can I drive 10 miles without belts?
 

All the belts are off my 300TD and I need to move it 10 miles to finish the job and put new belts on. Will it hurt anything to drive 10 miles without belts? I know I won't have power steering or AC, and the battery won't get charged. I'm mostly wondering about the water pump. It seems that's not driven by a belt, so I should be OK. Or not? thanks. Larry Larson

I would not.

ok, thanks, is there are reason? what would be damaged? Larry

All water pumps I have seen on TD's are driven by belts. I would not do it either.

I think your engine will overheat pretty quickly - I wouldn't chance it. Thermo siphon cooling just isn't going to cut it here. In the end a 10 mile tow is going to be a lot cheaper!

The water pump is driven by two belts. No belts = no water pump.

Can you at least put one of the belts that drives the alternator and water pump? Even an old one? I don't remember if that one drives the fan, but if not you could jumper the electric fan so it runs.

You should have the coolant moving when the engine is running.

It's not only heat, but heat distribution. The engine can take a fair amount of heat if distributed (fairly) evenly by coolant flow.

My belt broke once as I was pulling into work. I also thought that I could get home a fix it. Who needs the alternator?, I was thinking.

I forgot about the water pump. I looked at my gauge on the expressway 6 miles later and it was pegged. I shut off and coasted a while. I pulled into a gas station and called a buddy. He took me to a parts store and I bought a belt. We went back and I put it on and all was right with the world.

What a scare!

I threw a belt on my 240D while on the freeway and drove it another 20 miles to get to my mechanic's who was the closest source for belts on a Saturday morning. If I went any faster than 55mph the engine temp would reach the red but it made it and the car had no leaks or loss in performance in the 10k miles I drove it after that.

But if you can get a ride to get the belt I would definitely do that instead.

I wouldn't do it. Once when my belt broke a few years ago I was able to make it home...

However that was being within a mile of home and even then I stopped after about half a mile because the temperature was starting to rise (It doesn't take long at all) I waited a few minutes for the temp to come down, accelerated and then coasted the rest of the way with the engine off.

Make a duct tape belt if you have to.
I killed my 93 Ranger trying to get to the next exit without a belt, and a friend of mine recently killed his Buick when he threw a belt.

I wouldn't chance it

I would not do it. You'll wreck the engine. The water pump IS indeed belt driven. A half a mile starting with a cold motor driven slowly? 10 miles? Never.

Seriously
 

You can steal a pair of your wifes pantyhose and wrap them around the belt path and tie them. works as an emergency measure, I have done it. No belts is asking for a dead engine. Cheers Dan

The belt drives:
alternator - can do without
compressor - can do without
water pump - can do without if you drive 1 mile and rest for 1 hour
power steering - you may have a hard time steering it. I find it very hard to steer without power steering on a 300D.

In theory, it is possible. In practice, you need to rest and let the engine cools down.

Have you ever thought of using penty hose to wrap round the water pump?:P

http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=8396293

The MB water pumps don't work on testosterone.
Your suggestion may useful in other hydraulic applications, however.

Or call a taxi to take you to the parts store, or call a friend . . .

wow, this is what I call a consensus! If I had known the water pump was belt driven, I wouldn't have even considered driving it. OK, I'll just fix it where she sits. Thanks for all the input. Larry

Good luck, let us know how it turns out.

If the consensus is too much, you could always ask what kind of oil to use:D

You can drive it as is until you hit 83C.

Exactly my thinking...although he'll hit pretty darn quick if the temps in IL are similar to what they are here in MI today. I don't think he'll make it 10 miles.

My alternator froze and made it home driving 10 miles using a shoe string (sneaker type) connected to the main pulley and water pump.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showpost.php?p=1806686&postcount=10

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...9&d=1206670193

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...0&d=1206670208


I keep a package of shoe strings in the glove compartment.

THAT, my friend, is nothing short of awesome. Well done. :clap:

Cool! Whoda thought!

Total McGyver move there.

Where did ya get the shoe string? I thought all you dudes in California only wore sandals and flip-flops?:D

I've read that a section of a pair of pantyhose will work in a pinch. Much more exciting to obtain them.

What's going on with that outside belt in the picture?

Shoestring budget fixes!

Yeah, looks to be a couple of problems.

Thanks!


