Subject: Re: Finnished VANO Install Author: rajaieq as Rajaie (moderator) : 173 posts Posted on: 2008-04-23 22:56:09

Thanks for the feedback.

Before replacing your alternator, you should make sure the noise is not coming from the idler or tensioner pulleys. These are the smooth (not ribbed) pulleys. They are adjacent to the alternator and are well known to wear and squeak. Their lifespan is ~60k miles. They can start squeaking by 90k miles. I proactively replace them with the belts at 60k miles.
The way to check them is to take off the belt and spin the pulleys. A new pulley will spin one or two times and stop. A worn pulley (bearing) will spin 10+ times.

The idler pulley is replaced with its mounting base. The tensioner comes in two forms, spring and hydraulic. The spring tensioner has to be replaced as a whole to get a new pulley. The pulley is available separately on the hydraulic tensioner. You need to inspect the tensioner to assess what type it is. The hydraulic tensioner will have a little shock. You can't switch tensioner types. Your VIN number does not define which type of tensioner your car has.

The BMW ETK parts system is available at www.realoem.com.

I know two E39 i6 owners with squeaking alternators. They caused this by power washing their engine bay and getting water into the alternator.

Good luck.

Rajaie
528i 5sp 06/00

• Finnished VANO Install - pdschultz 2008-04-22 22:37:27 (382 views)
  • Re: Finnished VANO Install - pavlo 2008-04-30 18:25:13 (174 views)
  • Re: Finnished VANO Install - Rajaie 2008-04-23 22:56:09 (192 views)
    • Re: Finnished VANO Install - pdschultz 2008-04-24 00:20:09 (167 views)
  • Re: Finnished VANO Install - pdschultz 2008-04-22 22:46:57 (165 views)