Squeeeeaaaal Squeeeeaaaal Squeeeeaaaal, It's Cold...freezing!!!

[NYZ4Jack]

Today has been the coldest since I bought this car and this has never happened before. As I started it up this morning (28 F), A continuous squeal came from the engine area and it went away in 30 seconds...probably after the car warmed up a bit. Drove the car the rest of the day and even started it up a few more times after a few stops - no more noise/squeal.

I'm thinking its the serpentine belt and maybe its time to change it? Car has 75k miles and don't have any record of the previous owner ever changing it.

I'm at work right now but planning to take a look at the belt when I get home tonight. What are your thoughts and suggestions until then?

P.S. Happy New Year everyone!

[Jmanscotch]

Belt or pulleys/tensioners, pretty common mileage to start barking at you in cold weather.

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by Jmanscotch

Belt or pulleys/tensioners, pretty common mileage to start barking at you in cold weather.

+1

[NYZ4Jack]

How hard is it to remove the belt and to test the pulleys? The pulleys (changing, etc.) sounds like a PITA. I've done a belt before...never a tensioner or a pulley. How many are there anyway?

[esqu1re]

Nice "Deliverance" reference in the subject line.

[ZStig]

not hard to remove. It IS intimidating though. Gotta pop off a cover, and stick a tool in there and twist it to release the tension

[NYZ4Jack]

Originally Posted by esqu1re

Nice "Deliverance" reference in the subject line.

[Jmanscotch]

Originally Posted by NYZ4Jack

How hard is it to remove the belt and to test the pulleys? The pulleys (changing, etc.) sounds like a PITA. I've done a belt before...never a tensioner or a pulley. How many are there anyway?

Easy enough. If you've done the belt before, then you know how to remove it, testing the pulleys is as simple as spinning them and noting noise (conducive to dry bearings) and excessive rotations. For a reference point*:





*Source: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...=pulley+grease



Front shot of the M54 engine showing belt routing diagram and pulleys:



First DIY thread I came across that seemed to have decent pictures of the main ones (and Delmarco usually goes indepth in his threads). It's from an E46, but same M54 engine, so only the first steps of gaining access to the front of the engine is different.

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...=belts+pulleys

[NYZ4Jack]

Thanks for the info. everyone. I checked the serpentine belt last night and there were cracks all over the ribbed part of it. I pulled the trigger and order a new serpentine belt, AC belt, metal water pump pulley and a new deflection pulley to be on the safe side.

I spent all of last night researching and it does look like a fairly easy job on the M54 engines, however, all the DIY belt/pulley change tutorials and videos I found online are on the E46 and the job seems easier on those cars. I noticed this morning there is a metal sheet (by the fan shroud) between the pulleys and fan that doesn't seem removable. It also looks like a very tight squeeze compared what I've seen from the E46 DIYs. This scares me a little.

Any tips or anything I should know before I attempt this DIY this weekend? Any DIY/tutorials specific for the e85/e86 chassis/engine bay?

[Jmanscotch]

I couldn't find much either, seems like a notable amount of folks are getting to some of the pulleys from underneath due to the tight space.

One thread I found with a few photos from underneath: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...ght=serpentine

[NYZ4Jack]

Just spent Saturday morning replacing all my pulleys (idler pulley started to spin like a skateboard wheel, the rest were OK but replaced them anyway), the tensioners and my belts (AC belt didn't need replacing but since I already bought it, replaced anyway). I also upgraded the water pump pulley to an aluminum one made by URO.

I can't believe the original BMW waterpump pulley was made out of plastic. I tossed it and sure enough a piece of it chipped off when it hit the floor.

Surprisingly after removing the fan shroud (with the fan attached) (easier than removing a clutch fan mounted on waterpump) and the under cover, everything was so easily accessible. Even easier than my previous e36.

No more squeal during cold morning startups + quieter and smoother sounding from the engine bay.

[Jmanscotch]

Glad to hear it went smooth and fixed your problems.