Serpentine Belt Change on S63

[ncmoore12]

So it sounds like a belt on the front of the engine is squeaking (2013 X5 M, s63).

I assume it is the serpentine belt. Has anyone changed this before?
I saw a couple videos on youtube and didn't seem to hard (1 beer job).
Found a belt on FCP for $20. Just need to make sure I have the right tools along with that.

Has anyone seen any DIY guides on this belt change?
Does anyone know what all you need tool wise for this job? Sounded like you need a T65 or T70?

I might make a DIY if there isn't and there is an enough interest.

Thanks!

[TwinSnailz]

Belt this day in age doesn’t squeak given that they have belt tensioner to keep from slacking. With that being said, it’s more of the bearings you should be concerned of i.e alternator, water pump, tensioner , steering , ac , etc.

You need to remove the fan, unless you have really skinny arms.

[ncmoore12]

Originally Posted by TwinSnailz

Belt this day in age doesn’t squeak given that they have belt tensioner to keep from slacking. With that being said, it more of the bearings you should be concerned of i.e water pump, tensioner , steering , ac , etc.

You need to remove the fan, unless you have really skinny arms.

Thanks for the heads up. Maybe I'll take a video and post it for everyone to hear. I could see it being a bearing. The noise has a periodic fashion not a constant buzzing or something. Also mine arms aren't too skinny but maybe I'll be able to get away with not taking of the fan!

[Lunker325]

I had this issue last year as well, slight squeak at idle on cold starts. It mostly went away once the engine warmed up, but I changed the serpentine belt anyway. That did the trick and it’s been squeak free since. I believe it was a T60 I used and had to buy, had everything else. It wasn’t hard at all if you’ve ever changed a BMW belt before.

[Ryan5034]

Find a video on taking the fan out it's super easy. There is an electric plug and then some tabs you push on while pulling it out. I think you have to unclip a hose retainer as well.

Once you have that out you can inspect the pulleys and change the belt.

[pearlpower]

Just a few tips to assist others with the belt job, as the newer E70s utilizes a different procedure for the A/C belt than what is listed on YouTube. This entire job can be done from the top, no need to raise the X5. Figure under 1hr for mechanically inclined folks.

I bought a Gates (good quality) from O'Reilly's. Gates # K070649 and K040315.

Remove air box intake assembly.
Remove crossbar with the 4 bolts.
Remove fan- easy to do but inspect every step to ensure you do not rip apart any hoses.
T60 for the large 7 groove belt tensioner-remove belt-wiggle around hoses-there are a lot of hoses. Inspect pulley on tensioner, they are known to go out.

A/C Belt
1. Ensure you have the correctly sized belts. Amazon list the incorrect A/C belt.
2. You turn the crankshaft (clockwise) until the stamped arrow points to the right (as your looking at the engine from the bumper).
3. Remove , not just loosen 4 bolts on pulley.
4. Turn crankshaft (always clockwise) 180 so arrow points to the left, you will hear a clank as the pulley shifts loose. It is a tensioned pulley.
5. Change belt-on the X5M this is done by feel and mirrors as the A/C pulley is under a ton of hoses. I just went by feel as I have been turning wrenches for decades (hobby). One groove off and goodbye belt.
6. Turn crank 180 again and the pulley will tighten the belt- INSPECT belt again to ensure it is in the grooves. Very important.
7.Install 4 bolts-torque to 29lbs. I used lock-tite on mine. Use a breaker on the crank bolt to hold pulley in place while tightening outer 4 bolts.
8. Install primary serpentine belt. Diagrams in link.


https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/e...ement/ByVPuEbI

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/e...ement/ByIl0OOU

[Bengineer330]

pearlpower Thank you for this write up! My belt replacements came today and I am going to tackle the stretch belt as well as the serpentine belt and tensioner.

I noticed in a training material i found searching that the drive pulley could be loosed as you described to put the stretch belt on as opposed to HAM Handing it like everyone else with a couple screw drivers.

Couple questions, is the engine hard to turn by hand? And did you rotate it back to the position that you started when done? When you take the four bolts off of the drive pulley does the retaining ring hold it sufficiently against the balancer as your rotating the engine? Lastly when rotating it to re-tension the belt is the shaft cammed or slotted or something to pull it back? I like to understand the mechanics before taking it all apart and having the DIY regret...

Hopefully you remember! Thank you

[Bengineer330]

To follow up, I followed pearlpower steps listed above and the process is super straight forward. I was able to do both belts and the tensioner in about 2 hours with only removing the radiator fan.

To answer my own questions, no the engine is not hard to turn and did not rotate it back to the position. Car started just fine. With the four bolts removed the retaining ring holds it on just fine. After rotating to re-tension you hear a loud clang. That is when everything is re-lined up and the 4 bolts will be re-aligned.