My baby busted down on me today...

first I loose the AC and power steering..ALL the dashboard warning lights went on then the rad overheated within 10 minutes leaving me stranded in a less than favorable area of town...Got her towed back to the house and now I am here lamenting the initial approach into the engine bay. I am leaning to serpentine and radiator hose. Car has 75 k miles and have I have owned it for over two years. Until now she has been steady-eddie for me, I do have a fuel regulator issue.... but today just wiped me out for pete's sake.

Any ideas out there on what could have sent my car haywire today..or anybody have any idea of what typical issues on the w124 with this mileage.... should I put the money in or scrap it? I am told this model car can run forever and is relatively new and on a scale of 1-10 she's a 6... a few little issues cropping up like sunroof switch..little things..

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Showing up every day isn't enough. There are a lot of guys who show up every day who shouldn't have showed up at all. - James Caan

While I think you'd have better luck in the tech help forum, I'll take a moment to say "Calm down there, it sounds like you lost a belt, not the end of the world."

Of course, if you drove it long enough for the temp to climb, you may well have done harm...

MV

I’m with BAVBMW on this one.

The only thing in/on/around/part of/linked to etc. to all the things you had go off line at one time is a simple belt or two. Not sure on the E320, but if it has a single serpentine belt, it would take all those components you listed off line if it broke. Or, if you have multiple belts, one could have broken and taken another (or two) out with it when it did.
I’ve experienced both scenarios on various cars/trucks more than once.

Unless you cooked the motor when you let it get hot. No big deal. Replace the belt(s).

Edit: And check the coolant level before you start it back up again.

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1980 300D - Veggie Burner !

Wire Harness been replaced?

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-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.

Definitely the belt....

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Current Stable:
01 ML55 AMG
92 500E (a few mods)
87 300E (lots of mods)
00 Chevy 3500HD Diesel Box Truck
68 18' Donzi Marine
06 GT i-Drive7 1.0 Mountain Bike (with GPS!)

PREVIOUSLY OWNED:83 300SD, 87 420SEL, 88 420SEL, 90 420SEL, 86 560SEL, 86 190E 2.3-16V AMG, 94 E320

Make sure the tensioner is in good working order (just in case it chewed the belt).

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It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so. Robert A. Heinlein


09 Jetta TDI
1985 300D

If the belt was old it probably failed, if the belt was ok the tensioner probably let the belt loose and it failed.

Put a belt on, make sure the tensioner holds it tight, replace the coolant that spewed out and start it up. if it starts to overheat again, you may have blown the headgasket and/or warped the head.

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1980 500SE/AMG Euro
1981 500SEL Euro
1982 380SEL
1983 300TD
1983 500SEC/AMG Euro
1984 500SEC
1984 300TD Euro
1986 190E 2.3-16
1986 190E 2.3
1987 300D
1997 C36 AMG
2003 C320T 4matic

past: 1969 280SE 4.5 | 1978 240D | 1978 300D | 1981 300SD | 1981 300SD | 1982 300CD | 1983 300CD | 1983 300SD | 1983 380SEC | 1984 300D | 1984 300D | 1984 300TD | 1984 500SEL | 1984 300SD | 1985 300D | 1986 300E | 1986 560SEL | 1986 560SEL/Carat | 1987 560SEC | 1991 300D 2.5 | 2006 R350

i had this happen on my 95 E420. I was on the highway and I heard the belt snap. All the warning lights came on, power steering and everything was gone. Fortunately I was in the slow lane coming up on an exit. I pulled off the highway and stoped off the road at the bottom of the off ramp.

Roadside assistance towed me to the MB dealer and they replaced the belt after checking the tensioner. It was kind of scary when it happened, but it was a simple fix.

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Jason Priest
1999 E430
1995 E420 - retired
1986 420SEL - retired

It was probably the serp belt.

Your supposed to check it once in awhile, they do crack and give you tons and tons of warning. Now you made it worse by driving it and overheating it, hopefully the $30 belt which should be changed every 5 years or so as PM doesn't turn into a $1,000 head gasket job.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Here's what confuses me, last year I had the belt and the tensioner replaced as my AC would not run effectively. This seemed to fix the problem.
When the belt let go I was on a 2 lane highway (301) and got off the road asap but by then the car overheated very quickly.
I hope no big damage but we will see
JM

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Showing up every day isn't enough. There are a lot of guys who show up every day who shouldn't have showed up at all. - James Caan

Overheated to the point of steam coming out ?


In your favor - the car/motor you have is pretty common. In the worst case, you are looking at a new head or motor (hmm...this might be a chance for you to "upgrade" your motor - perhaps a V8 swap ? ) In the best case, a new belt and you are back to normal.

I agree with the previous poster who said '...put a belt on and drive it, if you broke the head, you'll find out soon enough...' -tis what I'd do.

-John

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2009 Kia Sedona
2009 Honda Odyssey EX-L
12006 Jetta Pumpe Duse
(insert Mercedes here)

Husband, Father, sometimes friend =)

turns out the culprit was a pinhole in the top rad hose by the clamp which started wetting the belt and caused it to start slipping and then finally getting offline and chewed up

got it all sorted but after two thermostats car still runs hot and fans do not come on as they did previously to cool the car off

thank you all for the input

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Showing up every day isn't enough. There are a lot of guys who show up every day who shouldn't have showed up at all. - James Caan

Generally when you lose power steering and such, you turn the car off right away and pull over!! Obviously something has gone wrong when lights are on and things don't work....

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)