Pictorial DIY: BMW E46 M54 Idler, Tensioner and Water Pump Pulley Replacement

[delmarco]

PROLOGUE:
If your Pulleys are squealing under the hood every time you start your car then DIY them out of there now or they will fail on you and leave you stranded road side!

Here is an older video from last November of what my pulleys sound like months before they inevitably and eventually failed. At the time I shot this video I didn't understand what these sounds were but now I do and I will never ever ever forget them.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjiGl-dXX2E&feature=player_embedded[/ame]


ABOUT THE DIY:
I did all my Pulleys in less than an hour. Parts all cost under $100 which was almost equal to what I paid just to tow my car off the highway when the pulleys finally gave way and excused themselves from my Belt Drive as I was cruising down the highway.

I also replaced my belts at the same time and now my engine bay is quiet, the car accelerates way better and my MPGs shot right back up to low 30s highway and mid 20s city.

Said and done the hardest part of the DIY was putting the fan back on the car.

The tools required are:

-Fan Clutch Tools if your car is an automatic/steptronic - costs about $30 and up on ebay
-Breaker bar/Ratchet Handle set about 8 inches and up (the bolts aren't super tight but the longer handle makes removal easier)
-5/8" or 13mm socket, 10mm socket and T50 Torx head-to de-tension the AC Belt Tension Pulley



Tools not required but you can use if you have them:

-Ratchet socket extension 3 or 5 inch to reach the Tension Pulley lower mount bolt in removal of the tensioner pulley

-Torque Wrench (I didn't use one, but you can if you want)


PART ONE: To remove the belts and fan clutch see my DIY here:

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...330&highlight=

PART TWO: For the Pulleys here are the Video DIY Guides:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzaRY4EqMvs[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pG1LcFItd8[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOzAmqstmy8[/ame]

PART THREE: Here is a Pictorial Reference describing key points in the process:






























http://img31.imageshack.us/g/waterpumppulleydiy3.jpg/


PART FOUR: Here is the original thread of the incident and the reason I should have changed my pulleys FYI

So since I been back from vacation (my car was parked up in the sun for a week whiles I was away) my engine bay has been making the cold engine monkey screeching/bird chirping sounds with the cold engine acceleration whistle. It was getting louder and I've been just turning the radio up and ignoring it.

My car just hit 56,000 miles on the odometer and I've been scheduling myself for a full coolant over haul at the end of the summer and I figured the sounds meant I needed new pulleys eventually. I planned to replace them at that time.

Today I got out work early, got home early off the Metro North Train literally ran home to my car as I had my evening planned out for dinner, movies and drinks in the city.

It was 83 degrees when I set out from Westchester, hitting speeds of 80 and 90 mph down the Saw Mill Pkwy South and about 17 miles down the highway (I was now on the Thruway 87 South aka the Major Deegan) my red Check Battery light came on. I knew right away the battery and/or alternator needed replacing in a couple of hours so I didn't panic. I really should have just exited the Major Deegan Hwy then but I've dealt with the check battery light on my old BMW 318i a few summers back and figured I had a couple of hours to a day to get a new battery and the alternator checked out.

A few seconds later my Engine Temp Needle literally raced over to the RED!!!

Knowing what I know about the e46 cooling system failure I pulled over immediately and realized my power steering was gone and my AC went hot.

As I got out and walked towards the front of the car I could only face palm myself as I expected to see coolant fluid all over the road, smoke and fire eating thru my nose panel grills and bits of plastic poking thru the metal hood.

I popped the hood and to my surprise everything looked calm until I noticed the fan belt was M.I.A.

I got my fan removal tool which luckily I've been forgetting to remove out my trunk and took the fan off to see this nonsense...

Idler Pulley M.I.A (as in exploded off the bolt and long gone)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QakYKSKfxgs



The Water Pump/Fan Pulley also cracked on me as I removed the fan...


My car insurance comes with unlimited free tow service. Sadly, the Major Deegan 87 has heavy Police Dept. tow restrictions so ONLY one Tow Company can tow your car off the highway where I broke down (even the exit ramp off the highway where I was is restricted)...

So I waited from 4:17pm to 6:23pm for just the Police to show up. Then I waited in the same spot from 6:30pm to around 8:00pm for their Tow service to show up...



And what sucks ass is these numnuts only Tow off the highway and they charge you for that! Guess what they charged to literally tow my car 20 feet or less off the exit ramp from where I broke down to the perpendicular street.



$70 plus tax! Worse the Police stay in the background observing you the entire time so you can't argue with their Tow Driver. You just gotta pay them and shut up.


Now I had to call back my Insurance Company for another Tow Truck and I literally waited until 10:00 pm for them to show up and they tow you to their shop.



What a Crazy A$$ Day!

[G. P. Burdell]

Well done. Did you replace the A/C belt tensioner at the same time?

There's a BMW service bulletin instructing dealers to change the mechanical main belt tensioner to a hydraulic one if the customer complains of noise. I just did the conversion on my car.

