BMW N52 Help

"for Michigan" (formichigan) 06/22/2019 at 11:22 • Filed to: bmw, 1-Series, n52

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Been hearing what I believe is a bearing whine coming from the engine bay. Only notice it when the car is warmed up and I’m cruising at low speeds with the windows down or have it parked with the windows down. It increases in frequency directly related to engine speed.

Some Googling suggested it may be coming from the oil filter if it was installed improperly, but after looking over the car myself the filter housing isn’t the source of the noise. Haven’t determined which pulley it is yet, but it’s certainly coming from the lower front part of the engine.

Then there’s this:

Not entirely sure what’s up with the serpentine belt, but I’m know it shouldn’t look like that. I think I’ll be ordering a new one here shortly.

Any tips on tracking down the bad pulley?

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > for Michigan 06/22/2019 at 11:34

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Use a stethescope or a cut length of tubing (garden hose or similar) and just place it at each pulley in turn. Whichever is loudest is your winner.

It’s a BMW so check the water pump pulley f irst .

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > for Michigan 06/22/2019 at 11:42

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ooo.. imprints.. thats wierd

they look nice and steady... so i’d say find the one that feels like it has shit stuck in the middle

MM54 > for Michigan 06/22/2019 at 11:57

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While the belt is off, check each pulle y by hand for feeling-like-the-bearings-are-bad and other oddities. Also do like EssExTee said and listen to each pulley once its together to see if one is louder than the other.

Shift24 > for Michigan 06/22/2019 at 12:56

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So talked with my buddy a BMW master tech and showed your post . This is what he texted me. Also context that belt is oil soaked and why it could be spongy.

“Well first he needs to fix the leaking oil filter housing gasket before that oil soaked belt shreds and gets pulled into the engine through the front main, clogs the oil pump pickup and smokes the engine. That’s where I’d start”

He also said the whining is the overdrive of the alternator. It changes with engine speed and takes longer to wind down

If you want and he offered I can give you his number if you want to respond with your email. (Or private message though I have no clue how that works on kinja)

He also does work on the side but we are down in cbus 

His Stigness > for Michigan 06/22/2019 at 13:49

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I’ll expand on Shift24's comment:

The tensioner sliding the belt off like that is incredibly common, but it’s far enough off that you need to order a new kit NOW. It will slip off and fuck up the front of the engine.

And the oil filter housing definitely needs to be changed, but it’s not a DIY project unless you’ve worked on BMW’s for years and have all the right tools. The biggest thing to be aware of with that housing is that it uses stretch bolts, so it needs to be worked on by a qualified BMW tech. If it’s not done right it will just leak again.

for Michigan > Shift24 06/22/2019 at 14:14

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Thanks for checking with him, that’s very helpful. I’m getting a new gasket and belt at least. Possibly a new tensioner to go with it as that seems to be the area where the bearing noise is coming from, not the alternator.

for Michigan > His Stigness 06/22/2019 at 14:17

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The parts are in my RockAuto cart and just about ready to ship.

I’ve been looking into doing the oil filter housing gasket and nothing I’ve seen indicates that those are stretch bolts. In fact I’ve seen it emphatically stated that they are not. I need to get some external t orx sockets, but other than that it seems like something I’m entirely capable of doing myself.

Shift24 > for Michigan 06/22/2019 at 14:21

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ALso he said on the belt buy BMW or continental. He has seen cheap belts destroy cars. FCPeuro and ECS tuning carry the right belts

PotatosaladIPA > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 06/22/2019 at 14:22

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I own an N52. I wanna say that I don't believe it has a water pump pulley because, unlike most cars, this car does not have a mechanical water pump so, it's not belt driven. It's an electric water pump. 

for Michigan > Shift24 06/22/2019 at 14:25

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I was going to order the Continental kit from RockAuto because I saw it re c ommended on a lot of the forums and it’s significantly cheaper than the Gates kit which is what I’ve used on my previous cars .

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > for Michigan 06/22/2019 at 18:46

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The filter housing gasket is kind of a pain in the ass, but it’s doable. I did mine last year and the bolts are aluminum. I most definitely recommend purchasing one of these:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-8mm-Metric-Reversible-Ratchet-Wrench/3387728

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 06/22/2019 at 18:47

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Water pumps on the n52 are electric.

E90M3 > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 06/22/2019 at 19:15

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How difficult was it to change? I helped a friend change one on an M52, any idea if it’s similar ? I paid to have mine changed, just want to know if I maybe should’ve done it myself. 

qbeezy > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 06/22/2019 at 19:25

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I second that ratchet. Getting several of those that are in the most common sizes you need will save you heaps of time.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > E90M3 06/22/2019 at 20:05

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It was a bit fiddly, but definitely not worth the price to have BMW do it. You also do it with an oil change and coolant change, but all in it was only about an hour job.

for Michigan > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 06/22/2019 at 20:30

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I ended up getting the FCPEuro kit, which includes bolts.

