E320 woes
 

I hate to say this but...after almost 40 years of driving primarily Fords & Volvos (and a Chevy once but I rarely admit to that), I can honestly say the only vehicle that has EVER stranded me on the side of the road, dead in the water, is a Mercedes.

I have a '99 E320 and what happened was the drive belt tensioner pulley failed and threw the belt. Dash warnings told me the of the belt problem and I made it to an area with NAPA, Advance Auto & O'Reilly parts stores.
No problem getting the belt, they all had one in stock, so with my toolbox in the trunk, I felt on top of things but... when I opened the hood and saw the belt was still intact, just off the pulleys, I looked harder and lo, the tensioner pulley bearing was no more.

No one had one, not only that, they didn't even have it at a local distributor, it had to be ordered direct from the supplier, not to arrive until sometime the following week (this was a Saturday, natch). Can't just get a pulley either, have to get the whole tensioner assy. the closest MB dealer was on the other side of Atlanta so no hope there. I had to flatbed it home. Disgusting turn of events for someone who prides himself on being prepared for such events as this.

Anyone else have tensioner pulley problems? What is the expected life of these? They are good for 100k on Volvos, this one had less than 50k. There was no warning, no whine, rumble nor clanking. It gave up the ghost while I was idling at a stop light after a 45 minute, 45 mph run in Drive.

Once in 40 years!?! Man, I'd say you are lucky--sorry about your minor problem but don't blame the marque for the breakdown. It's a mechanical failure, could have happened to any make or model vehicle. When you have an 9 year old vehicle, an occasional problem requiring a tow doesn't seem highly unreasonable to me...

My $.02,

-GH

I would think that the bearing would have made some very distinct sounds indicating possible failure. I'm a firm believer of letting both of my Benz, '93 300E 129K miles and '01 E320 58K miles sit and run in the driveway every once in awhile as I walk around it with the hood open listening for any out of sort sounds. Also on the road, I'll turn the radio off and listen. :) Dennis

We have replaced a few of those tentioners but we always do it before they cause problems. The only 320 motors I have seen throw belts did it because of the early balancer failures.

Thanks for the comments, I guess I am mostly pissed that although I was fully prepared and capable of taking care of the problem and continuing on my journey, a common part, that I can find locally for almost any vehicle, was unavailable due to the fact that it was for a Mercedes (parts distributors take note!). I can understand a store not stocking every conceivable part and needing to call for one from their distributor but the fact that the distributor does not stock the part is what gripes me. My car had to be towed (how ignominious) and is down until Wed. evening. Don't get me wrong, I love my MB's, the SL is great fun and the 300TE was the smoothest ride I have ever owned. I guess I just needed to vent.

As it turns out there is probably not an easier car to get parts for than MB. I can have just about any part made for any car made in the last 30 years overnight and most within 8 hours. I stock that tentioner. If I needed one I would have it by noon it I knew by 9:00am. Keys over night.

You are just seeking the parts in the wrong places.

You won't find this kind of part for ANY German vehicle ANYWHERE except from dealer or mail order specialists.

This is first thing you need to know about Mercedes ownership--they can't be maintained via Pep Boys.

I once saw a question on a Range Rover list as to whether a heater core for same was available at NAPA. I noted that in the entire 25 years Range Rovers were produced they didn't make as many as a single year's production of Jeep Grand Cherokees. Get the picture?

Well, after checking around some of the other local suppliers in my neighborhood, I found one with the part in stock!

Autozone had it, I bought it, installed it, and am good to go.

So yes, I get the picture, I have a new local supplier and do not have to depend on dealer or mail-order for everything. Not only that, the part was NOT made in China.

Additionally, I make it a practice to avoid PEP Boys at all costs.

My experience is that if I need a part RIGHT NOW, Advance Auto Parts seems to have the largest selection of Mercedes parts.

It's not a huge selection, mind you, but if I need the part NOW as in "this hour" they seem to have a better selection than Pep Boys, Auto Zone, or Napa.

X2, their isn't anything for my old W126 that I can't seem to get overnight.

I have found that sometimes you can get lucky with local auto parts stores. I needed an upper radiator hose that no dealers in San Antonio and Austin had, but autozone had two different kinds made for my vehicle at half the price. Advance always seems to have a large selection of lamps and PepBoys is the only one I've seen with Zerex coolant. They are all good for some stuff. Most of the non-emergency stuff I get here or at the dealer if it's cheap enough. The junk yard is also a great place for various vacuum connectors that are needed from time to time also.

I never been stranded not even with my Chevy Astro with 190K miles. I mainly attribute that to not owning any Ford products.:eek:

My 98 E320 has 143K miles with the original tensioner. With all the sound insulation it may have been difficult to hear a bearing noise inside the car.

NAPA owns Worldpac so you can get lucky, but I don't waste my time anymore. I use only Phil or MB of North Haven. Getting anything I need is never a problem or a hassle.

I've found there is a definite difference between local parts stores in the area, even stores with the same parent. The Autozone just to the west of Snellville has a tremendous selection of jobber parts in stock (their aisles are stocked with oil, tools, etc) but the Autozone to the east of Snellville has much less in stock and generally will send me west to the other store when I need something STAT. They obviously cater to the non-jobber crowd (aisles stocked with shiny toys). I too prefer ordering from Phil when I have time to plan (brake job, tune-up, engine rebuild, etc) but go local in an emergency.

just to correct the record,napa doesn't own worldpac.it is owned by general parts which also owns carquest.