E46 Belts Change?

[E46Fanatic]

Just stopped by AB SG Besi on my way back to the office from a meeting to schedule for an appt to resolve my squeaking sound from the engine. Only happens when the engine is cold and can get quite loud and annoying. AB Sg besi thinks it could be the belts which need replacement, since the sound goes away when the car is warmed up.. Otherwise it could be the AC compressor, PS pump or Alternator... which will well cost at least a few grands to replace...Anyone else had similar problems on the E46 before?

 

[mini_jeff67]

Hope its just the belts, man, but don't know if the sound goes away once the engine's warmed up...

My belts were worn (cracked) and I didn't even know it (no screeching sound) - Luckily my mechanic noticed it when he was changing my lower arms!

 

[MONTOYA]

just spray with WD-40 or something similar like "belt conditional" on the belts before your start your engine in the morning.

if it is due to the belts, the squeak should go away. Otherwise it is something else.

If your belt is loose, it gives the squeak too!!

 

[Ade]

Maybe its the tensioner bearings...

 

[E46Fanatic]

Got a call today from AB... Its the PS and Alternator belts and the tensioner rollers. They are also changing the PS hoses due to a slow leak.. Estimated damage RM800+

Much less than I expected... but wait and see the final figure when I pick up the car later

 

[walrus_lord]

hey bro...i tot you replaced the PS hoses already...

 

[E46Fanatic]

Yea I did about 3 years ago... sigh.. I replaced all 3 PS hoses (incl the metal one) the last time around which was ~Rm1k+. I think this time only one of the hoses will be replaced.

 

[E46Fanatic]

Just picked up the car.. total bill RM1,389.01 (so much for the RM800+ estimate LOL).

Breakdown...

Parts:
Clamp $ 2.84
Clamp $ 6.90
Tensioner $387.11
Alternator/Fan Belt $ 134
Defl. pulley $ 172.05
PS hose return $232.27
PS host intake $112.17
PS Fluid 1 ltr $ 18

Labor $326
Svc Tax 15.40

Well the squeaking has stopped at last and hopefully the slow PS fluid leak. At least alternator, compressor and PS pump did not need replacing.. *gasp*

Also AB stuck a lot of stickers this time around. Annoying 1-800-xxx hotline sticker on the front top left windscreen and auto bavaria sticker on the rear window.. Whats up with that???

Only good thing that came out of this is that the car got a good wash + vacum + engine wash FOC...

 

[r424]

Glad to know yr ride 's back in good shape.
The usual bumpy moments of owning luxury cars ,I should say,no?
The thought of $$$$ spent and more $$$$ to come does touch one's nerve at times........err,all the time

Fyi,I've changed the springs on my ride.
Not the same feel or look like before but no too bad and no more of those heart aching moments when you meet the humps and bumps......

I'm enjoying my ride more now.Hope you too.

 

[E46Fanatic]

Glad to know that the springs were put to good use. You should try it with the stock shocks as well as the ride is very supple.. Sometimes I miss the comfy ride of the stock suspension system... heh

 

[830]

hi guys,

reading your posts just reminds me of my all AB days. I panic over smallest flaws and visit AB the next minute.

nowadays, for minor to medium noises, i'll just pop by a bimmer specialist in Sri Manja. sometimes, they don even charge me for small stuffs. worth thinking about having a small time standby mechanic even 4 second opinion. AB is just a slaughter house!

no offence to them. It is what it is!

cheers

 

[E46Fanatic]

Yea, for normal routine oil service or known things which I want changed, I usually take the car to Stuttgart due to convienience. For troubleshooting issues, I prefer AB as I feel that they are a little more trustworthy when parts need to be changed unlike 3rd party shops outside... Thats just my 0.02 tho..

 

[r424]

Originally posted by E46Fanatic@Dec 23 2005, 11:41 PM
Glad to know that the springs were put to good use. You should try it with the stock shocks as well as the ride is very supple.. Sometimes I miss the comfy ride of the stock suspension system... heh

May give that a try ...
Just wondering if that stock shocks'll take the load of 5 adults in the ride comfortably?Won't they be too soft?
Family ride means all 5 of us in the car u know.....

