Hello,

I have a 2000 E250. While driving the belt must have come off and got shredded. As i parked the van overheat and I believe it's antifreeze that went everywhere. I checked the pullies where the belt goes and I have a little bit of up and down play in the water pump. Is this normal? The other pullies don't seem to have any up and down play at all.

Thanks!
Butch

 

What engine?

Drivebelt pulleys shouldn’t have any discernible play. Sounds like the water pump gave up. Can you still turn the water pump pulley? It must have seized if it threw the belt. Tensioner and tensioner pulley are good?

Sixto
07 E350 5.4 197K miles

 

Thanks for the reply. I'm thinking the belt just broke and the engine overheated. The pully on the water pump has just the smallest amount of play. I can't see it move but I can feel a slight bit of play lifting up and down on the pully. It doesn't make any noise and it is smooth to turn. When I spin it it feels solid. I'm wondering if the antifreeze was just overflow from the heated engine. I could hear bubbling when shut off the engine. I put a new belt on and filled the radiator. I drove it a short distance and it didn't overheat and the coolant level remain steady.

 

It’s uncommon for a modern belt to break from wear. More often a pulley seizes or the tensioner fails. Give the idlers and tensioner a good check when you fit a new belt.

Sixto
07 E350 5.4 198K miles

 

The water pump pulley should have zero clearance or play
More common for a belt to flip off than to just break
What was the condition of the old belt?

 

Thanks! I'll check the pullies again.

 

Thanks. I figured I'd need to replace the pump. I'm not sure what the condition of the belt was before it came off. When I looked at it, it was in pieces and wrapped around the fan shaft. It had shredded lengthwise.

 

If you are lucky, it just shredded the old belt, and you can replace the water pump or other pulleys later
Usually, those idler and tensioner pulleys squeal like a stuck pig when the bearings start to fail
If you heard no noise until the belt went, you might be okay for a while
Have fun, good luck
Trust your original work and the water pump should start to leak coolant when the bearing gets loose enough to ruin the seal

 

Thanks! I didn't hear any squealing at all. I put a new belt on and there is no noise. I'll probably still change the pump just to be safe.