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      07-20-2017, 08:36 PM   #1
NorthernDancer
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Serpentine belt replacement N52

I searched, didn't find anything. Bav Auto DIY video is on a Z3. A new friend says he changed his belt, tensioner, etc without removing the fan, just the air filter box. Not having to remove the fan means we donot need the 2 tools to remove it (holder bar & 32mm thin open end wrench). Rad not removed also. Can anyone here comment on this?
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      07-20-2017, 10:36 PM   #2
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I did it with just removing the airbox and the intake scoop. So you know, 325, 328 and 330 E9x guides will work with like 95% of maintenance, mods and repair for a 128i.
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      07-20-2017, 10:53 PM   #3
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Why are you guys changing serpentine belts? By coincidence, I just changed the tensioner pulley and belt on my W124, but that thing's 25 years old.
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      07-20-2017, 11:07 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob View Post
Why are you guys changing serpentine belts? By coincidence, I just changed the tensioner pulley and belt on my W124, but that thing's 25 years old.
I'm incredibly anal with maintenance, and BMW says it's due at like 90k mi.

Also there's talk of belts getting sucked into the front main seal.

The job ended up being worth it, my idler pulley bearing sounded like it had sand in it when I spun it.
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      07-20-2017, 11:35 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by desertman123 View Post
I'm incredibly anal with maintenance, and BMW says it's due at like 90k mi.
Source? It's hard to find reliable info on maintenance intervals...so much stuff is considered "lifetime" now, or else you're supposed to wait until the car tells you it wants something via CBS or throwing a code.

Anyway, I'm only about halfway to 90k, but I like to know what to expect.

By the way, did the pulley have a dust cap on it? On the W124 I just did, the dust cap was missing from the pulley and tensioner arm, but I sourced new dust caps when I replaced both parts. Just wondering if we have the benefit of the caps or not on the 1er. There was a ton of dust all over my engine bay when I got everything off to pull the valve cover recently.
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      07-20-2017, 11:43 PM   #6
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Wow, thanks Desertman123, that's perfect. So yes, fan does not need to be removed. And, I've heard that some recommend replacing at 60K miles. And yes, if belt breaks it can do serious damage in the front of the engine.
My BMW dealer noted that my belt was "walking off the tensioner", something that I haven't had a look at yet but this job is so easy & inexpensive, I should do it soon.
My friend did his car because he was having a noise coming from front of engine. The noise was still there after he put in the new parts. Looks like noise is coming from alternator. Alternator actually sometimes makes a small knock noise. I told him to wait a little while longer-see if noise gets worse.
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      07-21-2017, 12:35 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob View Post
Source? It's hard to find reliable info on maintenance intervals...so much stuff is considered "lifetime" now, or else you're supposed to wait until the car tells you it wants something via CBS or throwing a code.

Anyway, I'm only about halfway to 90k, but I like to know what to expect.

By the way, did the pulley have a dust cap on it? On the W124 I just did, the dust cap was missing from the pulley and tensioner arm, but I sourced new dust caps when I replaced both parts. Just wondering if we have the benefit of the caps or not on the 1er. There was a ton of dust all over my engine bay when I got everything off to pull the valve cover recently.
Honestly as soon as I said that I realized I'm probably just quoting some other forum member who said that once upon a time. I think you're right in that BMW has no official spec on it (or anything to be honest lol.)

The Bentley manual states:

Inspect belt with engine off. If belt shows signs of wear, cracking, glazing, or missing sections, replace immediately. To reduce the chance of belt failure while driving, replace belt every four years.

And everyone in the DIY thread over at E90Post do theirs between 60-90k.

And yes the idler did have a dust cap but the tensioner does not.

Quote:
Originally Posted by NorthernDancer View Post
Wow, thanks Desertman123, that's perfect. So yes, fan does not need to be removed. And, I've heard that some recommend replacing at 60K miles. And yes, if belt breaks it can do serious damage in the front of the engine.
My BMW dealer noted that my belt was "walking off the tensioner", something that I haven't had a look at yet but this job is so easy & inexpensive, I should do it soon.
My friend did his car because he was having a noise coming from front of engine. The noise was still there after he put in the new parts. Looks like noise is coming from alternator. Alternator actually sometimes makes a small knock noise. I told him to wait a little while longer-see if noise gets worse.
Seems to be a really common thing, but I don't know if the belt is actually walking off, or if it just sits like that, cuz in the thread I linked a few people mentioned the belt looked like it was hanging off the tensioner pulley like 1/4". I've seen a handful of people mention bent/broken tensioner bolts.
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Last edited by desertman123; 07-21-2017 at 12:40 AM..
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      07-21-2017, 09:37 PM   #8
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Reading on e90post scared me into replacing my tensioner and belt at 65k miles. It was fairly easy, but kinda wonder if it was really necessary at 65k, the belt looked great, and was positioned well. Maybe a longer interval 80k is better?
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      12-10-2018, 09:32 AM   #9
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60K miles. Changed serpentine belt, tensioner and idler pulley. $82 OEM parts kit at FCP Euro vs $625(!) parts and labor quoted at dealer. Maybe 1.5 hours and I took my time. Not difficult. Sketch the belt path before removing the old one. Only removed the dual inlet air part that feeds the air box. Had to unbolt the airbox to get some movement. Needed a T60 bit (large!) to release the tension and a E14 torx socket for the bolt. Same size bolt head as the T60 bit. Aluminum, one time use bolt - torque to 18 ft lb then 90 degrees. If the new belt is on all the pulleys then it will fit before releasing the tension and pulling the pin in the new tensioner. Old belt looked great, no visible cracks at 10x magnification. Piece of mind and the recommended interval is 60k miles. FCP Euro specifies 30 ft lb torque for the idler pulley bolt. Then snap on new dust cap. Tensioner has a dust cap in place over the pulley.

Last edited by 1 Bimmer; 12-10-2018 at 09:35 AM.. Reason: add idler pulley bolt torque
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      12-10-2018, 02:35 PM   #10
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Did mine at the side of the road with just a torx bit and a breaker bar, didn't have to remove anything at all.

Bonus: It's where the cops stop to chit-chat so I had lots of company.

View post on imgur.com
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      12-11-2018, 08:45 PM   #11
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I did mine at 60k miles. Along with the water pump. I've seen the pumps go at less than 50k, and the pulleys go as low as 75k. I consider it a regular maintenance. Especially if your oil filter stand has leaked onto the belt at all.
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