So far, power wise, the car handles quite effortlessly with the full load on.
The extra hp comes in handy,i think,esp on uphill climb and overtaking.
We did have a pleasant ride on the NS highway to Penang and back
over the weekend.

 

[imyewkee]

Originally posted by E46Fanatic@Dec 23 2005, 11:41 PM
Glad to know that the springs were put to good use. You should try it with the stock shocks as well as the ride is very supple.. Sometimes I miss the comfy ride of the stock suspension system... heh

E46Fanatic,

were u in yap's wedding (jazz club)?

rgds,
aaron

 

[E46Fanatic]

No man... I have yet to attend a Jazz club meet.. Heard that I might stick out like a sore thumb cos of my age... sigh..

Sounds like a fun bunch of folks in the club tho..

 

[Juan Powerblow]

I had this pwobwem for a couple of weeks and was quite worried too but my regular mekanik said it was due to liquid trapped on the belt. He said no need to do anything and it will just go away. Well, it did. But, I'm a bit worried cos my car just went through a flood of puddles today...

 

[BMW9700]

Originally posted by E46Fanatic@Dec 22 2005, 06:34 PM
Just picked up the car.. total bill RM1,389.01 (so much for the RM800+ estimate LOL).

Breakdown...

Parts:
Clamp $ 2.84
Clamp $ 6.90
Tensioner $387.11
Alternator/Fan Belt $ 134
Defl. pulley $ 172.05
PS hose return $232.27
PS host intake $112.17
PS Fluid 1 ltr $ 18

Labor $326
Svc Tax 15.40

Well the squeaking has stopped at last and hopefully the slow PS fluid leak. At least alternator, compressor and PS pump did not need replacing.. *gasp*

Also AB stuck a lot of stickers this time around. Annoying 1-800-xxx hotline sticker on the front top left windscreen and auto bavaria sticker on the rear window.. Whats up with that???

Only good thing that came out of this is that the car got a good wash + vacum + engine wash FOC...

fanatic,

glad you did the PS hoses...i had a bad experience with the PS hoses..the clip gave way and fluid just shot out..had to drive about 1 km dry and no assistance from PS pump..finally had to change the PS pump at herritage due to the whining sound..cost around RM1300 for the pump..

cheers

 

[E46Fanatic]

Originally posted by Juan Powerblow@Mar 6 2006, 07:49 AM
I had this pwobwem for a couple of weeks and was quite worried too but my regular mekanik said it was due to liquid trapped on the belt. He said no need to do anything and it will just go away. Well, it did. But, I'm a bit worried cos my car just went through a flood of puddles today...

My squeeking symptoms started slowly and over months it got worse and worse. Usually on cold start ups you can hear faint squeeks when standing outside next to the car.. then it gets louder and louder over the months till folks turn around and look at your car hehe.

The fixes were spot on, and no re-occurance so far. Now my front bearing is on its way to the grave, and the yellow chk oil light is still coming on (Energy has this symptom also) for a few seconds after startup. Might need to change the oil lvl sensor.

Thinking of changing the plastic radiator reserviour before it cracks and leaves me stranded on the road. Car just turned 60k kms which is about that time.. sigh.

 

[Juan Powerblow]

Originally posted by E46Fanatic+Mar 7 2006, 12:46 AM-->QUOTE (E46Fanatic @ Mar 7 2006, 12:46 AM)

 

[3er]

Originally posted by E46Fanatic@Mar 7 2006, 08:46 AM
My squeeking symptoms started slowly and over months it got worse and worse. Usually on cold start ups you can hear faint squeeks when standing outside next to the car.. then it gets louder and louder over the months till folks turn around and look at your car hehe.

The fixes were spot on, and no re-occurance so far. Now my front bearing is on its way to the grave, and the yellow chk oil light is still coming on (Energy has this symptom also) for a few seconds after startup. Might need to change the oil lvl sensor.

Thinking of changing the plastic radiator reserviour before it cracks and leaves me stranded on the road. Car just turned 60k kms which is about that time.. sigh.

And to think your car has accumulated a lot less mileage than the average user out there and all this happened. Sigh.....