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      07-10-2016, 02:01 PM   #1
SgtFaceplant
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Serpentine Belt and Tensioner

I recently noticed my serpentine belt was fraying, my car's mileage is just over 100k, so I bought a new belt and tensioner. I have the N52 engine so I presumed the installation wouldn't be that different than an E90. So I searched for videos or guides but found none pertaining to the Z4. After looking at my engine I realized, boy I was wrong. Starting off there is no idler pulley so that saved a few bucks but the implementation of the N52 in the z4 makes working on the belt and tensioner very difficult for the average person. The engine bay makes it impossible to access the belt and tensioner from the top as you can in in an E90. So what is a fairly straightforward repair on other cars is much more involved on the Z. After looking at what needed to be done for 15 minutes I decided to take it to my local Indy shop. Since I had the parts it was only 1.5hrs of labor. Not too bad. Does anyone have any experience doing this repair themselves on the N52 engine?
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      07-10-2016, 02:17 PM   #2
deemo319
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I purchased my Z4 last year and planned to do the same thing.

Purchased the belt and tensioner from Turner Motorsports as part of my preventative maintenance plan.

Scheduled installation only to find that that both parts were new. I still have the brand new belt and tensioner in the box they came in.

My next plan is to replace the water pump and thermostat. ECS has a few packages to choose from so I may get these from them.

Keep us posted!
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      07-10-2016, 03:28 PM   #3
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The belt and tensioner were installed yesterday by my mechanic.

I have also done my water pump and thermostat. That service was supper simple. If you want more info on my experience check out my post here: http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1255842
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      07-15-2016, 12:59 PM   #4
DanFromTucson
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I didn't see this post until now, but in case anyone is interested in DIY...

Access is easiest from beneath the car. you need to remove the plastic under-tray to reach the belts/pulleys. You'll need a screwdriver and 8 MM socket to remove it. You will need an internal torx socket (T50 on my car) to release tension on the belts. Then you need sockets to remove pulleys and tensioners. For detailed DIYs, you might try E46Fanatics.com or M3Forum.net. Just search for the E46 model that shares your engine.

You can also do the job from above if you want to remove the plastic panel over the radiator and remove the electric fan. This is a lot easier in a Z4 than an M3 (my only experience is with Z4M / S54).

It's a very doable job on the S54 Z4M, and should also be pretty straightforward on the N52 Z4.
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      07-31-2016, 07:56 AM   #5
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I also have a 2006 325i E90 and have done the belt and tensioner change. On the Z4 it seems the core support is closer to the front of the engine, but remove the cooling fan on either car and there is plenty of room to make the repair. It is simply releasing the tension of the tensioner on the belt and removing the belt. You need a T60 Torx socket and breaker bar to move the tensioner. The new tensioner comes locked in the open position. There is a single bolt that holds the tensioner to the engine block. Remove and replace the tensioner, then reroute the belt, and release the tensioner to the close (tensioned) position.

For an experience home mechanic doing this for the 1st time would take 45 minutes following a proper DIY instruction. The E90 form has several DIYs on the subject.
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A manual transmission can be set to "comfort", "sport", and "track" modes simply by the technique and speed at which you shift it; it doesn't need "modes", modes are for manumatics that try to behave like a real 3-pedal manual transmission. If you can money-shift it, it's a manual transmission. "Yeah, but NO ONE puts an automatic trans shift knob on a manual transmission."
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