Drive Belt Idel Bearing

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Nad
Joined: Tue 01 Oct, 2013 07:23
Posts: 34

  Z3 roadster 1.8 TU

Drive Belt Idel Bearing

Post by Nad »

Think I have a noise from the drive belt tension idle bearing, I would like to know can you replace the bearing and pulley only, or do you have to replace the full thing that's including the spring housing :?:
Nad
Del
Joined: Sat 19 Nov, 2011 18:35
Posts: 2136

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Re: Drive Belt Idel Bearing

Post by Del »

You'll soon know if yours is faulty - it you spin it by hand and it feels smooth, silent and just rotates about half a revolution it is OK. Conversely if it freewheels for a few seconds and sounds like an rattly, old roller skate wheel - it could do with replacing.

I've never managed to separate the wheel from the spring on these things - the front bolt or torx just seems to be there to allow leverage for belt removal/replacement. I overhauled my cooling system this spring on my 1.9 (m44) and replaced the tensioner (sounded like the roller skate) and I bought it from GSF. From memory it was around £40 and was made by INA who is a premium/OE bearing manufacturer. The BMW was about £90+
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Southernboy
Joined: Thu 07 Oct, 2010 12:39
Posts: 6436

  Z3 roadster 3.0i
Location: Johannesburg

Re: Drive Belt Idel Bearing

Post by Southernboy »

Belt tensioners are complete units... as suggested above, there are alternatives to BMW... Meyle also make them and from what I gather are the suppliers to BMW of these parts... if you find a Meyle stockist, it'll likely be around 1/2 price vs BMW.
"Normal is overrated"
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Fender2004
Joined: Fri 14 Aug, 2009 10:24
Posts: 907

  Z3 roadster 2.8
Location: Houghton-Le-Spring

Re: Drive Belt Idel Bearing

Post by Fender2004 »

I bought the bearing by its self from Europarts I think it was about £20. I have the 2.8 engine.
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Thesurveyor
Joined: Tue 15 Oct, 2013 13:36
Posts: 119

  M roadster S50
Location: Kent

Re: Drive Belt Idel Bearing

Post by Thesurveyor »

Just had both tensioners replaced and a new drive belt on the M and it came in at £194.
Ok I thought to get rid of horrid squeal and potential front end meltdown, the top one was the noisy one (I could oil it for temporary relief) but when they got access to the lower one it was really shot.
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Nad
Joined: Tue 01 Oct, 2013 07:23
Posts: 34

  Z3 roadster 1.8 TU

Re: Drive Belt Idel Bearing

Post by Nad »

Nad wrote:Think I have a noise from the drive belt tension idle bearing I mean, I would like to know can you replace the bearing and pulley only, or do you have to replace the full thing that's including the spring housing :?:
Nad
Well that's it changed ! that is the Drive belt tensioner and bearing I mean, £42.60 from Eurocarparts Wasn't a hard job, the only hick up was having to remove the power steering pump pulley in order to remove the tensioner unit from the engine, but that's it and all is quiet again. :P
Fender2004
Joined: Fri 14 Aug, 2009 10:24
Posts: 907

  Z3 roadster 2.8
Location: Houghton-Le-Spring

Re: Drive Belt Idel Bearing

Post by Fender2004 »

Glad you got it all sorted

now you'll have a much quieter drive :drive
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Mike Fishwick
Joined: Fri 19 Jun, 2009 10:27
Posts: 2093

  Z3 roadster 2.8
Location: Daglan, France

Re: Drive Belt Idel Bearing

Post by Mike Fishwick »

My air con belt tensioner was making quite a rattle - worse when the a/c was operating, and the tensioner bearing had more load on it. The bearing had only the smallest amount of play in it, and would have been passed as OK by most people. When I pulled the shield off the bearing I found that it was totally dry. Mileage was 120,000 but the A/C had been in use for a high proportion of this distance, sue to living in the damp SW of England, and the hot Sw of France.

There are two different types of tensioners - the coiled spring type, and the 'hydraulic' pattern fitted from Sept 1998 on the M52TU engines. The pulley with bearing is available from BMW dealers as a seperate part, and probably from GSF etc too.

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It is an easy job to change the pulley, and a good opportunity to also grease the needle rollers on which the tensioner pivots.

I would have put a bit in the Knowledgebase, but cannot see how to these days.
A Z3 is not just for Christmas - it's for life!
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Robert T
Site Admin
Joined: Mon 12 Jun, 2006 10:35
Posts: 10170

  Z3 roadster 1.9
Location: Cheshire

Re: Drive Belt Idel Bearing

Post by Robert T »

Mike Fishwick wrote:I would have put a bit in the Knowledgebase, but cannot see how to these days.
Mike, if you have any new articles for the KB, please just post them in Z3 Roadster and one of the mods will move them to the KB.

Many thanks, R.
Arctic Silver '99 Z3 1.9 & Black '59 Frogeye 1275cc
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