I had to go through so many videos before I found out about this issue, you’re video is the clearest on how to deal with it wish I seen It months ago , great video
you did spent alot of your time into that video, I think we all appreciate it. I watched the video from Bryan (kies motorsports) but at least 2 vids (or more) just complete your work when DIY.
Great video, I'm just about to do this on my N54 engine. Couple questions, should the pulley & tensioner bolts have a torque setting for them? Also on rear of my new deflection pulley there is a metal disc where the bolt goes through, some people say this only for packaging to keep bolt in place, & remove before fitting, others keep it on? Sorry, one last thing, the Allen key you put in old tensioner, is it not best to remove before taking tensioner from car, if you want it back I mean? Cheers
I read somewhere that it was 40nm for the tensioner and 38nm for pulleys. I didn’t have a torque wrench at the time so I tightened it until I was comfortable but made sure not to over tighten. I installed my pulley how it was right out of the box. I’m not sure if the parts are different for an N54 though. I know the engines are similar but but not identical. And yes if you do want the Allen key back it would be a good idea to take it out before removing the old tensioner. I have way too many Allen keys of the same size so I wasn’t concerned. You could use almost anything that’s long enough and fits in that slot though. Hope this helps! Cheers and best of luck!
Bro you just gained a sub I have an e92 335i n55... same noise , my oil filter housing gasket is seeping and I’m just starting to get belt chirp... so I’m gonna replace the housing gasket and then the pulley kit so hopefully solves my notices
Right. The complicated part is: HOW did you get the belt back on? The rest was fine, but the continental 8K1390, which is the correct belt, does NOT want to go back on. AFAIK the only way to do it is to put the belt on the crank, slide it on the alternator and the AC compressor and then flip it over the idler - in theory. In practice, the belt I have seems to be 1/2 in short. Is there something I'm missing?
Luigi Fabio sounds like you’re doing it the way I did it. I’d say make sure the tensioner is held back all the way(not applying tension to the belt). Might also compare the new belt to the old one to see if the lengths match. I know sometimes the belt feels like it’s sitting on the crank pulley but it actually isn’t. It’s a tight fit down there and I struggled with getting it to sit right as well. Feel around down there and make sure it’s sitting right.
@@AlexThompson thanks for the fast reply. I did check the belts and they match - both in labeled length and by visual inspection. I am actually tempted to borrow something from another video and *remove* the idler pulley, put the belt in place and then screw the pulley in. That way the belt won't have to angle to go around it, if that makes sense. I'll also check the crank pulley as you suggested, this is an X3 so there is *no* room to do that, I'll have to take out the fan (which is what the TIS actually tells you to do in the first place... I was hoping to avoid it). Will report back.
Luigi Fabio that’s definitely not a bad idea and probably wouldn’t hurt to try. I was able to contort my arm enough to set the belt on the crank but it was tight. Obviously if there isn’t enough room to get your hand down there then might have to do the alternative.
@@AlexThompson so I figured it out and it wasn't pretty. The short of it is, there appears to be a small boss on my N55 block. It snags the belt at approximately 7 o'clock on the crankshaft belt and doesn't let it seat on the crankshaft pulley unless you stick your hands in there to guide it past... and the only way to do that in an F25 X3 is to do what the TIS says and pull the fan out, which I ended up doing after six hours or so of attempts. Taking the fan assembly out took maybe fifteen minutes and after that it literally took one minute to have the belt smoothed on and sorted. Then it took perhaps twenty minutes (as usual) to get the fan back on and located correctly. Lesson learned: if the TIS and common sense say 'take the quarter hour, get the fan out, you'll have more room' don't try to outsmart it. All is well that ends well - though the brand new OE tensioner still oscillates. Less than the old one did and the chirp is gone... but it still oscillates. Time will tell.
@@AlexThompson slightly different in F10,,,, i guess... because i have some type of metal tubing with rubber hoses attached rite in front of pullies i think it may be coolant. Thanks .. other than that its pretty much identical
I no longer have the car anymore. I did attempt it while trying to diagnose the squeaking and I know you have to remove the oil filter housing to gain the room to remove the alternator.
They’re OE replacement parts from FCP Euro so they’re good for a long time. I don’t have the car anymore but they were good parts and come with lifetime warranty
Yes. You’d be correct. The oil along with the typical dirt/road grime found a home right there. That along with some coolant from removing the coolant hose from the oil cooler dropped down and ruined the pulley. Couldn’t really get my hands in there to clean it up real good.
@@AlexThompson I would be cleaning that out. If your ofhg starts leaking again you might not be able to tell if the oil is new or old. Also listening to the motor after the change, what's that rattling sound? Still sounds like something was off?
I had to go through so many videos before I found out about this issue, you’re video is the clearest on how to deal with it wish I seen It months ago , great video
you did spent alot of your time into that video, I think we all appreciate it. I watched the video from Bryan (kies motorsports) but at least 2 vids (or more) just complete your work when DIY.
just came to my need today to replace my tensioner on my F32. Thank you so much. Great video.
Glad to hear it helped!!!
Great video, I'm just about to do this on my N54 engine. Couple questions, should the pulley & tensioner bolts have a torque setting for them? Also on rear of my new deflection pulley there is a metal disc where the bolt goes through, some people say this only for packaging to keep bolt in place, & remove before fitting, others keep it on?
Sorry, one last thing, the Allen key you put in old tensioner, is it not best to remove before taking tensioner from car, if you want it back I mean?
Cheers
I read somewhere that it was 40nm for the tensioner and 38nm for pulleys. I didn’t have a torque wrench at the time so I tightened it until I was comfortable but made sure not to over tighten. I installed my pulley how it was right out of the box. I’m not sure if the parts are different for an N54 though. I know the engines are similar but but not identical. And yes if you do want the Allen key back it would be a good idea to take it out before removing the old tensioner. I have way too many Allen keys of the same size so I wasn’t concerned. You could use almost anything that’s long enough and fits in that slot though. Hope this helps! Cheers and best of luck!
