Hello everyone
Relatively new to this forum and thus far it has been an invaluable source! I have read various threads in relation to this issue, or similar to one I have; however, despite my attempts to rectify it I still have the dreaded squeak within the drive belt area.
A bit of background first I guess. I purchased my Oct 2000 built M5 four months ago with 70k miles. The 1 owner car was in exceptionally good condition however to ensure its longevity and I’ve decided to invest a further few thousand and replace certain parts as preventative maintenance.... and, I have to say, to justify to my wife why for many weekends over the last few months I have disappeared into the garage for hours, to spend time with my dream car.
Aside from the front of the engine, I’ve upgraded the oil pressure accumulator (warm start up rattle gone, hurray!) , replaced valve/rocker cover gaskets, plugs, fluids, oil cap, every single grommet, hose and bolt that I could think of. Other than the oils/fluids and a few minor bits, all parts were EOM purchased from a BMW dealer.
When the beast was cold, a small chirp was audible from Bank 2 area on start up, once the RPM dropped below 1k mark as it slowly started to warm up. Belts were changed less than a year ago. Nothing was audible during optimal operating temperature so I figured this was an easy solution, perhaps a pulley.
Everything was still original so I set out to replace AC belt pulley + tensioner (it was leaking a bit), main belt pulley assembly, a new steering pump + new pulley (felt a bit clunky), coupling clutch + fan and finally, new belts (Contitech for AC and Dayco for main drive). All that certainly made the engine sound even quieter however I could still hear a slight squeak for a little while on cold starts. Frustrated, I went to BMW for diagnostics and was told the squeak originated from the alternator bearings.
Great I thought; ouch from the cost point of view, but great! Finally I will solve the problem and achieve perfection! Bought a new Bosch alternator, installed it last weekend – the noise is still there?! Whilst replacing the alternator I did notice that the main pulley hydraulic tensioner was now weeping a bit. Back to BMW, bought a new one, installed it last night and to my surprise, the squeak is even louder!???? What???? Got the stethoscope out, listened to everything but cannot pin point where it was coming from. From under the car it seemed/felt as though it was coming from far lower right area of Bank 2; somewhere between the tensioner, idler pulley, alternator and power steering pump, all of which have been just replaced.
Took the main belt off, started the car with AC belt on – nothing. Put the main belt on – started the beast this morning before setting off for work, its there....and it now lasted longer that just the initial warm up cycle. It isn’t loud, but it’s there. On arrival at the office, after nearly and hour on the road, the engine is quite again.
Don’t know what to do anymore and by the looks of it BMW clearly did not diagnose the issue correctly. I want to give up but this squeak/chirp is starting to drive me insane! I would greatly appreciate if someone could help!
Thank you in advance
Relatively new to this forum and thus far it has been an invaluable source! I have read various threads in relation to this issue, or similar to one I have; however, despite my attempts to rectify it I still have the dreaded squeak within the drive belt area.
A bit of background first I guess. I purchased my Oct 2000 built M5 four months ago with 70k miles. The 1 owner car was in exceptionally good condition however to ensure its longevity and I’ve decided to invest a further few thousand and replace certain parts as preventative maintenance.... and, I have to say, to justify to my wife why for many weekends over the last few months I have disappeared into the garage for hours, to spend time with my dream car.
Aside from the front of the engine, I’ve upgraded the oil pressure accumulator (warm start up rattle gone, hurray!) , replaced valve/rocker cover gaskets, plugs, fluids, oil cap, every single grommet, hose and bolt that I could think of. Other than the oils/fluids and a few minor bits, all parts were EOM purchased from a BMW dealer.
When the beast was cold, a small chirp was audible from Bank 2 area on start up, once the RPM dropped below 1k mark as it slowly started to warm up. Belts were changed less than a year ago. Nothing was audible during optimal operating temperature so I figured this was an easy solution, perhaps a pulley.
Everything was still original so I set out to replace AC belt pulley + tensioner (it was leaking a bit), main belt pulley assembly, a new steering pump + new pulley (felt a bit clunky), coupling clutch + fan and finally, new belts (Contitech for AC and Dayco for main drive). All that certainly made the engine sound even quieter however I could still hear a slight squeak for a little while on cold starts. Frustrated, I went to BMW for diagnostics and was told the squeak originated from the alternator bearings.
Great I thought; ouch from the cost point of view, but great! Finally I will solve the problem and achieve perfection! Bought a new Bosch alternator, installed it last weekend – the noise is still there?! Whilst replacing the alternator I did notice that the main pulley hydraulic tensioner was now weeping a bit. Back to BMW, bought a new one, installed it last night and to my surprise, the squeak is even louder!???? What???? Got the stethoscope out, listened to everything but cannot pin point where it was coming from. From under the car it seemed/felt as though it was coming from far lower right area of Bank 2; somewhere between the tensioner, idler pulley, alternator and power steering pump, all of which have been just replaced.
Took the main belt off, started the car with AC belt on – nothing. Put the main belt on – started the beast this morning before setting off for work, its there....and it now lasted longer that just the initial warm up cycle. It isn’t loud, but it’s there. On arrival at the office, after nearly and hour on the road, the engine is quite again.
Don’t know what to do anymore and by the looks of it BMW clearly did not diagnose the issue correctly. I want to give up but this squeak/chirp is starting to drive me insane! I would greatly appreciate if someone could help!
Thank you in advance