Just did one of these on an E90, ordered the kit from FCP Euro and all. Only took me about and hour although you don't have to remove the fan plenty of space with just the air box out. Great video really straight forward !
I just purchased my first BMW it is a 2006 325i project car. Watching your DYI videos took the skepticism out of the work I am about to do. Thank you for your professionalism and in depth knowledge and respect you have as a clean mechanic. PS. all my friends compare these cars to owning a boat, we will soon see.
Hi Gareth I have posted a comment to the old video before it got deleted. And was hoping to hear from you. I had this kit on my car after seeing your review on another video where you just reviewed the kit, you said specifically, REMOVE the idler pulley washer, as it is just for shipping purposes, and now you are saying keep it. So which way it is? And yes I have removed it as per your instructions and throw it away? Would this cause any harm or issue? Should I have another one installed? Thank you!
Hi Firas, sorry I meant to respond before we removed that video and re uploaded with a missing step. You are right that two different things were said, since the product review new information came out from BMW in regards to the washer. Albeit confusing and doesn't seem helpful they now advise to run it with the washer but it should not matter much either way since it was previously said to remove it, and had ran them like that for years on our cars. Sorry for any confusion!
Same I turned a 30 minute job into 5 hours with a very stubborn power steering hose, impossible clamps and dropping a screw driver into the never ending abyss that is the back of the engine bay.
Great howto and video. My idler pulley insert said the bolt retainer (thin washer) is to be REMOVED before installation. I've seen videos online which say to leave it on. I didn't see in your vid if you removed or not - what is the recommendation, and what is the impact if I did remove it?
Gareth, if you're ever in Portland OR reach out. Your videos have saved me so much money the least I can do is buy you a beer and lunch. I would never have thought I could have taken on the serpentine belt project without this video. I've done the entire front end of the car, the valve cover gasket, fuel injectors and engine wiring harness replacements using your videos. Easily the best online repair videos for BMW I've seen. Which, of course, means I buy all my parts from FCP Euro.
Hi, I had a question about your torque wrenches. I am very new to this and have a friend helping me. Could you tell me what kind of trench to get along with specs. I e searched forever. Thought about re ting a 3/8 and a 1/2 from an automotive store but together they were $165. Are there any tools that are affordable to get me by while I undertake this project? Truly any help is much appreciated. I have a 2015 BMW x1 28i 4cyl E90. I'd like to get these wrenches to use for other maintenance on my BMW. My bmw shop to change the serpentine belt only a$60 belt was quoted ~$400. Labor a day hard to get to was there price justification.. Thanks for your time a day an excellent detailed video. Hope to hear back. Need some guidance. R/ A
HELLO I PUT THE NEW BLACK IDLER PULLEY ON BACKWARD SO THE CAP WONT FIT..EVERYTHING ELSE SEEMS FINE AND THE BELT IS NEW AND GOOD..WILL THE PULLEY BE OK? IDLER ON BACKWARD? THE ONLY THING IS THE CAP DONT FIT **PLEASE RESP OND
Great vid! I just went through similar procedure to replace my small DISA valve by removing the alternator and going in this way. The only way I could get access to refit the belt was by removing the fan. E61. I noticed my belt sits a bit forward on the tensioner, so I'm repeating the process soon! 😂
You said on an auto transmission, electric fan is attached to oil cooler on bottom of car. On 6-Speed MANUAL transmission, do you need to get under car to remove screw attaching electric fan to Oil Cooler? I have a 2007 335i E90.
I managed to accomplish the belt replacement by jacking front end, only removing the under engine cover and removing one of the air cross pipe torx screws (loosened the other). I pushed belt down into vicinity from the top and placed it on pulleys etc. from underneath, finishing on top when ready for tensioner. I cut the belt I replaced for easier removal from underneath. My belt squeak and subsequent failure was a result of my power steering pump coming loose (the bottom bolt had actually fallen into the under cover). Must have not tightened it sufficiently when replacing oil pan gasket.
@@ReallyGino I ordered the pulley kit/ belt, valve cover/ gasket off of Turner. I’m hoping that fixes the issue. Do you know the sound I’m talking about? You’ll come to a stop, car will idle strange for a second and the car begins to squeal…
@@ithinkweregoingtoneedabigg8525 yes I had a similar issue when it would only squeal when I accelerated. I thought it was the valve cover but I replaced it recently but better safe than sorry. But for me the squeal turned into idle to like your problem belts and pulleys solved my issues just went through this a week ago
So purchased kit with belt and INA tensioner and INA idler pulley. Idler pulley is made in France on the box. Tensioner is MADE IN CHINA! The tensioner looks similar to the 6 year ina one I'm replacing....right down to the bmw numbers being grounded off. My question.....are these tensioners being made in china now??? Should I be concerned with quality? I bought genuine bmw oil filter housing and oil cooler gaskets last year from FCP and they were made in japan. But china for the ina tensioner is a thing now?
If I'm not mistaken INA is the supplier to BMW for the tensioner and pulley. China "can" match any quality they are held to by INA. Which I'm sure has strict quality control. The problem arises when aftermarket suppliers send a part overseas tell them to duplicate a part and don't put it through a stringent quality control process. They may use cheaper materials and looser tolerances. If you stick with OE or OEM suppliers on BMW, you rarely have issues. FCP has been supplying parts for BMW for years and has a lifetime warranty on everything they sell, so our butts are covered regardless.
2011 328xi here. With 185k miles and one previous oil gasket replacement. Well - dealer wanted $700+ for the oil filter gasket job and another $900 for the belt+tensioner. I would say you guys saved me about $1400. Parts were around $200 all in, another $100 on needed tools. Thank you! I did the gasker, the coolant flange, and the tensioner/belt. I did go ahead and try to take off that fan....but ended up snapping that little "nipple" on the upper coolant hose where it connects to the coolant overflow hose. Terrible all this plastic gets so brittle. Anyway...definitely recommend NOT taking the fan off. There is enough room to do everything you need to do without that step. Save time - and likely save yourself additional broken parts! Other than that hiccup....easy instructions, blog and video. Thank you! I will definitely look to use you for more parts and instructions in the future....need to do some suspension work next....maybe
If you want to be extra cautious, you can use an electronics-safe cleaner to get some of the oil residues off, along with your preferred engine degreaser!
Hi Angel, the idea should be the same for your X5.We would advise in checking the routing of the belt one more time, and also making sure the tensioner is fully extended out. The only thing that can change is if your vehicle is equipped with option S4NBA or S2VAA.
I have an 09 328i. My serpentine belt has come off twice now in 2 years. And it only happens right when I turn on my car. Could this be because the N52 engine shakes so damn much at start up and is making it break? I’m scared every time I start my car now.. I can easily put a new belt on in 10 minutes but I want to figure out why this is happening.
A good place to start would be by checking your oil filter housing. Typically if that is leaking, over time as it gets worse it tends to get on the belt, causing it to slip off. From there it would be a matter of inspecting the pullies on the vehicle to ensure nothing is out of alignment.
@@fcpeuro thanks for the reply. Yeah it broke yesterday and I put a new one on today. I got to work today and popped the hood and noticed the belt has definitely moved a little on the tensioner. I’ve looked and I see no oil on the belt but from just one drive and it has definitely moved a little. Could it maybe be I need a new Tensioner Assembly? Or is it normal for it to slightly move?
@@fcpeuro think I’m going to go ahead and purchase the belt tensioner assembly and drive belt idler from FCP. Think that could be the problem. I’ve read that the n52 is known to have problems there. Probably will get an oil filter housing gasket kit as well just to be safe.
