. Car lifes matter.
Hell yeah my 03 s430 is at 166k and it just rides so damn nice
Correction: These things will keep running even if completely neglected. I have 228k miles on 2001 e320. Half it’s life was not cared for. Just redid valve gaskets, hoses, spark plugs,etc and it runs like new.
I see a lot of comment on how European cars don't last big miles. There's a bloke here in the UK with a TH-cam channel who recently picked up a 2001 Volvo S80 2.5 litre turbodiesel which is currently on just over 721,000 miles. On the original engine, which hasn't been rebuilt.
A lot depends on how they're driven & serviced.
Yes. There are cars that were engineered to be more reliable. Some older Volvos are known for being tanks. That does not negate the fact that the majority of the modern European cars (at least sold in the US) are garbage. For every '01 diesel Volvo with over 700,000 miles you can name, we can name thousands of Jaguars, BMWs, Minis, Land Rovers, Mercedes, and even other Volvos that are falling apart by the time they reach 100,000 miles.
They just don't maintain their cars, just like this one. Also many shops in the U.S. see all European cars as an exotic or something and just rip off the customers.
In the end, all cars are crap if not maintained.
@@foxwithtubesox1075 IN the case of Volvo - that S80 was the last model done by Volvo engineers before they had to call Detroit (Ford HQ) to be able to buy pencils....
Which they basically hated !!!
So after 2001 Ford wanted to put more of their parts and platforms in Volvo's...
Ford got a gold nugget in the Volvo buy - XC90.
people driving american cars sayign euro cars arent dont last are fucking hillarious. BMW isnt famous for reliability but i see old 80's 3 series on the road constantly. And people keep their mercedes til they die. Whereas your premium mustang is tapped out at 200k miles with the wheels falling off and youre gonna need 5k a year to keep that big pickup on the road
I love those models just because they are super reliable and you can get them easily under $2500 in great shape. I have a friend that is always buying Mercedes from those years and now I drive them because they are pretty nice and reliable
A European car with 200,000 miles and it needs a 1k in repairs, minor repairs. I see a job I would have no problem repairing myself , the car is in good shape, plus I like the looks of the car. All in all I don’t see to much of an issue, but pretty crazy the damage caused by that belt.
i see $250 max in parts and a couple hours work.. but he has to pay for that big garage.
I'd say Lexus was trying to copy the early 90's S-Class (W140 IIRC) more than the W210 E-Class shown. Take a look. Edit: Date code on the tire is actually week (in two digits: 01 to 52) and and year. In your example week 10 of 2020, which would be approx mid-March.
Agree 👍
There used to be loads of Taxi W210's with near to or even over 600.000 miles here in Europe.
They rust but mechanically they're robust.
I actually went to look at one yesterday.
Get one.... no regrets at all, solid Mercedes....
Spot on. I call my 2001 E class the European Crown Vic
You don’t see any of these on the roads here in the UK as they all rotted away - the metal on these was dreadful with our salted roads. Luckily this has survived better in that climate.
Not really. The metal was fine, but the paint was problematic. They used waterbased paint for the first time. Basically mercdes screwed up the cathodic dip coating. The did not check for bakteria until 1997 (so everything after 1998 should be fine again) and found burkholderia cepacia. That bacteria rased the ph value of the cathoic dip coating bath and thus a lot of cars were not coated probably.
p.s.
even some w124 have the same probleme ...
This shows how good the M112 is, given the extreme abuse that it has endured
See what little maintenance can prevent?
this was obvious neglect - that tensioner was making sad, obvious noises for at least a week
@@ghostrider-be9ek If not longer. I had a soft failing water pump on my E430 for at least a week and it was still perfectly driveable after a trip to Belgium and back (I live in the south of Germany), including lots of idling at stop/go with the ac on and sustained cruising on the Autobahn at high speeds
To actually cock up a W210 mechanically is difficult
W210's are amazing, my E430 has been perfect
Regular maintenance, replacing the bearing on the tensioner pulley after 150K miles, probably a $20-$30 part (or simply changing the full tensioner pulley itself, probably an $80-$100 part) could have $aved all that damage. And a perfect example as why you don't wait for things to break before replacing them on a car. Good video Wizard!
Great video on the importance of preventive maintenance for Mercedes vehicles. I know what to do next time around.
my father had a 02 e320. rode like a boat and was extremly comfortable.
The condition of this W-210 belies belief in fantastic shape.When a car is taken car for it shows.
The display issues are probably the ribbon cables that has cracked with age. Happened with my -01 CLK320.
VW recommends replacement of the water pump, Drive belts and tensioners with a timing belt service. Makes sense to avoid potential issues with associated component parts that are likely to fail.
Amazing how one small failure ended up causing so much damage!
