I was driving along in Mesa Arizona, lovely day, when a sudden snap-bang sound came from the engine compartment of my '95 E320 wagon.

Alternator light came on in "red"...ABS amber light and a loss of power steering with a rapid temperature rise forced me to pull over. I went out of the next exit and of course it was the one with absolutely no service stations in sight. When I finally pulled into a Shell station an opened the hood I saw a bell shaped object sticking out about an inch from where my belt tensioner should be and the serpentine belt completely off from where it was supposed to be.

I am home recuperating from this ordeal...had the car picked up and delivered to my friends (where we were going to dinner) and have ordered the appropiate parts from PeachParts...

My question...and I knew you knew I had a question...do tensioners just blow up and disintegrate???

I will be removing and replacing parts tomorrow and would like to hear from anyone out there who has had a similar experience.

Thanks in advance...also if there is any advice...I'd appeciate that too.

I plan on driving this car for ever.

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I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him. -Galileo Galilei, physicist and astronomer (1564-1642)

It can happen if the bearings in the pulley failed or locked up....pretty common on higher miles units. How many miles??

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No URO tensioner! The tensioner has rubber internals that will crumble with age. While you are in there ensure your fan clutch bearing bracket won't leave you stranded soon as well. Check for any wobble and replace otherwise it will sheer off and cause a much greater hassle than this has done.

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2016 Monsoon Gray Audi Allroad - 21k
2008 Black Mercedes E350 4Matic Sport - 131k
2014 Jeep Wranger Unlimited Sahara - 62k
2003 Gray Mercedes ML350 - 122k

And check around behind all the pulleys for any strands of belt, if it got shredded. They like to wind themselves up there.

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Prost!

fortunately the belt did not get shreded...I helped a friend after his air pump failed in his '95 E320 sedan and boy was that a mess!

this wagon has 230,000 miles...my '91 wagon is approaching 250,000. They still run fine except for a rare hiccup.

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I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him. -Galileo Galilei, physicist and astronomer (1564-1642)

nestorb98, I agree that it is a good time to inspect/replace the fan clutch bearing bracket. If you need a replacement recommend buying a rebuilt one from your local MB dealer. Give them the old one, or you will pay a core charge.

Definitely avoid a Uro tensioner. You can buy a Febi tensioner from Pelican Parts, or a genuine tensioner from your local MB dealer.

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Fred Hoelzle