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      09-21-2018, 01:54 AM   #1
echinite
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Shredded serpentine belt N54

So I was driving at about 30 mph and heard noise coming from the engine bay, I immediately turned off the car and saw the serpentine belt was off all the idlers and shredded to pieces but there’s some still wrapped around the crankshaft. I had it towed home rather than risking it being sucked in to the engine but can’t get the belt off the crankshaft. I don’t understand what caused my belt to be shredded into pieces and how to prevent this issue. The belt is new and was put on about 100 miles ago. Any help or suggestions are helpful.
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      09-21-2018, 07:08 AM   #2
robthewrench
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Telling you how it might have happened won't help you with your current problem of getting it fixed, but these are probably the two most common sources:

1) The powersteering pulley contacts the subframe. Occurs when the car hits a large pothole or other impact, or when the subframe bushings are worn out and a smaller impact. The power steering pulley gets damaged missing the edge and then the belt comes off. Check your powersteering pulley for damage.

2) The OFHG leaks oil onto the tensioner pulley. This also weakens the belt as it absorbs the oil. Eventually there is not enough tension to keep the belt running true and it slips off. Look for leaking oil on/near the tensioner, on the belt itself, etc...
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      09-21-2018, 07:19 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by robthewrench View Post
Telling you how it might have happened won't help you with your current problem of getting it fixed, but these are probably the two most common sources:

1) The powersteering pulley contacts the subframe. Occurs when the car hits a large pothole or other impact, or when the subframe bushings are worn out and a smaller impact. The power steering pulley gets damaged missing the edge and then the belt comes off. Check your powersteering pulley for damage.

2) The OFHG leaks oil onto the tensioner pulley. This also weakens the belt as it absorbs the oil. Eventually there is not enough tension to keep the belt running true and it slips off. Look for leaking oil on/near the tensioner, on the belt itself, etc...
Number 1 was fixed on 2008+ cars right? They like made a bigger notch in subframe to allow play?
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      09-21-2018, 10:00 AM   #4
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most likely caused by a leaky OFHG....its a common issue on all e9x series cars.
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      09-21-2018, 10:02 AM   #5
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If it was put 100 miles ago something went wrong with installation is my guess. Or the tensioner is bad
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      09-21-2018, 11:28 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pladi View Post
If it was put 100 miles ago something went wrong with installation is my guess. Or the tensioner is bad
Being it's an 07, I'm betting it is the P/S pulley.
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      09-21-2018, 12:09 PM   #7
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echinite,

This also recently happened to me. The cause was oil leaking from oil filter housing gasket onto my belt.

Here is everything I had to do to get my car back to normal.

1. Removed radiator fan. Most of the belt shreds wrapped around the fan. Took fan apart to remove all belt that had wrapped on the inside of the fan.
2. Repaired oil filter housing gasket. Be sure you get the correct socket to perform this. I facked up and stripped the bolt under the intake manifold. I had to use a dremel to cut the bolt off after I stripped it.
3. Replaced tensioner and idler pulleys. Torqued to specs.
4. Removed dampener pulley and replaced the front crank shaft seal. This needs to be done anytime a belt slips off as it compromises the seal. The broken seal caused a vaccuum leak and belt was pulled through the seal into the engine.
5. Dropped the sub frame and oil pan to remove all belt pieces that got pulled through the seal. Replaced the oil filter gasket. To drop the subframe, you will need to get the engine hook from your truck, screw it into the engine behind oil filter housing, and attach that to an engine support bar.

Hope I didn't scare you too much. Haha
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      09-21-2018, 02:12 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal View Post
Number 1 was fixed on 2008+ cars right? They like made a bigger notch in subframe to allow play?
Can anyone confirm if the subframe issue is true for xi cars? (diiferent front end, obviously)
When I had my engine bay pulled apart, I was going to hack a larger notch to prevent future issues. As far as I could tell, the subframe was several inches away from making any contact with the PS pulley.
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      09-21-2018, 05:47 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by robthewrench View Post
Telling you how it might have happened won't help you with your current problem of getting it fixed, but these are probably the two most common sources:

1) The powersteering pulley contacts the subframe. Occurs when the car hits a large pothole or other impact, or when the subframe bushings are worn out and a smaller impact. The power steering pulley gets damaged missing the edge and then the belt comes off. Check your powersteering pulley for damage.

2) The OFHG leaks oil onto the tensioner pulley. This also weakens the belt as it absorbs the oil. Eventually there is not enough tension to keep the belt running true and it slips off. Look for leaking oil on/near the tensioner, on the belt itself, etc...
There aren't any subframe bushings in the front. I think you are talking about engine mounts.
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      09-21-2018, 09:29 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by echinite View Post
So I was driving at about 30 mph and heard noise coming from the engine bay, I immediately turned off the car and saw the serpentine belt was off all the idlers and shredded to pieces but there’s some still wrapped around the crankshaft. I had it towed home rather than risking it being sucked in to the engine but can’t get the belt off the crankshaft. I don’t understand what caused my belt to be shredded into pieces and how to prevent this issue. The belt is new and was put on about 100 miles ago. Any help or suggestions are helpful.
Some photos of the damage and the gap between the PS pulley and subframe might others.
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      09-21-2018, 10:48 PM   #11
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Could be failed pulley, tensioner, loose or missing power steering pump bolt, faulty AC clutch, faulty alternator clutch, defective belt.....
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      09-22-2018, 12:25 PM   #12
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as others said it is almost certainly a leaking OFHG. Pray the belt did get into the engine...
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      09-23-2018, 06:32 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CTinline-six View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pladi View Post
If it was put 100 miles ago something went wrong with installation is my guess. Or the tensioner is bad
Being it's an 07, I'm betting it is the P/S pulley.
If it is the PS Pulley, then the engine mounts have failed. You have really three options, 1) new oem mounts at $200.00 2) 335is mounts at $650-700 3) Turner Motor sports mounts at $399.00

Remember, Newton's third law. You should put in new trans mounts, for balance. If you put in Turner or 335is mounts, you should highly consider Rogue Engineering Trans mounts, or perhaps e46 M3 trans mounts.

Also, consider the aluminum PS pulley from ECS tuning vs the cheap, plastic OEM pulley.
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      09-23-2018, 10:49 PM   #14
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This happened to my 08 e92 Tuesday, make sure you order the full serp belt kit, the seal removal tool, seal itself, valve cover gasket, pan gasket, pan bolts, black rtv, oil and filter. If you want for extra precaution, aluminum ecs power steering pulley, turner 80a motor mounts. Mine was fine but i did them anyway. Highly suggest dropping the pan and checking the pickup. Mine was 1/4 clogged. Its not a fun process. And you wont get the seal out without the tool. Tried and failed.
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      09-24-2018, 03:13 AM   #15
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I had this happen and stopped immediately and did not drive.
Thought I got lucky that it didn't get under the main seal
I was wrong, when we dropped the oil pan to do the gasket, there was bits of belt in the pan.
Belt fragments also got wrapped around pulleys and alternator
Ended up having to replace pulleys and a 2nd hand alternator just to get back to a clean slate
Lesson is make sure you fix the oil filter housing gasket if you see any signs of a leak, is only a matter of time until the serpentine belt goes
Is a massive expensive pinta
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      09-24-2018, 06:55 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mweisdorfer View Post
There aren't any subframe bushings in the front. I think you are talking about engine mounts.
Yes, thank you for the correction. I meant to say engine mounts.
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