After driving a car with modern led headlights, those hazed over halogens are a real liability. I swear, putting on the low beams makes you wonder if the lights are still on. Maybe it's my old eyes, but I'd say he got his money's worth and time to move on.
the E320 in this video actually has the factory D2R Xenon headlights (you can tell by the clear cover rather than a full pattern as on the halogens). they are VERY bright. a quick polish with some PlastX on a foam drill disc will clear them right up, and a dash of UV sealant after will keep them that way.
you are right about the liability of poorly-maintained headlights though. so many people driving around with bad nighttime visibility. should be a check item at state inspections.
FWIW, you can replace halogen lights on any older car with super-bright LED equivalents to bring it up to modern specs. I have the D2R Xenons just like the one in this video, but also added 8000 lumen aluminum-encased H7 LEDs for my high beams.
I have a 97 W210 E 320 and it's a absolute tank most reliable car my family has ever had and I'm glad to say its mine ... Im just about to hit 170k miles with only one issue that was resolved very quickly
I love watching your videos and learning some dos and donts when it comes to working on another person's vehicle . I recently refuse to change a heater core on a 1991 Chevy S10 that belongs to a sue-happy individual because of its age and fragile plastic. Thank you wizard you saved me a ton of headache and wallet ache.
I have 2006 Mercedes E320 4matic with 230,000 miles…. It runs like a tank. When I bought it… it had the common valve cover leak and it was an easy fix for me. I noticed in the prior owners service record that it has had a new water pump…. I better check the tensioner pulley. I have the Chrysler V6 engine in mine(w211). Thanks for the video. It has given me even some more insight on maintenance. Keep Up the Good Work and Awesome Videos.
I own a 1999 E430, 230K miles, daily driven, only issues over its lifetime were window regulator, valve cover leak, rear wheel bearings, water pumps, and one conductor plate...hoping to pass it to my son in 2 years, making it a three generation family car
That's from when Mercedes started experimenting with water based paints. That generation of E class could rot quite spectacularly. Not uncommon for the front spring mounts to rust off and cause the front end to collapse.
Apparently the darker colours were better at resisting rot, at least in Europe.
- The 4 digit date code on the tyres isn't the month & year, it's the week & year, so they're March 2020.
I also heard 4matics hold up better to rust due to being built in Austria. Apparently part of the reason is different countries had different environmental laws and could use different paints
The 4 matic version had a different solution though so was never affected by the spring mount problem.
well this looks like a presentation of a moderately well known meme "when you start to hear something expensive from the hood of your car and turn the music louder"! thanks for sharing!
before the pandemic, these w210's were barely worth $1,500 😂😅
now they're like $4-6k lol so doing the maintenance seems worth it now lmao
Nah fr I got a one owner 210 for 400$ in 2019 just got a w208 with 180k miles for 2600$ and I feel like I overpaid
@@porsche928s4 oh bro, ppl are going CRAZY with w208 prices rn. the NON-amg models are like $6-10k and thats NOT AMG. im like 🤯🤯 ppl used to HATE these cars lol
@@redriver15262 there's a clk55 coupe around me for sale rn for 5500 with 110k miles the AC doesn't work though, I think they look bad in pictures tbh I still have mixed opinions on pre facelift top down but the coupes look so good
Late model W210 are super super reliable. The weakness of W210 are body rust at wheel wells only... That's it.
And transmissions
@@porsche928s4 722.6 transmission are usually super reliable. The only weakness I know is the conductor plate and possible ATF seepage into wire loom. Older transmission are kinda of a crapshoot.
@@MrTiger0002 I've had five and 2 had problems I think it was just cause the fluid never got changed
I had two of these growing up (my dad had a 2000 E350 and I had a 2002 E320). Both cars lasted over 200K miles!!! Amazing build - very limited issues along the way!
My serpentine belt snapped while driving one day - but right in front of a mechanic shop in Jan 2014. Boy was that lucky!!
I don’t believe their is a 2000 e350
@@w210onpoint2 I think your correct - I verified with my dad and it was a 2000 e430!
I know what the problem with the Merc is, Packer license plate on front.
I drive a 1998 E320 with 160k when I got it, almost 180k now and it has been solid as a rock. I got very lucky in this car. My dad is an independent mechanic that specializes in Mercedes and BMW with a list of loyal customers. This particular Mercedes belonged to one of dad's long time customers so dad had maintained this car for almost 15 years. He knows it inside and out. When the customer passed away dad purchased it from his widow and gave it to me for a birthday present.
At that time I was driving a 2002 Chevy impala, my first car. However it was showing signs of significant problems. I ended up with a older car with more miles but it was a significant upgrade.
Dad warned me for things to keep an eye on with this car and one of them was the belt pully, that they can fail and he lectured me on this domino effect. Good dad and good mechanic, like I said, I got very lucky.