I do have a set of ratcheting box wrenches, so I should be set there.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > for Michigan 06/22/2019 at 20:30

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Get the one with the bend if you don’t already have one 

Pat > His Stigness 06/22/2019 at 23:16

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Only early year 325i and 330i e90s used stretch bolts in the filter housing. They’re easily identifiable as they’re aluminum and typically painted blue.

Get a kit from FCP euro which includes the bolts, genuine BMW gasket and coolant. D o not cheap out and get OEM or aftermarket as you will be doing it a year later if you do. You will need wobble sockets or a universal joint to get the bolt under the manifold. For the short bolt going from the opposite side get a e10/e12 ratcheting torx wrench and it will make your life much easier. It will also come in handy if you need to do your starter down the road. Do not remove the plastic flange sitting under the oil filter housing unless you have a replacement hose ready. The plastic becomes brittle and breaks most of the time when you go to remove it. The ratcheting wrench eliminates the need for removing it.

Before removing the filter housing, disconnect the coolant hose coming out of it and make sure all the coolant drains out of that passage so it doesn’t go into the oil. Also get a new oil filter and clean the housing very well. Make sure the oil drain back valve is able to move smoothly after you’re done cleaning. Also clean the block surface very well before installing the new gasket and the housing back on the engine. Be careful not to gouge the surface. I like to plug the holes and use ultra fine steel wool with wd40 as a lubricant.

Once it’s clean install the gasket on the housing. I like to put a tiny bit of dielectric grease on my finger and run it over the gasket to give it a little lubrication so it won’t get pinched when you tighten down the bolts. Use even pressure when tightening the three bolts to bring it evenly to the block.

For the belts just get the whole belt, pulley and tensioner kit and do it once. FCP euro has a nice kit with OEM components for around $120 if I recall. 

His Stigness > for Michigan 06/22/2019 at 23:44

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Ah I guess they’re not all stretch bolts. That’s the case with the valve cover: some of them have stretch bolts and some don’t. I find it quite annoying. But the way I always knew was through the torque specs in the manual.

If you don't have the proper torque specs for the filter housing let me know and I'll look it up with Mitchel. I just need the year and exact model. 

for Michigan > His Stigness 06/23/2019 at 06:49

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Everything I've found says 22 nm. It's a 2010 128i if you don't mind verifying that, though.

my car smells like crayons > His Stigness 06/23/2019 at 14:09

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I had my oil filter housing gasket (OFHG) leak, and took it to the shop (yay CarMax warranty!). The oil had leaked into the serpentine belt, as well as a coolant hose connector. The recommendation was to replace both of those.

They also identified the serpentine pulley bolt was backing out and bending. They replaced both of those under warranty too.

The point I'm trying to make here is to not just replace the gasket (or the belt), but a series of components

His Stigness > for Michigan 06/23/2019 at 15:19

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Yeah, it’s 22nm.

And in case you haven’t already found it I found this good DIY . The only advice I can add is to either get a universal 1/4 adapter or a universal e-torx socket to get the bolt under the intake manifold. That’s how I’ve always done it. With that tool, the job only takes a few minutes.

And make sure you actually torque the bolts. The guy in the DIY doesn’t actually say that and I can’t stress enough how important it is to properly torque all the fasteners.

And since you need to drain the coolant you absolutely need to properly vent the cooling system. While I’ve always done it with the scan tool apparently there is a way to manually do it using this method . Do it several times so you can be positive all the air bubbles are out. When you’re dealing with an expensive cylinder head like that, you want to make sure you get all the air out.

for Michigan > His Stigness 06/23/2019 at 15:42

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Thank you! I really appreciate your efforts to make sure I’m equipped to do this properly. Fishing through all the DIYs and weeding out the good from the bad can be exhausting.

I’ll be sure to post an update once I get everything done later this week.

ETA: Looks like the DIY link is a local file path, so I’m just getting an error page when I click that link.

His Stigness > for Michigan 06/23/2019 at 16:48

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I’m happy to help. I don’t want to see Oppo members become horror stories on the forums that I laugh at while at work.

Searching through forum posts is an art form I’ve perfected over many years of working on German cars as the aftermarket manuals independent shops get access to are utter shit.

Here’s the link to the post that has the PDF in it.

for Michigan > His Stigness 06/23/2019 at 17:07

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Looks like I already have that one in my list of references!

As far as forums go, I got my feet wet with my first car (85 Fiero), got in over my head on my second car (98 Civic), and finally got the hang of it with my last car (06 Mazda3). At this point I’m hoping I’ve learned enough from my previous mistakes not to do anything stupid with my 1-series. This will be my first serious wrenching on it  since I’ve bought it, though.

E92 William > for Michigan 09/11/2019 at 19:16

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If that belt slips and wraps around the crank pulley itll get sucked into the oil pan through the front main seal. Was a 1900 dollar repair to clean the belt material out of my 335i's engine after that happened 

for Michigan > E92 William 09/11/2019 at 21:42

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Yeah, I fixed it:  https://oppositelock.kinja.com/my-first-bmw-wrenching-experience-seems-to-have-been-a-1836154493