DIY Request: n52 Serpentine Belt/Tensioner Pulley Replacement

[jcoop269]

I've searched and can only find n55 related articles. I'm assuming there is some difference but I haven't compared...can anyone enlighten me on the topic if it is in fact quite similar, I don't know much about the n55.

[Yeineken]

Looking at pictures on RealOEM it seems to be the same as the 135i just a different belt pattern. I would also suggest you order a new Vibration damper, power steering pulley, and I believe you can buy the pulleys for the alternator on the 128i engines unlike the n54/n55. Its easier to just replace them all while your in there. I changed my belt and pulleys to just to have the power steering pulley start to go bad a month later.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=11_3740

[jcoop269]

Originally Posted by Yeineken

Looking at pictures on RealOEM it seems to be the same as the 135i just a different belt pattern. I would also suggest you order a new Vibration damper, power steering pulley, and I believe you can buy the pulleys for the alternator on the 128i engines unlike the n54/n55. Its easier to just replace them all while your in there. I changed my belt and pulleys to just to have the power steering pulley start to go bad a month later.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=11_3740

What mileage were you at when you first performed the belt and pulleys and again when the ps pulley went bad? Just curious as I am now over 100,000 and things still look excellent...I keep my engine/bay quite immaculate.

[Yeineken]

Originally Posted by jcoop269

What mileage were you at when you first performed the belt and pulleys and again when the ps pulley went bad? Just curious as I am now over 100,000 and things still look excellent...I keep my engine/bay quite immaculate.

Mine went bad at 63,XXX

I'm not sure if it's different for the 128i / 135i life of the belt. I also had a leaking OFHG so it probably made things worse.

[jcoop269]

Originally Posted by Yeineken

Mine went bad at 63,XXX

I'm not sure if it's different for the 128i / 135i life of the belt. I also had a leaking OFHG so it probably made things worse.

Mine is now leaking as well and scheduled to be replaced next week. Could it cause problems with the belt/pulley situation as well? I changed my oil last week and thought my oil pan gasket was bad after seeing oil all around the bottom of my car. It didn't look like the housing gasket was leaking that bad and I didn't realize it would make it the whole way down to the bottom....it just looked like some residue on the housing itself but I guess it may be worse on the unexposed side.

[Yeineken]

Originally Posted by jcoop269

Mine is now leaking as well and scheduled to be replaced next week. Could it cause problems with the belt/pulley situation as well? I changed my oil last week and thought my oil pan gasket was bad after seeing oil all around the bottom of my car. It didn't look like the housing gasket was leaking that bad and I didn't realize it would make it the whole way down to the bottom....it just looked like some residue on the housing itself but I guess it may be worse on the unexposed side.

Yea it can cause problems. After replacing the OFHG at the dealership they told me that the leaking oil is the culprit for ruining the belt and tensioners.

[jcoop269]

Originally Posted by Yeineken

Yea it can cause problems. After replacing the OFHG at the dealership they told me that the leaking oil is the culprit for ruining the belt and tensioners.

Did you do the tensioner/belt/pulleys yourself or did they? If the dealership did them how much? They want $400 for the housing gasket...can't quite gauge how they handle labor yet but I've been quoted some decent prices for a few things I thought were going to be expensive so not sure yet. Someone on here said their local dealership wanted over $1000 to do a tranny filter/oil change mine wants again $4xx so not sure.

[Yeineken]

Originally Posted by jcoop269

Did you do the tensioner/belt/pulleys yourself or did they? If the dealership did them how much? They want $400 for the housing gasket...can't quite gauge how they handle labor yet but I've been quoted some decent prices for a few things I thought were going to be expensive so not sure yet. Someone on here said their local dealership wanted over $1000 to do a tranny filter/oil change mine wants again $4xx so not sure.

Roughly a $1,000 for OFHG. I replaced the belt and tensioners myself. However I did not fix the leaking gasket. So it leaked onto the belt and tensioners causing them to fail within a few weeks. They were replaced free of charge at the dealership under parts warranty when I had the OFHG done.

[jcoop269]

Originally Posted by Yeineken

Roughly a $1,000 for OFHG. I replaced the belt and tensioners myself. However I did not fix the leaking gasket. So it leaked onto the belt and tensioners causing them to fail within a few weeks. They were replaced free of charge at the dealership under parts warranty when I had the OFHG done.

Well that certainly makes me feel a lot better about the $400 my dealership wants for that ofhg...I'll bet another $400-500 for the tensioner/belt since I actually think it's less work.