Hello All,

I have a 1996 E300d, and the spring which puts the tension on my belt tensioner recently snapped, destroying my belt. The belt pulley looked abraded from this episode and I've order a new one, along with a belt.

Yesterday I went to replace the pulley and belt. I took off the belt fan, and noticed that the tensioner itself has a bit of back and forth play to it. In WIS I looked up this parts diagram and the pin it rides on is titled a "bearing". I don't think of bearing as allowing for as much wiggling as I'm getting on the tensioner , but I did also notice the tension dampener connector has a rounded design, which would indicate to me perhaps it does wiggle back and forth a bit.

Is there a way to test my tensioner to make sure it's operating properly??? How much play is acceptable in the tensioning "lever"? If you think it's necessary to replace it - does anyone know of a thread with the procedure?

Car has 210k miles, btw.

Thanks!

Sincerely,
Dustin