[Ferris]

You have to be doing something wrong, is when removing use the breaker bar slip it off the tensioner pulley onto socket then just release tensioner. To put it back on feed it around everything then put it on the right side of the socket turn the tensioner and slide it right on release and done. I will say the belt is kind of a dick around the water pump and the secondary air hose and can get jammed there sometimes it helps to remove the secondary air pipe bracket.

 

[horse86]

You have to be doing something wrong, is when removing use the breaker bar slip it off the tensioner pulley onto socket then just release tensioner. To put it back on feed it around everything then put it on the right side of the socket turn the tensioner and slide it right on release and done. I will say the belt is kind of a dick around the water pump and the secondary air hose and can get jammed there sometimes it helps to remove the secondary air pipe bracket.

ok so you're using the breaker bar and socket to turn the tension nut then taking the belt off the tension pulley and placing it around the socket to hold it in place a bit THEN taking the belt off the Alternator? I was going straight to taking the belt off the alternator and couldn't. And your process is the reverse for putting in back on...put new alternator on, put belt around alternator, hook the loose slack around the socket that is on the tensioner nut, turn tensioner nut then slip belt from the socket back onto the tensioner pulley? Right?

 

[Ferris]

Sadly I have to this again this week so I can document it for you to make it easier... but

So first dumb statement I'll make is make sure you're tightening the tensioner, going clockwise, maybe stupid to say I know but sometimes people do it backwards and try to loosen it. Then once it's fully released just slip the belt off of it and remove the socket and breaker bar then just undo the belt from whatever accessory you need, the alternator has a lip iirc so you need to remove the belt from the tensioner all together and pull enough slack through to get over the lip.

 

[motorzen]

ok so you're using the breaker bar and socket to turn the tension nut then taking the belt off the tension pulley and placing it around the socket to hold it in place a bit THEN taking the belt off the Alternator? I was going straight to taking the belt off the alternator and couldn't. And your process is the reverse for putting in back on...put new alternator on, put belt around alternator, hook the loose slack around the socket that is on the tensioner nut, turn tensioner nut then slip belt from the socket back onto the tensioner pulley? Right?

To be 100% clear, in addition to Ferris's reply... once you use the tensioner to create slack in the belt, slip the belt off from the Tensioner, not the Alternator. The belt runs INSIDE the track on the pulley for the Alternator (and motor), but the tensioner is flat, and has no track since it pushes on the back/outside of the belt.

Once you've slipped the belt from the tensioner, you'll be able to pull it free from all the other pulleys.

 

[Ferris]

Wanted to follow up on this.. Also wanted to share the secret to getting the alternator back on, this has worked for every bmw and merc alternator I had to deal with.

The bottom mount the nut is actually a bushing when it's tighten it slides out a bit, this is why you can't get it on smoothly, you just need to push it back out a bit flush. The alternate slides on like butter and when you torque the bolt down it'll pull it back out as needed. Here is a pic of it flush again.

As promised here is a pick with breaker bar and the belt off, hope it make sense, also added a pic for a bit more clarity.

 

[horse86]

Man....this job is turning out to be more of a PITA then I thought lol. That damn plastic nut on the back gave me fits for a while not being able to get a socket on even with rotating the alt down.

SO.....belt off, both bolts are out, terminal is disconnected, plug is unplugged. The alt is still in there pretty damn good. Did you guys just use a long heavy duty flat head to pry it out of the bracket the bottom bolt goes through? I can just imagine how much of a PITA its going to be to get the new alternator up in there and wedged into the bracket and get the bottom bolt started. :frown

 

[whit32]

Yes you should be able to get a long screwdriver or prybar in there to wedge it out of the bottom bracket. Yes it's a tight fit due to the bushing. For the plastic (electrical connection) nut, I waited until the alt was free, then rotated it so I could get access.

Install back into the bracket will be easier than removal if you follow the thread above yours. In my case, with the new Valeo, the bushing was already recessed so I did not need to pound it in. The new alt slipped in fine out of the box.

Be prepared to loosen or bend a couple of the lines around the swaybar bracket (if memory serves) to be able to slide the alt out.

Hope that helps.

 

[horse86]

My new valeo alt the bottom nut bushing looks to be flush/slightly recessed already....meaning the nut is sticking out the back of the bracket a little bit. Thats what I want right?


Once I pry this sucker loose I'm waiting for it to come tumbling down haha it is not a light part at all! Was kind of surprised at the weight of it.

 

[motorzen]

Things like this are what Harbor Freight (Hazard Fraught?) are made for. Best $10 you can spend, as if you end up doing work on other bits of the car (especially suspension, etc.) you can gently guide things into/out of place.

https://www.harborfreight.com/4-piece-heavy-duty-pry-bar-set-1654.html

I really won't take much prying once you get started. It's just a little scary to start.

