Great write up Dave and others. Been there, done that. We had a problem that was kinda pricey. Driving north on I-95 first day out for our 2 mo. trip some years back in 95+ F. temps. I heard a loud bang, the AC stopped working and we had a rattle in the engine area. We limped into a Dodge dealer who was listed as a Mecedes service center.
According to the mechanic, the little 6 cyl. Mercedes diesel in our RV must have picked up a stone on the road, just the right size, in just the wrong place which got between the belt and pulley on the AC compressor. The stone caused a sudden overload which snapped the pulley shaft and clutch off trashing the power steering pump also. All this happened at around 60 mph.
The mech showed me the parts and mess. Said it would take 2 days to get parts and fix. They had a loaner car, so we packed up a few things and got a motel nearby. When the dust settled, the bill was around $4k. I think the price of the loaner car may have been in the price.
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