Actually back in the 90’s I was living and working in Washington DC just moving to California. I had not converted to the Californian ways yet.:D


I basically snap those pictures right before removing the power steering belt. (You need to remove the PS and A/C belt to get to the Alt. and WP belt. What a pain!) By the looks of the pic, it seemed that I was peeling the belt off.:rolleyes: On another note you can see a frayed string on the A/C belt. That was from the excess amount of string after I cinched it down and I tied it. I hastily started it, it got caught in the pulley and tore off. :eek: I then promptly cut out any excess.

WOW, just wow....
 

My 83' 300SD has only one of two belts for the alternator-coolant section, and it recently threw it off. It's still there, just hanging around. I've been driving the car very carefully lately until I could replace the belts. I had no idea how stupid this was!

The frustrating thing is, as soon as I noticed that the car was beginning to get hot while driving (100 C), I called my MB dealership and asked them what the highest temp I could drive at safely, and told him my engine was running at 100 C. He said normal op temp for these engines is 90C and due to the immense Texas heat, 100C might be possible, but alright to drive at. He said if it starts to go above 100C then I should be concerned.

Well I've been concerned. I've driven it approx. 30 or so miles with it regularly at 100C and towards the end of my drive to and from work it might hit 110C for 3-5 minutes until I pull into the driveway.

I'm replacing the belts today, however, I'm fearful now that I may have damaged the engine.

What's you guys' assessment. Is it a pretty good chance I've screwed this engine by tooling around at a regular 100C with peaks at 110C?

:eek::eek: Do not drive that anymore!! 30 miles daily for how long?? How often has it hit 110C? IMHO you'd be extremely lucky not to have damaged that engine in the heat. You can warp/crack the head, though in a 617 thats not as common as in the newer engines with aluminum heads. I would absolutely NOT drive it without an alternator/WP belt unless it was an emergency situation close to a place where you can service the engine. :bomb2:

Edit: you should remember that the guage is based off of where the coolant temp sensor is located, so without circulation the coolant could have gotten even higher without it showing on the gauge.

Did you explain to the dealer that coolant was not being circulated through the engine? If you did, and the dealer did not object to your continuing to drive the car, you need to find another dealer.
These engines are robust so it's likely you are ok, but you shouldn't drive a car without a functioning water pump unless it's air cooled.

OM618, IMO you may have damaged the engine. Every time it is heated beyond it's design point, and especially without circulation to eliminate hot spots and localized boiling, you run the risk of overstressing the metal and the gasketed joint. These engines have some margin for abuse, and I believe you have used up much of that margin. Incipient cracking may have already begun. Fortunately you have an iron head that has much higher fatigue strength than aluminum (and a lower coefficient of thermal expansion). If you had an aluminum head, I think you'd already know the answer because the car would be in the shop getting a new head gasket at minimum and probably a new head. I think you should be extremely conscientious about maintaining normal cooling temperatures from now on, and perhaps the engine will be OK. Wintertime will be an additional stressor, although you live in a mild climate. Good luck!

Well, not 30 mi. daily. In fact, I went over my driving and calculated it out to be about 18 miles daily for the last three days. So, possibly up to 60 mi total since the alt-coolant belt fell off.

It's hit 120C once, and I then pulled over for a couple of hours and let it cool. I think it had hit 120C because most of the water had boiled off. I've kept the water full since that first day and it hasn't gone above 110 since then. It's hit 110 maybe thee times, for about 3-5 minutes each time until I pulled into my driveway.

Like I said, I still have one of the V-belts hanging there. I unfortunately can't get it back on because I don't have a wrench to fit up to the upper bolt on the alternator to loosen it up and get the belt around it. I'm waiting on a friend to bring me his wrench set, since I'm too afraid to take the car anywhere to buy wrenches.

What will be the first symptoms of a ruined engine from this situation?

The first symptoms would be head gasket symptoms. After the belts are on and the cooling system is properly filled and bled, the things to watch for would be coolant loss with no apparent leaks, overpressurization of the cooling system, whitish "smoke" from the exhaust, possibly harder starting and poor idle, water in the oil (milky appearance on dipstick and inside filler cap), oil in the water, continuing overheating with no apparent cause... Stuff like that.

The milkshake look on the dip stick and oil cap are when the engine is cold and the trapped water vapor has a chance to condense.