Mercedes Serpentine Belt Tensioner Replacement

Sorry for the confusion, we thought we were not going to be able to properly advertize the event and were going to change the date.  The email came out the evening of 12 April, so we are sticking with the original date of April 19th, and we have unsuspended registration.

Join us for a great Tech Talk video-teleconference (VTC) via ZOOM on Wednesday, April 19th at 7:00 PM (Eastern Daylight Time) when Peachtree President Gary Edwards will present “Mercedes Serpentine Belt Tensioner Replacement." Gary will cover the replacement of the "version one with external damper" serpentine belt tensioner he recently did on his 1992 300CE-24.  This tensioner, with a threaded adjusting rod and nut, is also used on the early W129 300SLs and is similar to those used on the subsequent M104, the M103 and the early M119 engines. It is often subject to damage due to incorrect adjusting procedures, so it's not unusual to have a stripped adjusting rod, which requires tensioner removal for replacement. The tensioners can fail from age as the elastomeric tensioning bond between the fixed and moving pieces fails.

Gary comments, "I have a number of cars with this tensioner, but I don't think I really understood it until I was holding it in my hands. When installed in the car, you can't really get a good look at it to see the lever that effects the adjustment. Replacement is only of moderate difficulty and can certainly be done by the home hobbiest, but it's not trivial." He will talk through what he learned when he did this. Following his presentation, we have plenty of time for questions and answers on this, or any other Mercedes-Benz topic.

The price is $10 per person.  We apologize in advance that motorsportreg.com will be adding a $2 per person fee to your bill; we can't do anything about this and have registered our displeasure wih them.

We anticipate about a 40-minute presentation, followed by plenty of time for questions and answers. It will be a fun evening of car talk and you won’t want to miss it!

When you complete the Motorsportreg.com registration process, you will immediately receive a confirmation email. If you don’t get this confirmation email, then either you are not registered, or your email address is incorrect in Motorsportreg.com. You should check your Motor Sports profile to verify your email address.

We plan to record this event, so be aware that your voice and potentially image may be recorded.

The session will be conducted via Zoom Video Teleconference. No NEED to leave your home. You can easily join the ZOOM meeting by computer, iPhone, iPad, Android device, or by telephone.  We will send out the link to the VTC shortly after noon on the day before the event.  If you haven't see the link by dinner time Tuesday April 18th, contact the registrar by phone or email.

IMPORTANT ZOOM VTC SECURITY NOTE: The organizers are well aware of security issues concerning ZOOM VTCs. ZOOM has implemented many security fixes over the last few years and we have instituted a number of security precautions, which include a set of ground rules that will be covered at the start of the presentation. As these ground rules constitute part of our security system, it is important to follow them.  It is important to enter the VTC with your screen name matching you registered name, otherwise we may not let you in.

It would be best to download the Zoom app beforehand to simplify connection. We’ll plan to have the VTC up by 6:40 pm EDT so we can hopefully get any technical issues out of the way. Please be on time, as we do not expect to be able to admit participants to the event after the 7 pm EDT start time.

Don’t wait to register, as we have a limited number of attendees (100). For questions, call Gary Edwards at (757) 831-9556 or email Gary Edwards