35d Complete Drive Belt System Replacement

[socale39]

Just finished replacing just about everything associated with the drive belt system. Water pump, thermostat, idler pulley, tensioner, harmonic balancer, and both belts. I decided to tackle this originally as preventative but after getting a whining noise I knew I had to get at it earlier.

So let me start by saying all parts removed were original and had 90k. The first thing I noticed was my thermostat was soft failing and temps were running in the 70s. Second, I started to hear a whine consistent with engine rpm along with a horrible sound coming from the front hood grill. I knew at that point an idler or tensioner was done. So I figured a complete overhaul was in order and while I was at it, why not replace the infamous harmonic balancer. After some search around, I ended up placing an order for a drive belt refresh kit which I found out were special order from Germany since there were none in the U.S.

Fast forward 3/4 weeks and I decided to tackle the job. Overall to replace everything it took about 4 hours. One trick I learned is that when replacing the harmonic balancer you need to lock the flywheel to properly tighten the bolts. People are encourage to purchase a special tool however you can actually just use an old balancer bolt which works perfectly. Also replacing the AC belt was pretty easy, not sure why people have issues with it.

Anyways, unfortunately I wasn’t able to do the full documentation like I usually do as I was in a rush but I can say it was a lot easier than I thought. With 90k on the original parts, the idler pulley bearings were shot, the balancer was deteriorating (not to a concerning point), thermostat was fault and the water pump did have some shaft play. All that being said I’d recommend this service around the 80k point as preventative.

If anyone has questions I’d be happy to help answer.

[M5_1of400]

I'm about to do the same on mine, I got all the parts but I didn't consider the water pump.. I'll go ahead and add that to the list. I'm at 122k now and I also hear the infamous whining noise.

[ironmanion]

Hello,

I was able to find the individual parts from FCP. Couldn't find a kit like OP mentioned.

11287799851 - https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...-11287799851oe
11287803476 - https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...elt-x5-6pk1893
64557809801 - https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...43-64557809801
64119197085 - https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...mp-64119197085
11517805811 - https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...5d-11517805811
11238511371 - https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...5d-11238511371

I plan to do this sometime this summer. My X5 is around 74000 miles.

@Socale - Any chance for a quick write-up for beginners like me?

Thanks again