Lastly, like the 16mm hex head cast into the main belt mechanical tensioner, there ought to be a large Torx socket (T60, I think) cast into the A/C belt tensioner. It's at about the 7 o'clock position relative to the pulley. I use that socket to release tension on the A/C belt instead of a T50 socket on the pulley bolt.

[pimpin325ci]

Awesome write up, thanks!

I am going to be ordering the stuff to overhaul my cooling system this week and replace my belts as well. Do you think it necessary to replace my pullies as well? They are not making any noise now and haven't at all except for a few days about a month ago they squeeled just a bit, not horribly loud though. However like I said they no long make any noise. My car has 128k miles on it, do you think it would be necessary do replace them now with the belts and cooling overhaul? Or can I just wait since they aren't making noise?

Thanks

Anyone?

[G. P. Burdell]

At 128,000 miles, the pulley bearings are on their way out, even if they aren't making any noise. When you remove the old pulleys, you'll be amazed by how freely they spin compared to the new ones you install.

[pimpin325ci]

Thanks. I've come to the conclusion that I should go ahead and replace them. Will be doing an ECS cooling refresh plus the pullies

[dj288]

Thank you for the detailed step by step. I have now relied on this twice for my vehicle. Wanted to add my two cents which hopefully can help others with this project.

I found that removing the upper radiator hose (the one that feeds into the overflow reservoir) helps give some room to work. this is easy to remove. Just pop the retainer clips and work the hose off. It may stick initially but will eventually pull away.

Also, in terms of removing the fan, you can absolutely do this job without the special BMW tool. I have now had to do so twice and both times got a Ford 4.9L fan clutch tool borrowed from Autozone (no charge) which works. You will still need a 32MM open end wrench for the nut but the spanning tool in the Ford kit is an exact fit to span the 4 bolts holding on the fan on the E46 (mine is a 2001 330Ci). Instead of seating over two of the bolts, the tool is spread over all four. Don't forget, to loosen the fan blade nut,you will wrench to the right (opposite of normal direction). Hope this saves some headaches, expense and time for anyone else that may have to tackle this.

[OnTheFence]

How many miles did the OP have when his pulleys exploded?

I found that removing the upper radiator hose (the one that feeds into the overflow reservoir) helps give some room to work. this is easy to remove. Just pop the retainer clips and work the hose off. It may stick initially but will eventually pull away.

This is the little tube that's under the shroud on the E39?
Removing an actual big coolant hose would result in coolant spilling everywhere, right?

What's the big deal if the pulley spins freely?

[chillax5]

Where did you get the ALUMINUM water pump pulley? My M54 pulleys just went kaboom on the highway too. I need a stronger replacement.

[bigsean123]

ecstuning.com

[tomkocz]

Hi - a great writeup. Before I order for my 2001 330i - do you have part numbers? how do I know to get mechanical or hydraulic tensioner? Do I need to replace AC tensioner? Should I replace AC belt?So from what I see that you did - replace idler pulley , tensioner pulley and the belts? that it?thank in advance





If your Pulleys are squealing under the hood every time you start your car then DIY them out of there now or they will fail on you and leave you stranded road side!

Here is an older video from last November of what my pulleys sound like months before they inevitably and eventually failed. At the time I shot this video I didn't understand what these sounds were but now I do and I will never ever ever forget them.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjiGl-dXX2E&feature=player_embedded[/ame]


ABOUT THE DIY:
I did all my Pulleys in less than an hour. Parts all cost under $100 which was almost equal to what I paid just to tow my car off the highway when the pulleys finally gave way and excused themselves from my Belt Drive as I was cruising down the highway.

I also replaced my belts at the same time and now my engine bay is quiet, the car accelerates way better and my MPGs shot right back up to low 30s highway and mid 20s city.

Said and done the hardest part of the DIY was putting the fan back on the car.

The tools required are:

-Fan Clutch Tools if your car is an automatic/steptronic - costs about $30 and up on ebay
-Breaker bar/Ratchet Handle set about 8 inches and up (the bolts aren't super tight but the longer handle makes removal easier)
-5/8" or 13mm socket, 10mm socket and T50 Torx head-to de-tension the AC Belt Tension Pulley



Tools not required but you can use if you have them:

-Ratchet socket extension 3 or 5 inch to reach the Tension Pulley lower mount bolt in removal of the tensioner pulley

-Torque Wrench (I didn't use one, but you can if you want)


PART ONE: To remove the belts and fan clutch see my DIY here:

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...330&highlight=

PART TWO: For the Pulleys here are the Video DIY Guides:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzaRY4EqMvs[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pG1LcFItd8[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOzAmqstmy8[/ame]

PART THREE: Here is a Pictorial Reference describing key points in the process:






























http://img31.imageshack.us/g/waterpumppulleydiy3.jpg/


PART FOUR: Here is the original thread of the incident and the reason I should have changed my pulleys FYI[/QUOTE]

[Stahlblau 330i]

For the two pictures of the e46 being towed, the following caption should be added: How NOT to tow your e46
BMW tow.jpg
(refer to your BMW Owner's manual for Vehicle)