Gentleman does anyone know what is the exact purpose of the little shock on the front of the 103 engine (the one right in front of the waterpump). The one on my 300E is loose (of course the bolt is missing on the lower end, where else ) and I would need to remove the radiator and the fanblade to get to it. My question is, should I bother with it or not? Is it something absolutely essential or can I just leave it hanging. I believe in purposeful german engineering but still.
Thanks for your advice

Alex

I have a hard time answering that question. I erased my first attempt where I drew comparison to driving without a wheel. Its not quite the same although to a technician its the same.

Operating any system below its design criteria is asking for trouble. I'm surprised that your A/C still works without the shock (oooh maybe its doesn't, maybe it was disposable too).

To make matters worse the reason the shock fails most time is a failure of the tentioning devise which is rather pricey. The belt system here uses a rubber hub to transmit tention to the tentioner pulley. It acts like a spring. Just like your suspension the thing just flutters with out a shock. Without this system working properly the first casualty will be the speed matching circuitry in the A/C control relay. The next to go will be the belt itself and if using things to see what happens continues at that point you've got a few more miles till the motor stops from overheating.

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Steve Brotherton
Owner 24 bay BSC
Bosch Master, ASE master L1
26 years MB technician

Take Steve's advice. get it repaired or replaced. That little gas shock provides some of the force for the belt tensioner. It also damps out oscillations in the tensioner system. If it's not there, you can throw your serpentine belt. Things will go sour pretty quickly if that happens. If the bracket on the tensioner hub is broken, you will have to replace that part. If the retainer bolt is missing, then the fix is easy. Get it done pronto. They put it there for a reason.
You will have to remove the fan shroud and fan blades. The radiator doesn't have to come out. The front bracket on the tensioner can be a bit of a pain. The innermost retainer bolt is behind the fan pulley. It can be loosened sufficiently to remove the tensioner hub w/o removing the fan pully.
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Jeff L
1987 300e
1989 300e
1987 BMW 325

[This message has been edited by jeffsr (edited 04-09-2000).]

[This message has been edited by jeffsr (edited 04-10-2000).]

Thank you for your advice, I guess I have to get to it this weekend. I am sure it is only the retaining bolt that is missing on the bottom end and the A/C is still working, lucky me. Thanks again


Alex

This shock is a DAMPER. It is there to slow down or dampen the back and forth movements of the tensioner during times of rapid change in engine rpm and load.

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Benzmac:
Donnie Drummonds
1981 280GE SWB
1987 16V
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