Bro you just gained a sub I have an e92 335i n55... same noise , my oil filter housing gasket is seeping and I’m just starting to get belt chirp... so I’m gonna replace the housing gasket and then the pulley kit so hopefully solves my notices
Thanks man! I hope it helps!
thank you! just saved me from a shop trying to charge me 600 for this job lol
It’s not very difficult at all
@@AlexThompson are the torque specs the same for the N55 engine on m235i?
@@bella_testastretta yes it should be the same
Right. The complicated part is: HOW did you get the belt back on? The rest was fine, but the continental 8K1390, which is the correct belt, does NOT want to go back on. AFAIK the only way to do it is to put the belt on the crank, slide it on the alternator and the AC compressor and then flip it over the idler - in theory. In practice, the belt I have seems to be 1/2 in short. Is there something I'm missing?
Luigi Fabio sounds like you’re doing it the way I did it. I’d say make sure the tensioner is held back all the way(not applying tension to the belt). Might also compare the new belt to the old one to see if the lengths match. I know sometimes the belt feels like it’s sitting on the crank pulley but it actually isn’t. It’s a tight fit down there and I struggled with getting it to sit right as well. Feel around down there and make sure it’s sitting right.
@@AlexThompson thanks for the fast reply. I did check the belts and they match - both in labeled length and by visual inspection. I am actually tempted to borrow something from another video and *remove* the idler pulley, put the belt in place and then screw the pulley in. That way the belt won't have to angle to go around it, if that makes sense.
I'll also check the crank pulley as you suggested, this is an X3 so there is *no* room to do that, I'll have to take out the fan (which is what the TIS actually tells you to do in the first place... I was hoping to avoid it).
Will report back.
Luigi Fabio that’s definitely not a bad idea and probably wouldn’t hurt to try. I was able to contort my arm enough to set the belt on the crank but it was tight. Obviously if there isn’t enough room to get your hand down there then might have to do the alternative.
@@AlexThompson so I figured it out and it wasn't pretty. The short of it is, there appears to be a small boss on my N55 block. It snags the belt at approximately 7 o'clock on the crankshaft belt and doesn't let it seat on the crankshaft pulley unless you stick your hands in there to guide it past... and the only way to do that in an F25 X3 is to do what the TIS says and pull the fan out, which I ended up doing after six hours or so of attempts. Taking the fan assembly out took maybe fifteen minutes and after that it literally took one minute to have the belt smoothed on and sorted. Then it took perhaps twenty minutes (as usual) to get the fan back on and located correctly.
Lesson learned: if the TIS and common sense say 'take the quarter hour, get the fan out, you'll have more room' don't try to outsmart it.
All is well that ends well - though the brand new OE tensioner still oscillates. Less than the old one did and the chirp is gone... but it still oscillates. Time will tell.
So what’s the torque spec on that T60 and T50 please
My E92 has a N55 motor I have the same problem. I’m going to attempt to do it myself. Wish me luck
It’s not too bad! You got it!
I have an N55 F10 would this be the same process ?
I would imagine it’s the same since it’s the same engine
@@AlexThompson slightly different in F10,,,, i guess... because i have some type of metal tubing with rubber hoses attached rite in front of pullies i think it may be coolant. Thanks .. other than that its pretty much identical
You should do a separate video on what to do to remove the alternator for those of us need to replace that as well. Thanks
I no longer have the car anymore. I did attempt it while trying to diagnose the squeaking and I know you have to remove the oil filter housing to gain the room to remove the alternator.
How did you clean the oil off the front of your engine, ie where belts are and stuff?
Time, patience, shop towels and a cleaner/degreaser. Wasn’t very fun!
Timing chain tensioner needed to 🔊👍
You are so talented!!!
Actually i have this problem. Do you know what frecuency does it need to change?
Probably a good idea to change it every 50k-75k miles or just keep an eye on it and change it as needed. Just my opinion
How are the aftermarket parts holding up so far? I’m here because it’s time to replace on my 2012 535i N55
They’re OE replacement parts from FCP Euro so they’re good for a long time. I don’t have the car anymore but they were good parts and come with lifetime warranty
the grooves in my belt on my n55 are deeper, what does that mean?
Perfect how to video Thanks a lot !
Great video
What are the tq specs on the pulleys? I changed my pulleys and belt. now I notice the belt wants to come off the small bottom pulley.
Sounds like the belt may be the wrong size of your tensioner isn’t applying enough tension, not a torque issue.
Hi what brand of belt tensioner did you buy
Link is in the description
If I may ask, what is the weight of all the parts boxed up? I need to do mine but looking to import it.
I honestly have no clue as the video was made quite a while ago now. FCP Euro might be able to provide that information if you reach out to them.
Looked like there was still a lot of (old?) Oil around the area. Was that from the previous ofhg leak?
Yes. You’d be correct. The oil along with the typical dirt/road grime found a home right there. That along with some coolant from removing the coolant hose from the oil cooler dropped down and ruined the pulley. Couldn’t really get my hands in there to clean it up real good.
@@AlexThompson I would be cleaning that out. If your ofhg starts leaking again you might not be able to tell if the oil is new or old. Also listening to the motor after the change, what's that rattling sound? Still sounds like something was off?
No rattles I can assure you. You heard the valve ticking. With the hood open on a cold engine they’re pretty loud.
Thank you!!!
what is the Belt Number
Continental 8K1390
Breaker bar for the tensioner....otherwise, you're in for a fight, fellas.
yours are more shallow