I'm not surprised at the mileage. Those Mercedes were good cars back in the day. I have seen some from the 80s with 300,000 miles on the clock.
Owned one of these back in the mid 2000s. Great car back then .. lol i stay away from Germans now. I Just buy Japanese mainly now
I cost myself a fortune when I was 17 with this issue. Blew the head because of a lack of understanding. 1977 VW Rabbit. My father was wealthy. Thanks dad for the repair. I have learned a lot in the last 40 years.
Have a 2016 sonata with 150k mile warranty and it’s done well so far. 68k miles. Despite all the issues.
Even over here in salt belt New Jersey, i see plenty of these E320s in various conditions. A good friend of mine actually got one from his aunt as his first car. The paint was faded out. Interior saw better days, but the powertrain was still running strong. It still rode really nice and smooth… with almost 300,000 miles. He drove it for about a year until the cats shit the bed. Very well made vehicles! 👍🏽
That's why when I checked the accessory belt in my car, I also checked the automatic tensioner and the idler pulley.
In my case, both pulleys had bearings that showed signs of wear; they still rolled somewhat smoothly and without play, but they had a small level of "crunchiness" to them that you could feel and hear.
So, while the pulleys still worked, they were not really good as their bearings were worn. All they will do is get worse, especially since both pulleys appeared original to an engine that had over 160,000 miles clocked on it.
The belt, of course, was not original, but it was nearing the end of its service life as it had minor cracks while the grooves in the belt were worn down fairly deep.
Service was due, so I went ahead and replaced the idler pulley, the entire auto tensioner assmebly, as well as the belt.
An additional benefit: with Gates belts and pulleys, if you replace the tensioner and idler as well as the belt, you get a limited lifetime warranty on those parts. Save the receipt, just in case.
I have just had this happen to my car last month. Thank you so much for making this video. Got a 98 E320 base that has performed like a TANK. Love the car for its ability to stay rolling (Got over 200k miles on it)
the tyres arent from october 2020. the 10 stands for week 10, not month 10. so thats middle of march 2020
I own 2 E320s, one is 2002 and the other is a 1998, both of my cars has over 300,000 and running better than my new cars. Theses are the most reliable Mercedes has to offer
Mercedes like that just mostly Disel was a common sight in Germany as a Taxi whith more mileage as seen here.
I have a '99 W210 E55 AMG. It's been completely repainted due to the factory paint quality. They rusted from beneath the E-coat from new. Underneath the car is spotless, but the factory paint was garbage. $10k paint job later, and it looks perfect.
Not a bad looking car, a little "plain" on the outside. But inside? Love it. That's how you create a car interior in my book. It's as practical as it looks damn good, inviting, and comfortable. Great job on Mercedes part.
It seems crazy that you guys kept mentioning the milage. I always thought Mercedes from this era were made to go 500,000 miles.
These are solid cars. My 01 e320 is at around 156k miles.
I've got about 20 to 30k miles on a new conductor plate.
My belt came off about three or four years ago. The tensioner got weak but nothing like that one. The belt fell forward. Luckily, I was parked getting ready to take off when it happened.
The belt looked fairly new with no cracking on its inside.
I did replace it, though, along with the tensioner.
The window regulators on these are a pain in the butt. They are weak and riveted on
I've replaced three of them and need to replace one of those again, plus maybe the fourth one.
Mine is a "sport" model so has some side skirts and slightly different bumpers plus shorter springs. It still rides good, and the motor is strong. This 3.2 litre dual plug motor is strong.
I've got absolutely no rust but I'm in Vegas. 😊
Glad I saw this, I've gone through 1 idler pulley, 1 tensioner and 2 belts in the 2 years of owning mine (m112 v6) Now a lot of it probably has to do with oil dripping from the oil cooler on to the belt which I'll be replacing the gasket on soon. But also the way I drive it I guess. Anyways thanks for showing this, it really gave me a heads up to keep the belt in order so that I can avoid big repairs as such.
These are great cars. I had the E430 4Matic as an emergency vehicle. Very capable car.
That is a CLEAN W210 holy crap
Spot on repair and pricing…..i just replaced the same components minus the crank seal on my 92 300CE it started making a god awful noise so off to the shop it went. On the 300 CE the only access is by removing the whole rad and ac components. The hassle factor was to high for me to do so i paid the piper.
If theres any bloopers, we would love to see them!! Please considered including bloopers. Love the content as always
Hey Wizard & Mrs Wizard, thank you for sharing another exciting video!!! 👍👍🙂
My E320 4matic from '99 had this fixed (before I owned it) for 500€ and is a great car so far
I test drove a clean, no rust, 1997 E420 at a shady dealer in California a few years ago with 155,000 miles. Pulled really well and was in good shape. Had a transmission leak that the dealer had filled with tar, but was still dripping lol. I passed on the car but gained respect fro this platform as on the east coast whatever is left of these is rusted out.
