Sprinter fan belt fell off

[si.]

Hi, has any body had there fan belt just fall off whist driving. It happened to me today.When i noticed the battery light come on i stopped and opened the bonnet and there it was just lying there on the pullies. I did atemp to drive it the short distance home but the temp was creeping up and up so i decided to get some use out of my AA membership. After the fella came out i expected him to toe me 4 miles home but instead he spent 30 mins checking it and refitted it ( While the radiator/fan etc was still in place:lol The very nice man said he had seen it on earlier model sprinters when the steering had been on full lock but not on a 311 cdi. So i was just wondering if it had happened to any of you fellas before???????

 

[Number_Cruncher]

If your Sprinter has an hydraulic damper as well as a spring fitted to the belt tensioner, it may be worth checking both that the spring is applying enough load, and that the damper bushes aren't perished, and that the damper actually works properly as a damper.

To check the damper, disconnect one end, and try to move it - you should feel some resistance to motion.

 

[si.]

it a 311 cdi 03 reg and it doesn't have a damper on it.
its just got a spring coil inside the belt tenshioner which is realy strong.It came off again today and i managed to fit it back on because i loaded the tools in the van just incase it happened again so that was lucky.
I noticed the tenshioner pully was bobbing side to side slightly so im wondering wether the bearings etc have collapsed or do they bob side to side slightly anyway. Any more ideas out there

 

[turbopete]

i wouldnt have thought they should have any sideways movement!

 

[si.]

ye i thought soo. I bought a new belt for merc on the way home and fitted that and it seems to be better. The last belt i bought when i done the head gasket done was from auto parts so i dont know wether it is s**t and that may have been the reason but I plan to strip the top half of the engine this week end to check the timing so im going to buy a new tenshioner from merc they quoted me £56

 

[Cole@MBS]

Fan belts dont fall off!!

Theres a fault there somewhere!

 

[Rappey69]

Its not caused by the "sprag clutch" or whatever its called, the one on the alternator ??

 

[si.]

just an update, i got a new tenshioner and the problem is now sorted. the belt now runs in the middle of the tenshioner where as before it was level with the out side edge of the pullly