Pulley install, DIY?
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Forget the lift, the pulley kit install is a no-brainer and can be done top-side. No need to remove the under-engine cover either. Here are the basic steps...I just did mine a couple of weekends ago.
1. Open hood
2. Unbolt black metal panel covering the radiator and a/c condenser (the hood latches are also bolted to this.)
3. Unscrew the black plastic cover that holds and fastens the radiator shroud, radiator and a/c condenser together
4. Look to both sides of the radiator shround, on the fan-side, you will see wings that fold away towards the engine. Pry this with a large flat screwdriver, it will snap and fold 90 degrees, out of the way of the radiator hoses, and you can lift the radiator shroud/fan assembly - don't forget to disconnect the electrical plugs - out of the way. No need whatsoever to disconnect the radiator hoses.
5. After removing the radiator shroud and fan assembly, you have a clear view and all kinds of space to work.
6. Remove the covers to the 3 tensioner pulleys.
7. Compress the left tensioner pulley to remove the outer belt.
8. Unbolt the middle tensioner pulley so you can remove the inner belt.
9. Compress the right tensioner pullet to remove the inner belt.
10. Remove the 6 bolts holding the crank pulley
That's it. Installation is the reversal. The main crank pulley cover will probably be larger than the smaller pulley you are installing. It took me an hour to grind the pulley cover to get it to fit into the new pulley. I tried to take some pics, I will look for them when I get home from work today and post some, should help you. Not counting the time it takes to grind the crank pulley cover, the whole job will take an hour. For reals!!!!
But yeah, installing the pulley kit from the underside is a PITA and a nightmare, I wouldn't recommend it...regardless of what the RPI instructions say - no disrepect to them. They have great products - I use their pulley kit, oil cooler and scoops.
1. Open hood
2. Unbolt black metal panel covering the radiator and a/c condenser (the hood latches are also bolted to this.)
3. Unscrew the black plastic cover that holds and fastens the radiator shroud, radiator and a/c condenser together
4. Look to both sides of the radiator shround, on the fan-side, you will see wings that fold away towards the engine. Pry this with a large flat screwdriver, it will snap and fold 90 degrees, out of the way of the radiator hoses, and you can lift the radiator shroud/fan assembly - don't forget to disconnect the electrical plugs - out of the way. No need whatsoever to disconnect the radiator hoses.
5. After removing the radiator shroud and fan assembly, you have a clear view and all kinds of space to work.
6. Remove the covers to the 3 tensioner pulleys.
7. Compress the left tensioner pulley to remove the outer belt.
8. Unbolt the middle tensioner pulley so you can remove the inner belt.
9. Compress the right tensioner pullet to remove the inner belt.
10. Remove the 6 bolts holding the crank pulley
That's it. Installation is the reversal. The main crank pulley cover will probably be larger than the smaller pulley you are installing. It took me an hour to grind the pulley cover to get it to fit into the new pulley. I tried to take some pics, I will look for them when I get home from work today and post some, should help you. Not counting the time it takes to grind the crank pulley cover, the whole job will take an hour. For reals!!!!
But yeah, installing the pulley kit from the underside is a PITA and a nightmare, I wouldn't recommend it...regardless of what the RPI instructions say - no disrepect to them. They have great products - I use their pulley kit, oil cooler and scoops.
Fantastic write up Jed. I did it from the bottom with no lift and it was a BIG PITA.
Great call on the pulley cover grinding too. I didn't see that anywhere in anyone's write ups. Scared the crap out of me to do it because I thought if I left it out of round it would cause vibration at high rpm's and screw something up. Almost left it off altogether, but got it pretty true and put it on in the end.
Last word of advice. Make a diagram of the belt travel path before you remove. You'll be in big trouble if you forget how it is supposed to go.
Great call on the pulley cover grinding too. I didn't see that anywhere in anyone's write ups. Scared the crap out of me to do it because I thought if I left it out of round it would cause vibration at high rpm's and screw something up. Almost left it off altogether, but got it pretty true and put it on in the end.
Last word of advice. Make a diagram of the belt travel path before you remove. You'll be in big trouble if you forget how it is supposed to go.
The crank pulley cover is made of steel. If you have a Dremel, you can do it, it will be slow. If you have an industrial table grinder wheel, it will definitely speed things up. I grinded the cover every few minutes in a circular motion to evenly eat away at the metal, then test fitted to the new pulley, I did that like 30 times until the cover sat flush at the bottom of the new pulley. Also need to chamfer the edges and at the very least, spray with rustoleum black paint, otherwise it will rust. Its all part of the fun, and take pride that you are saving 3-4 hours of labor costs that you can use towards more mods! LOL!
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2,432 Posts
THe pulley can be installed from top or bottom. I go from the bottom just because there are fewer things to take off from the bottom. It takes me about 20 minutes to install the pulley kit once the car is cool. We have also looked into the inner diameter of the pullies. We had a batch where the ID was a little bit smaller. All of these have been corrected. I appologize for those of you who had to grind down your dust covers to get them to fit. If you guys are looking at other RPi items, please give me a call so I can offer you guys a special discount for your trouble.
im thinking about having this pulley installed on my m5 as well but im not too mechanically savy so ill just have someone do it for me as i am rich j/k. bad joke aside, how much would it cost to have someone install it. i have my afe stage 2's coming from elliot over at modbargains along with my magnaflow cat backs im looking to get all the cheapest mods out of the way then later i do plan to put evosport headers with cats. btw peeps magnaflow has a part number for the high flow cats located under the car but they arent released yet by magnaflow just thought id save you an hour out of your life as this drove me crazy when trying to order them. lastly when i get the pulley, cat back exhaust, and afe stage 2's installed do i need to "reflash" the ECU? any advice would be appreciated. happy modding everyone!
how much would you charge to do the pulley on my e60 m5? i have a rogue pulley on stand by just waiting for the right price to get it installed. also since the install of your pulley does your car run a little hotter?
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2,432 Posts
Have you looked at our DIY page? It takes 45min once the cover is off. The whole job takes us about 1.5hrs max so we charge 1.5 hr.
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311 Posts
1,5 H when I did mine aswell
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