190D or Time Bomb!
 

I just completed replacment of the timing cover on my friends', recently purchased, 1985 400,000 mile, 190D.
The area of timing cover that supports the fan belt tensioner had broken off. I noticed that the new cover had additional reinforcement in the tensioner mounting area. Does anyone here know of problems with these timing covers breaking at the belt tensioner?

Thanks in Advance and Happy Motoring, Mark

(P.S. The whole, sad story can be seen, under similar heading, at 'Diesel Discussion'.)

I think this is a service issue...

If you wait until the tensioner gets really bad(or maybe not torqued correctly), the cover is damaged. The angle imparts a load that is prying on the cover as the tenioner fails.

I believe the 601 tensioners ussually last 75-100k.


Michael

Thanks for the reply. The tensioner I reinstalled wasn't noisy,loose or jammed. I suppose the old timing cover could have been damaged by a previous faulty tensioner. I'll pass on the info to the owner who is getting rid of the car before something else happens.

Happy Motoring, Mark