That's good PM for another 100k miles tough cars.
My teenage daughter has a 2003 ML320 165k miles. I see them all over ski places like Vail and Telluride as they are 4x4 and cheap vacation ski house cars that are great in the snow and can fit a lot of gear and fun to take in light off-roading. I bought mine for literally nothing, $2k. Their V6 has a reputation for reliability. The water pumps wear out just like the one you have, wobble everywhere, but incredibly don’t leak so keep an eye on them. Its a good teen car as it’s a safe tank, cheap, and if they wreck it, it’s no big deal. But it’s a Mercedes, so if there is a major repair you can’t do yourself the cars aren’t worth fixing.
I have a 98 E300 Turbodiesel. Bought it 11yrs ago with 59k on the clock. Today It's got 223k , it's my daily driver 250+ miles a week, and still gets 30mpg. And you know what ? It's as quiet as a church mouse.
Great car
informative video. i've had the same thing happen on my ml350. belt took out upper radiator hose which really made a mess and hose connector to secondary air pump and luckily nothing else. shredded belt did shine up many parts though. thankfully i was capable of fixing it myself. i find mercedes engines and trannys bullet proof but the equiptment around the engine and random parts around the vehicle will occassionally fail prematurely. parts that never failed me on old GM cars
Was it lack of maintenance (changing of tensioner and belt at recomended interval) or was it a direct failure of the recently replaced serpentine belt?
Love your videos! I have seen a lot of mistreated Mercedes fail prematurely. I do have to say though, many miles on a Mercedes doesn't shock me. I own a 2000 c280 with the m112 v6. It has 250,000 miles and runs and drives great! Of course, that is with regular maintenance. I also own a 1984 300d turbo with over 500,000 miles on it and it runs and drives great. Can't wait to see more on the Citroen!!!!!
The dang squirrels are at it again.
Squirrel tracks on that sunroof
"Blaming moose and squirrel..."
Same happened with my B5 passat few years back :D left the lights and it snapped around everything. luckily didnt damage anything
Hi Wizard, There is no way that the bill is close or just above 1000. I see at least 2000+ dollars He must be a Good freind.. Thats an awsome deal for all that work.
I had an 01 E430 and an ,02 E430
LOVED those cars. They were super reliable and seemingly bulletproof.
The V6 version was to slow. The 430 was no race car but could easily hold its own next most cars.
The 01 was only about 1,000 away from300,000. It's life ended from a structural problem, engine was just as strong as ever. I was able to get 34 mpg highway with them.
How can you be surprised, Mercedes is solid mechanically.
Early modelyears from 1996 and on had rost issues and maybe some electronics. The rust issues was probably not an issue in us but more like Sweden and Britain.
10:20 - that tensioner failed weeks ago and looks like they just ran with it. It would have been VERY noisy and the owner did not care.
Had a 1997 e420 w210 and loved the car, it was rusted like hell though.
Great video Mr/Mrs Wizard
Thanks
1020 tire date code is 10th week, 2020.
The fact this video came out a few days after I replaced my serpentine belt, tensioner, and pulley on my 05 C240 wagon is a sign. Glad I replaced it on time! these m112 engines will last forever if taken care of!
“It’s Mercedes brand; but it’s not cracked, it’s not ripped“ 😂
I replaced the serpentine belt on my son's 2008 E350 4Matic, and I also had to replace one of the idler pulleys. When I was trying to install everything, that's when I noticed that another pulley was screwed up. Back to the dealer to grab the 2nd pulley. After that it went together easily.
So happy to see aluminium in top of the engine and not plastic
Love the cat prints on the sunroof glass. LOL
Beautiful car and worth the $1,000 fix.
Really like the detailed walkthrough
I have a 2002 E55 AMG with 210,000 miles. Runs like new. Bulletproof car. Also a 2001 CLK430, 180,000 runs perfectly. Do the belt, pulleys, position sensors, good to go. Might as well do the water pump with belt and pulleys off.
I drive an old Ford like the one to the left, I had a belt shred on me and was able to stop and trim off the bad part and made it to a parts store 5 miles away on 1/4inch of serpentine belt.
Where i live it's pretty normal for a used car to have 200k+ miles, so every time Wizard mentions it like it's something insane makes me feel damn awkward lol. Most cars i have owned have been over 200k miles and they've been kinda fine actually
@0:18 Cheaper than a timing chain swap on a 1.0 Ford Ecoboost. That is €2.500 if you do it by the book.
Great video. I have a 1997 280E, done 300,000k.... still works like a dream... but I do put it in for a service every 10,000k.... great and reliable car!
👍🤝