 

[horse86]

Finished it yesterday! First time doing this or any alternator so take it with a grain of salt but if you are like me I'd set this for a weekend project and not a couple hours. Sometimes you get to a sticking point and need to come back to it after your frustration calms down a bit lol


Anyway, I had 60 or so codes stemming from all the voltage errors (ABS, DSC, trans, etc etc etc.). I cleared all the codes, however, 2 came back. The 2 that came back were for the ABS. I looked into the code and it mentions voltage/pump not working? Not sure why this is happening...any ideas?

Side note: I replaced my battery with a new one right before I did the alternator thinking maybe it was the battery. Registered it etc through iCarly. It ran ok for a day or so then of course the errors started popping up again (due to bad alt). Tried driving it again and the car died on me once the new battery drained. I had the car jumped and was able to hold the charge enough to get home. I did not do any charging with the battery at that point just started work on the alternator. After the alternator went it I started up the car and thats when I went for the drive and got the 2 ABS errors (after clearing all the stored errors). Could this be bc the battery is still not 100% charged? I hooked the car up to a trickle charger last night to get the battery up to 100% to see if that fixes these ABS codes.

 

[horse86]

^^ just confirmed. Had my tender hooked up to my battery all night and as of now it's showing it's up to 80% so it was down quite a bit. I'm hoping/thinking that's the root of the ABS warning and not that the voltage fluctuations before replacing the alternator fried something on the ABS unit.

 

[Ferris]

If you turned the car and the voltage was low that's probably the cause. Once it's charged clear it and try again.

 

[horse86]

That fixed it. Full battery, cleared codes, took it for a drive, checked/cleared codes again, none came back. Happy camper here. Now I can stop posting to this thread haha. Thanks for everyone that posted helpful tips along the way

 

[umnitza]

Here's some extra input:
-What you'll need: 1/4" drive: 8mm & 10mm socket and extention, 3/8" drive: 10-17mm sockets and extensions. 10mm box wrench or ratcheting wrench. Small flat-head screwdriver for prying. Extra large flat-head screwdriver for prying.

-Obviously, remove the splash shield with 8mm and 13mm sockets
-Remove 2 brackets holding the sway bar and power steering lines (I think 13 or 14mm and 10mm for the lines).
-Remove the 10mm bolt holding the wire loom and push the wire loom out of the way.
-Use small screw driver to remove wire clip from black accumulator canister.
-Use small screw driver to remove cap from belt tensioner pulley.
-Rest is here:

The above guide is nearly perfect.
We did this install over the weekend book time on this is 4 hours, we did it in 1. BMW master tech helps to have as a supervisor on the project
The only thing I can add is a) best to have the car on a rack, can be done on the ground, but far more difficult and time consuming b) better tools really help - see which ones are recommended. YMMV

These are really helpful:

PS: engine and chassis has 180K - first time alternator went bad.

 

[horse86]

Yes MUCH more time consuming and difficult off a lift and just on jack stands. I took a whole weekend haha

 

[godnf8]

Yes MUCH more time consuming and difficult off a lift and just on jack stands. I took a whole weekend haha

Better than paying a shop to do it! You'll do it in half the time next go round =P

 

[horse86]

Better than paying a shop to do it! You'll do it in half the time next go round =P

This is true..except by the next go around I probably wont have the car any more or I'll have forgotten how haha

I'm avg 2k miles a year.

 

[[email protected]]

Hey Guys,

A quick search led me to this thread as I looking for a video on this repair. Didn't find one so I went and head and made one while I did this repair.
Hopefully this will help someone out. Cheers Kelly.

+ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmU0xjUkA50&t=369s]" title="View this video at YouTube in a new window or tab" target="_blank">YouTube Video

 

[horse86]

Hey Guys,

A quick search led me to this thread as I looking for a video on this repair. Didn't find one so I went and head and made one while I did this repair.
Hopefully this will help someone out. Cheers Kelly.

+ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmU0xjUkA50&t=369s]" title="View this video at YouTube in a new window or tab" target="_blank">YouTube Video

Nice work. Videos always take time to make. I didn't watch it due to being at work but thanks for doin it. I did the repair and it was a bit of a pain...just took my time with it. Also a lot harder on stands vrs lift.

 

[UkraineE39]

If the Voltage Regulator fails could it be the cause for the alternator putting out zero amps?


We tested it and alternator puts out no charge at all. Does this sound like a bad VR or bad Alt? Usually alternators put out at least some power but not in my case....