[E90Menace]

After no luck with oxwerkz restock or communication
Came across this ebay ad.
350+ sold

Any takers on it?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/N54-N55-N52...53.m1438.l2649

[nsjames]

on sale today
https://euroklasse.com/bmw-3-series/...q8AxXAXLpz7rUE

not sure I trust the whole welded construction deal there.
and with no inside lip to center into the bore, how do you make sure you've gotten it concentric?

[jsunma]

Seems like a (relative) lot of money for something that could be prevented by simply inspecting and replacing your belt and tensioner according to schedule. Either way, you're STILL going to need to replace the belt.

That said, good on the fellow who has managed to sell 357 of these to worried people. I wish I'd thought of that.

[nsjames]

Originally Posted by jsunma

Seems like a (relative) lot of money for something that could be prevented by simply inspecting and replacing your belt and tensioner according to schedule. Either way, you're STILL going to need to replace the belt.

That said, good on the fellow who has managed to sell 357 of these to worried people. I wish I'd thought of that.

sometimes shit happens.

I've had an alternator lock up with no warning so hard that the car wouldn't start.It literally stopped the engine at idle like I turned it off.

[ctuna]

No Real schedule or objective way to measure the belt tensioner.
Hmm a less than 100 dollar piece of steel or whatever materiel it's
made of vs a 3000 dollar plus motor replacement that will wipe out
all the value of your car. Seems like a better investment than any
of those extended car warranty's if they would even cover it.
Trouble is you can't get one.
What's the deal Oxwerks?

[E92William]

Some guys local to me were working on getting these and planning on selling them for like 80 or so which is a lot more acceptable. As someone who bought a used car and 3 days later it ate its belt and it costed me over 2k to clean up the inside of the engine.. that piece is definitely worth it

[Biginboca]

There’s one being sold on eBay for around $80 that I have been thinking of getting for a while. The only thing stopping me is you have to take the crank hub off for install. If I ever need to do work in that area of the motor this is a definite must do to me. Also if anyone is ever doing some engine out work it really makes sense to me to do this.

Btw I looked at my serpentine belt yesterday and by chance saw this:



This is a 2 year old belt and tensioner, with less than 30k miles on them. What’s funny is I make it a habit to check that tensioner/belt every oil change. I just checked it 3 weeks ago with an oil change and it was good, but I’m taking some measurements for the steering pump swap and noticed that belt walking off the tensioner yesterday. So it deteriorated quite quickly in the last 3 weeks! I knew my OFH was leaking some but things went south quickly.

So now my car is grounded while I wait for OFH gasket replacement and belt/tensioner to arrive. If I had the crank seal guard I would just send it for the few days until the parts arrived.

I wonder if a idler pulley with an outer lip to keep the belt from walking off would be a better idea than a crank seal guard. That would be a much easier install too.

[lowrydr310]

Originally Posted by Biginboca

I wonder if a idler pulley with an outer lip to keep the belt from walking off would be a better idea than a crank seal guard. That would be a much easier install too.

The idler pulley wouldn't need an outer lip if it was aligned properly. Why are these tensioners angling like this to allow the pulley to slip off the edge? I just replaced my tensioner and pulley a few months ago, and immediately after installation of the brand new tensioner and belt, the belt is riding along the edge of the pulley and not centered on it. I can't see where anything would be misaligned either.

[ctuna]

The single aluminum bolt that hold's the tensioner assembly on the
Engine can sometimes be bent and cause the problem. Other than
that the bearing going bad in the idler wheel.

Inspect the bolt when you remove it.

I would get that fixed ASAP wouldn't even drive a mile farther with it
like that.

[E90Menace]

Originally Posted by Biginboca

There’s one being sold on eBay for around $80 that I have been thinking of getting for a while. The only thing stopping me is you have to take the crank hub off for install. If I ever need to do work in that area of the motor this is a definite must do to me. Also if anyone is ever doing some engine out work it really makes sense to me to do this.

Btw I looked at my serpentine belt yesterday and by chance saw this:



This is a 2 year old belt and tensioner, with less than 30k miles on them. What’s funny is I make it a habit to check that tensioner/belt every oil change. I just checked it 3 weeks ago with an oil change and it was good, but I’m taking some measurements for the steering pump swap and noticed that belt walking off the tensioner yesterday. So it deteriorated quite quickly in the last 3 weeks! I knew my OFH was leaking some but things went south quickly.

So now my car is grounded while I wait for OFH gasket replacement and belt/tensioner to arrive. If I had the crank seal guard I would just send it for the few days until the parts arrived.

I wonder if a idler pulley with an outer lip to keep the belt from walking off would be a better idea than a crank seal guard. That would be a much easier install too.

Car is grounded as well last few days after discovering OFHG starting to leak. Not taking any chance, I’ve got the gasket just need to find a reputable mechanic on Monday and send her in! Towing her in, paranoid! Too many horror stories about the ofhg leaking on belt and belt going into crank shaft!

[E90Menace]

This week I’ll be replacing the OFHG and Filter, as well as replacing the Accessory Belt, Belt Tensioner Assembly, Deflection Pulley, Alternator Pulley, and most likely the alternator as well, been having some battery charging issues!

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by E90Menace

Car is grounded as well last few days after discovering OFHG starting to leak. Not taking any chance, I’ve got the gasket just need to find a reputable mechanic on Monday and send her in! Towing her in, paranoid! Too many horror stories about the ofhg leaking on belt and belt going into crank shaft!

Have a look at the tensioner pulley. If the belt hasn’t walked off like my picture then you don’t need to tow it.

[E92William]

I think one should also take in count the situation when the belt comes off and if it would actually get pushed through the crank seal. I got some belt material through the seal but when it happened I was also being a clown because well can't get gapped by a girl in your 335! I think most people if it were to come off it wouldn't do any damage if you're say under 2500rpm

[bmwbob89]

Think about how fast 2500 rpm is. It's a shame BMW changed the design of the front pulley and caused this whole fiasco. A redesigned pulley would be a better solution.

[CTinline-six]

Originally Posted by ctuna

The single aluminum bolt that hold's the tensioner assembly on the
Engine can sometimes be bent and cause the problem. Other than
that the bearing going bad in the idler wheel.

Inspect the bolt when you remove it.

I would get that fixed ASAP wouldn't even drive a mile farther with it
like that.

This.

Also it's important to tighten the aluminum bolt correctly. I've seen some DIY videos where they just tighten it down "good enough" and move on, or just use the first torque spec when there are actually two stages. It's a stretch bolt, so to tighten it correctly you first go to Xnm/Xft-lbs (I forget the spec off the top of my head) and then I believe 90 degrees. The bolt is also one-time use.