More problems with 300E not starting.

[pezzy]

Ok, well I got a new coil today and installed it and it was no go. Well when I was playing around under the hood I pushed on the belt and boy was it loose. Also considering I hear alot about the belt tensioners on MB's I decided this was my problem. Anyhow, now my question is, if the alternator isnt providing proper juice (due to the belt slipping) could this cause my car not to start due to not enough voltage to the coil? My belt used to be very taut about 2 weeks ago or so. Also how much would the belt tensioner cost and how hard is it to replace? Thanks for your help.

The job to replace the tensioner is not terrifically difficult, though it requires small hands and some finesse. I have the 2.6 liter on a 124 car, so my pointers may or may not apply to you.

Some of the more difficult points are getting the center bolt out of the fan clutch, and getting the lower bolt and nut off of the little dampener shock.

My dampener shock (incorrect part designation) had a nut and bolt combination. The new tensioner (if you get the aftermarket one from Mercedesshop.com) does not use the nut, so reinstallation was easier. If you find that you have a nut on the back of that, wait to remove it after you remove the tensioner.

You will need some specific instruction for aligning the tension pointer and sealing one bolt on the fromt of the engine with sealant. I would have never known to do that, had I not purchased the Popular Mechanics repair CD. (I recommend that, by the way, though it does not cover some topics.)

The fan clutch bolt is almost impossible to remove unless you know the "trick" to immobilize the fan shaft. I can not adequately explain it here, though note that I was able to use a small allen wrench, in lieu of the specialized MB tool.

Parts, as I recall were about $150, but you might ask the pros to offer insight on what else you should replace while you have the front of your engine taken apart.

Time was about 4 hours for me, though a pro could easily do it in two.

Good luck

[jeffsr]

Adam do a search on "tensioner"

[pezzy]

I also have the popular mechanics cd, considering it only cost $20 and has saved me over $500 it was well worth it. Did you buy the aftermarket tensioner? If you did, were there any modifications needed?

Bought the aftermarket one and no mods were needed. Seems fine to me.

I also bought aftermarket engine mounts since my engine settling caused a bang-bang-bang on start-up.

I prefer the MB stuff, but my wallet has to have its say.

[pezzy]

Well, now I have figured out why my car wont start and I would like to kick myself right about now. The engine is flooded. After pulling a few spark plugs and finding all of them wet I decided to take a look into the intake. Well I saw a puddle (yes a puddle) of gasoline just sitting there. I dried off 5 of the 6 spark plugs, pulled the fuel pump relay and tried to start it to clear the intake of any gas, well this didnt work as there was still gas under the throttle plate. So I just put something in the air plate to keep it open and now I am just waiting for all the gas to evaporate (hopefully soon) and I guess its time to replace the injectors (considering I can get them for a pretty decent price). I just pray that it isnt the cold start valve as that is pricey. Also the belt tensioner tightens up the belt when the engine is trying to be started, I dont know if this is normal but I guess it works. Thanks for all your help on this subject and I very much appreciate it.