Hey, i've been browsing the the forum for a couple months now and it has helped with many tips/DIY to fix my girlfriends R50. I just got a new replacement belt and wondered if anyone in the DFW area has the belt tool needed to release the tensioner. I tried my 3/8 rachet and the head was too big to work. I've got the wheel off and everything ready to swap, but no way to remove it. I would only need it for 10-15 mins and then I can return it right away. I thought about buying one online, but that might take another week to get to me. Please PM me if anyone can help. Thanks!

 

A 3/8 breaker bar might be thin enough to fit, but maybe not.

This link is probably the cheapest you'll find for the R50 tool:
http://www.kochtools.com/index.php?p=product&id=152

The same site has a few other bmw mini tools for reasonable prices.

 

Can't help you on the R50 tool but check out ebay. I just picked up a r53 tool for 35 bucks, probably could have done it without but it's nice to have the right tool for the job. Spend $ on the tool, it will pay for itself the first time you change a belt.

 

Totally worth spending the money. !! 10 min by yourself or 2 hours with a friend trying to wedge stuff in there. ... Your call!!

 

I have done this to my 03, without the BMW tool.

I used a thin ratchet, and a decent size pole as a cheater bar to use it to apply pressure up and place a pin inside the holding point, easy and even bypassed the whole taking off wheel.

Hoped this helped!

 

I haven't bought the tool yet, but I probably will next time around because it will make it so much easier.

The trick I've used is to remove the wheel well cover, put a jack directly under the tensioner arm, and have a long bar extend up to the bottom of the tensioner arm. Now jack up the tensioner arm and stick an allen wrench in the slot that holds the tensioner arm up.

Hopefully that makes sense. Good luck.

 

Wished I lived in DFW so I could lend you mine. In lieu of that, here's my how-to for changing the belt on an R50:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...placement.html

You probably have some of this done already. Read to the end for an interesting discussion of what is the correct belt size. I noted that the tool you found is about $10 cheaper than the one I bought.

Note also that the R50 tool is different than the R53 tool, which will NOT work. Good luck, let us know if you need more help.

Val