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Belt/Pulley Noise on startup (cold) - with video (FIXED)

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    Belt/Pulley Noise on startup (cold) - with video (FIXED)

    Hey guys -

    My 89 325is has been making a very particular noise on startup when the engine is cold. As it warms up the noise subsides and ultimately goes away as the engine reaches operating temperature.

    I've tried to prod around a bit with my mechanics stethoscope but I'm having a hard time pinpointing the source. I had the timing belt, water pump and tensioner replaced approx 25k miles ago, but I guess it's always possible I got a bad tensioner, or the belt is rubbing on the case. Also replaced all the accessory belts with gates belts 2 years ago with no affect on the noise.

    I wanted to see if any of you experts have come across a similar noise before and if you could steer me in the right direction. Otherwise I'm going to order a timing belt/tensioner and water pump kit and start digging into the front end of the engine.

    Any help is appreciated and will be repaid with digital beers, or real beers if you're in the LA area

    Link to the video: https://youtu.be/SuK3YaRwRWk

    Thanks all,
    Kevin
    Last edited by Longboardmtk; 09-04-2016, 02:25 PM.

    #2
    i've read about people's tensioners rubbing up against the timing cover, that sounds like metal to metal , i'd check that.
    1986 LTW M52 (First project 2015- )
    1998 e36 328ic/5 -
    Roundie alpina pig cheekā€™d (1969)
    1967 2002 parts car
    1994 318iS junked.

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      #3
      Interested in the outcome, I have the same issue on my MT2. It also had a timing belt replacement in the last 10k.
      1987 325i-M60b44 swap

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        #4
        Did not watch video but check power steering and ac. When you start the car pour a little water on the belts.
        If noise goes away then you have pin pointed. Also the fan clutch makes a noise sometime.

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          #5
          Just a quick update on this one as I was under the hood tracing down a failed aux fan issue (burned out relay thankfully!) and started to dig into this issue.

          I pulled each of the accessory drive belts off one at a time starting with the PS pump, AC then water pump/fan and there was no change in the noise, so now I know for sure that the cause of the noise isn't the bearings in one of my accessories.

          I've got a pretty busy next few weeks, but likely mid June I'll pull the timing cover off and see if I can sort it out. Will keep this updated as I go for anyone else having the same issue down the road.

          Thanks for those offering advice, starting to think it's the tensioner and the timing cover issue as Jelani mentioned.

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            #6
            Just a final update on this - finally got around to swapping the timing belt, tensioner and water pump yesterday and it 100% solved the issue.

            The water pump impeller ad significant gouges on the back face, where it had been rubbing against the block in the coolant passage. When turned by hand (before removal) you could hear it grinding. This might not have been the cause of the issue though, as previously stated I ran the car with the water pump belt off briefly and it still made the noise. The old water pump impeller measured .006'' thicker than the graff replcaement, and the graff gasket is .003'' thicker than the Elring Klinger gasket - so maybe that had something to do with it. Or the bearings were shot and there was a lot of play in it.

            The old tensioner had a bit of play in it as well, so I'm going to assume that this was the cause of the noise issue. Intermediate gear bearings were still in good shape.

            Anyway - just thought I would drop a few thoughts back in here in case anyone is seeing the same issue. I would start by replacing the timing belt, tensioner and water pump. Make sure you follow the torque spec's outlined in the Bently.

            Thanks all for the input!

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              #7
              The noise is definitely from the timing belt. I've done the usual timing belt maintenance replacing ALL the required parts when diving in. The noise comes back after a year or so, always when cold. I believe it's the timing belt itself. It would be a good idea to post what brand timing belt is being used as there are many out there.

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                #8
                I used the contitech kit and it started making that noise after 5k miles. Bought and installed another one with no trouble thus far (10k miles)

                The only difference this time around is that I let the spring on the tensioner provide the tension before tightening the bolt. The first time around I "helped" it with a large screwdriver.


                Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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