Alternator belt~~
 

Ok, I know this may be redundant but after 3 hours and trying any and all ideas, we (yes 2 of us..lol) are at a standstill getting it on. we like 3 mm's get her on the pulley.

The alternator is moved as far as she'll rotate and now up agaisnt engine block...We dont wanna remove fan/shroud etc unless we have to. Its 40 degrees and we are outside...any quick advice on cold Sunday would be tantamount certainly..

The other 2 belts(PS/AC) went without a hitch..burrrrrr cold!!

Dakota

W123 300D china blue "helga" 197K:confused:

Are you rolling it on to the water pump pulling or using a screwdriver to pry it over the edge of the pulley?
Don't work fast. You'll get heat stroke at those temperatures.

We have tried rolling it on with a screwdriver/tire iron end etc. almost anything we could get leverage with..so freaking close to success...I wish it hat now..I get tocome inside and type on this thing at least..I need to drive it to work tomm too..LOL...shoulda left the old belt on..worked fine. I just thought changing them all would be good for the car and me.

Dakota

Sounds like your belt is too small.

Maybe try heating the belt up, it will make it stretch some.

Interesting idea brother, heat it up...might do the trick...

I was just telling my bro in law it MAY be too small..and could just get the next size up I suppose and be done with it..I will report bakc..THANKS everone, we appreciate any and all feedback coming in

Dakota

The SD suffers from the same malady. It has the later water pump pulley and the short 1000 mm belts. It's impossible to install the belts with the water pump pulley in place. I cannot figure out the issue because the belts are Continental and are exactly to spec.

I had to remove the water pump pulley..........get the belts in the groove...........and reinstall it. Then, tighten the alternator. No fun at all.

I wonder if it's a common problem with the late 617's?

That is how I had to replace mine. Much more fun on a 240 since there is no evil fan clutch......

I believe the next belt size is 1017 mm. I might try that on the next belt replacement. I'm not optimistic, however, because the slot on the tensioner isn't all that long and the longer belts may result in the inability to fully tension.

We'll see..........

I just replaced all three of mine a couple of weeks ago. When purchasing he told me there showed to different numbers for the alternator belt. One is 1 inch shorter than the other one. I got the longer one, and it worked out good.

Gotta love the simplicty of the 240s. Mine doesn't even have AC so I only have two belts and all kind of room to change them, which I did yesterday in about 20 minutes.:D

I'd go to the store and get a slightly longer belt.:D If its that tight its to short.

Man taking off the water pump seems like a pain....We're going to try the heating the belt idea and maybe have to buy a little longer one..if need be. It seems as though theres more room to tension the belt away from the engine block certainly..Ok..Again we welcome any and all feedback..and for those that have chimed YOU ROCK!

Dakota:eek:

I've never had to remove the water pump pulley on the 123 617's that I've changed belts on.

Interesting comments we are seeing, some say remove water pump, now you say it can be done without that headache??

Any sage advice you can offer, or do you think the belt is too small?

If you cannot get the belt on by rotating the engine (via the ps pump) then the belt is too tight. I would take it back. You have to be real careful with the belts you get for these cars. I have had them too tight and too narrow before, even from the dealer!

The belt should be tight, but still let you get it on the pulley and tighten the adjuster.

Good luck!

The '81 has the larger water pump pulley and uses the longer belts.

What belt length do you have? If it's 1000 mm, it's not the correct size. 1040 mm seems to stick in my head.

Check my thread titled '83 617 correct belt size.
In a nut shell, I used 1100mm belts, got 'em started, with a bump switch, (pic) walked 'em on.

The 1037 belts fit my '82 300D with no problem:

http://catalog.worldpac.com/mercedesshop/sophio/quote.jsp?clientid=catalog.mercedesshop&cookieid=1CQ0J3JZ42AB136NSH&baseurl=http://catalog.peachparts.com/&partner=mercedesshop&year=1982&product=W1002-12269&application=000032224

Its a 1035 belt and a continental made one clearly specifies OEM match.

Well, short story long, we removed the alternator slipped the belt on and tighted the alt back up using the gages for tension, All is well, but what a PIA. I lost more money trying to make it work than i would had to pay a Firestone shop...

Then we go get the filter kit to change tranny oil..wrong one and tried twice..IDIOTS work at O'Reillys Seriously!!!!:confused:

Live and learn..I LOVE MY MB!!!

Thanks to ALL of you guys....YA'll ROCK!!!!!!

Dakota

But now you'll know the next time you change the belt how to do it, and it will only take a few minutes instead of all day. Thats how it goes sometimes, I've been there several times.

If you did manage to get the belts on; what if they were too tight and there was no way to loosen them? If you ran it like that it would damage the bearings in something; alternator or water pump.
Better to take the time and try and get some slightley larger belts.

Oddly, my CD uses 1035's.

Thanks for all your help people, now my kingdom for the right size tranny filter and gasket....i dont want to order, I cant wait fir the part..maybe auto hell (zone)

Good luck with that, the gasket is oddly shaped so a measurement won't help, and if undamaged, can be reused.

I recall using some sort of shadetree combination of loose alternator bolts and brute force with a long screwdriver and some other implement of automotive destruction to change my belts... it wasn't fun.

I understand that this may be a little late, but, in my experience (which is limited) I had the same problem trying to get the alt. belt on my 240. My solution was to get as much of the belt on the pulley and bumped the starter. All that who ha about heating up the belt was erroneous. Because that belt that appeared to be too small is gonna stretch after a few days of use and then you'll encounter the mystery of the ever self loosening alternator bracket.