Need serious help in
 

Hey everyone! I am the proud new owner (although not as much as of yesterday), of a '78 240D 128,000MI. While driving it home at about 65MPH, heard a noise and subsequently pulled over at a truck stop. Turns out, crank pulley sheard where the 2 v grooves meet, tore up rad and rad fan blades. My question is, what in God's name could have caused this?? Fatigue due to rust as there was SOME rust built up on the inside or some other reason? Please help as this really put a damper on the purchase of this beautiful machine. What steps do I follow for the re&re?

Thank you all to those who can help!

So the pulley itself actually broke? As opposed to the pulley bolts breaking?

If so, the fix should be fairly easy, although not inexpensive. Replace the pulley and repair the collateral damage. A new fan is cheap, radiator is easy to change. A replacement pulley might take some effort to find.

Thanks for the quick reply. My question still remains, what caused it to shear? Excessive Vibe or just fatigue? Also, where the heck do you adjust the cluster illumination??

Thanks!

Yes, pulley itself broke between two V-grooves. Bolts are still there and tight (VERY) tight. Can I use an impact wrench or is a breaker bar best? If I go the breaker bar method, how do I keep the engine from turning?

Thanks too all once again!

P.S. How capable are these engines on surviving a semi-overheat condition such as mine? (coolant went buh bye via compromised rad)

The impact should be fine. The 616 diesels are ore tolerant to loss of cooling than most since they run pretty cool anyway. If you didn't run it too long that way thre is a good chance it is fine. Just repair the known damage fill the coolant and see what happens. Keep an eye on it til your sure it is ok.

Good luck

Tom W

Excessive belt tension could have been a factor. Or a failure (seizure) of a belt-driven component.

If your rheostat works, rotate the trip odometer reset knob on the lower left side of the cluster. (Odds are good that your rheostat doesn't work.)

God bless, and I will post the outcome once work has been completed!