A mechanic in Cincinnati promised me use of his belt tensioner tool and then lent it out to someone else. I really want to get my S/C and crank pulleys changed before my autoX this weekend. Also seems that it's pretty necessary to change the belt ASAP. Can anyone help me? Is it possible to change the belt without that tool?

 

Hey man! I'm in cincinnati but I don't have the tool sorry... I'm in the process of rebuilding my r53 supercharger and various other bits. I just snipped the belt and bought a new tensioner... lol. Curious where you autox around here tho!! Call "just bmw" in norwood.. those guys are great i'm sure they can help you out!

 

Thank you so much for that recommendation. I gave them a call and John was a huge help - I should be able to get the tool I need tonight. I have a new tensioner but still need to remove some tension from the new one to get the new belt on. I'm a member of the Kentucky chapter of the SCCA, so I do most of my autocrossing in Louisville. My girlfriend attends dental school down there so it's a good way to knock out two birds with one stone haha. I've also raced in Columbus, Mid-Ohio, Cincinnati, and Dayton, all with the SCCA. Have you ever autocrossed?

 

I'm also in Cincinnati, yet without the tool you're looking for of course... I'm jumping in here because I'm researching the belt tensioner as a possible solution for a loud engine rattle I'm experiencing (2004 R53). Other posts have pointed to the belt tensioner as something to look into.

So I'm wondering - are either of you looking for the belt tensioner to solve a current problem/engine noise, or is it just in keeping up with general maintenance?

Also, I second the reco for John at Just BMW - glad you talked to him. I'll be getting in touch with him this week about this noisy engine I have.

 

General maintenance for me. I'm swapping out the S/C and Crank pulleys so figured I might as well add to the list.

 

same here... supercharger went out so while I'm in there I have a list of things I changed, cleaned, adjusted

 

thanks both of you for the further detail. I'm pushing 95,000 and I'm not aware of this ever being done on my car, unless it was performed as part of any of the milestone services that have been done. But the most recent of those was at around 65,000 miles, so it probably needs to be done. Time to get it checked out!