45 minutes to remove the fan?!

Anyone have a picture of this 84/85 setup?

__________________
Cruise Control not working? Send me PM or email (jamesdean59@gmail.com). I might be able to help out.
Check here for compatibility, diagnostics, and availability!

(4/11/2020: Hi Everyone! I am still taking orders and replying to emails/PMs/etc, I appreciate your patience in these crazy times. Stay safe and healthy!)


82 300SD 145k
89 420SEL 210k
89 560SEL 118k
90 300SE 262k RIP 5/25/2010
90 560SEL 154k
91 300D 2.5 Turbo. 241k
93 190E 3.0 235k
93 300E 195k

What year model 617's have difficult to change alt belts? I changed them on my 83 300DT a year and a half ago when the last belt finally broke (bitter end of the dual belts- yeah I kept driving it with only one belt for a long time) and do not recall any problems or cursing episodes. I also do not remember having to remove the fan either.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 167,870 July 2025
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

I do not remember if I had to do this or not on my 300DT.

If there is not enough "slack" in the tensioner to wrap the belt around the pulleys by hand, I always use the starter motor to do it. Sometimes it goes the first time, other times a few more tries. On the ones that are really stubborn, I help it along with a ramp made out of wood or plastic and the belt rides up the ramp into the groove once I hit the starter motor.

__________________
85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 167,870 July 2025
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

I think its on the 84/85 models. My 82 is like your 83.

__________________
Cruise Control not working? Send me PM or email (jamesdean59@gmail.com). I might be able to help out.
Check here for compatibility, diagnostics, and availability!

(4/11/2020: Hi Everyone! I am still taking orders and replying to emails/PMs/etc, I appreciate your patience in these crazy times. Stay safe and healthy!)


82 300SD 145k
89 420SEL 210k
89 560SEL 118k
90 300SE 262k RIP 5/25/2010
90 560SEL 154k
91 300D 2.5 Turbo. 241k
93 190E 3.0 235k
93 300E 195k

Thanks!

__________________
85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 167,870 July 2025
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

Removing it is easy. Reinstallation is the trick. It's difficult to get them to install into the holes and start the first thread. Tightening with a wrench is a slow affair............1/4 turn at a time. No socket fits the heads.

Have you done it?

Here's a partial view. I'm in the middle of a water pump change on the 85.


IMG_2830

There is still some room for the tensioning screw to slide to the loosening end of it's track. I didn't have to remove any of the mount bolts.

Edit: This is for a 300D, so not relevant.

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1985 300D-189k The 'UD', Ivory and Pinkamino
1979 300D-211k Dark Gray, Parchment
A 1980 Harley-~166k and
A 1994 Ford diesel pickup-349k and
A 1990 gasser Volvo wagon-145k

If you have any more pictures I for one would like to see them.

Sorry I'll be more specific - any more pictures of the pulley set up on your '85!

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Sure I will, what specifically do you want?

__________________
1985 300D-189k The 'UD', Ivory and Pinkamino
1979 300D-211k Dark Gray, Parchment
A 1980 Harley-~166k and
A 1994 Ford diesel pickup-349k and
A 1990 gasser Volvo wagon-145k

Well really I wanted to see just how much of a pain in the arse it is to change the belts on these cars with many options fitted. My W123 300D couldn't be easier to work on. I'd just like to see why it was such a pain for panZZer - and if your car's close enough I'll get the picture (so to speak)

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Half of it was jacking with the PS pump,,m, you end up removing the outside thru bolt all the way out -and loosen what appears to be a tensioner bolt--Then take the inside two loose, and the pump still wont budge, you loosen up the inside two more and start assaulting the pump--- and end up breakin it loose --bu no sliding adjustment motion.
Instead you sorta rotate the far driverside corner inward tward the fan --and somehow manage to get enough clearance to get the GD belt off
^&**(^$#%^@#$%^@#$$!%#XXXXXXX#@$%T#^%$#!

That's typically "operator error", I'm sorry to tell you. Finding all three bolts is the trick. The tensioner works properly on the PS pump if you do.

The a/c compressor is quite a different story. I have never got the compressor to properly yield position sufficiently to install the belt without engine assist.

Here's the topside from a couple of views. I couldn't get a decent shot from the bottom.

The top bracket that the alternator moves in:


IMG_2855

The adjustment screw that I can turn by hand (after initial loosening) to get the belts snug:


IMG_2854


The 2 bolts on the top closer to the block and the one accessible from below need to be loose but not totally disconnected so that the alt will move properly. But this is on a 300D, not the SD.

__________________
1985 300D-189k The 'UD', Ivory and Pinkamino
1979 300D-211k Dark Gray, Parchment
A 1980 Harley-~166k and
A 1994 Ford diesel pickup-349k and
A 1990 gasser Volvo wagon-145k

Unfortunately, that photo doesn't tell the tale on the SD (or the 300D for that matter) because the cooling system is dismantled. There is a discharge for the cooling system directly above that bracket and it limits the travel of the bracket.

I suppose that I'll have to get a photo of the SD..................