Timing Belt / Water Pump DIY - Step by Step Pictures

[3N9]

Thanks man....this is my first project on the car and first time diving that deep on a Bimmer.

[Overlord475]

The bolts should be tight.

ie, set it and forget it

[3N9]

Thanks Greg for a great DIY. I just about have mine wrapped up and printed out the DIY as a manual.

A quick question for all - When it came to the tensioner I let it do its thing then tightened BOTH bolts. Should I have left the tension slot loose so it can adjust for wear?
I'm not too far along and can take the covers off and fix the issue if I f'ed up.

I got to thinking about this and it seemed like a palm to the face moment.

Thanks in advance - Mark

edit-
On further thought...
The friggin bolts have to be tight or they'd rattle out. So the belt is engineered to have almost zero stretch. Set it and forget it?

[KVF]

Timing Belt / Water Pump DIY - Step by Step Pictures

Edit... The sprocket you have boxed appears to be just a pulley and shouldn't hurt anything by spinning it freely...

I believe you'd need to pull the sprockets to remove that cover, but it should be easy enough to clean around it.

[GOT8SPD]

So a trick I used to remove the fan and fan clutch was I took a VERY LONG screw driver (probably 18 inches in length), and I used it to hold the pulley in place by applying HOLDING force counter clockwise and using the 32mm wrench to turn CLOCKWISE. See diagram…sorry, i'm not an artist.



Now…If I could ask for some help, so i got everything removed, i haven't MOVED the cam gear or the crank shaft at all…however! I moved this sprocket…is that bad?!?!?!? See the RED BOX. I totally forgot to not move anything so i can just slip the new belt on.



Secondly, I want to clean the sprocket on the crankshaft…is there anyway to remove this cover without pulling all the gears off? I want to clean all this crap off...

[danix]

Did mine, despite using sealant on the water pump gasket, the gasket moved and it's leaking. So I have to do it all over again, arg.

Any shortcuts for just replacing the water pump gasket? I'm guessing not, but had to ask.

[rex]

Using this guide, and bentley, and a couple other DIY guides from other sites, i was able to get the Timing belt and water pump changed. This was the first work I had ever done on any car (complete noob).

Great guide, thanks for putting this out there.

Note -- if you are a beginner it will take WAY longer than you expect

[estoguy]

I've heard some stories of mechanics who really tighten those. Its not necessary as its a reverse thread. The fan spins opposite. When I did mine, a light tap was all that was needed. When you do get around to putting it back on, DON'T go crazy on it. Just use the wrench for leverage and hold the fan. I did my job back in July and no problems.

I found that the thin wrench was hard to find. I bought a 32mm standard combination wrench from Princess Auto for around $15 and it worked great. The UltraPro 32mm fits in their perfectly as well, FYI (well at least on an Eta).

[brads2002]

It's left handed...I usually give the wrench a brisk tap with a hammer an it will then spin off.

[SRE3O]

No idea if its bad or not, but if it makes you feel better my car doesn't have one on it.

legit! haha

does anyone know how in the heck to get the fan off if it wont budge with the bicycle wrench....

[e30kawi]

Soo I got to taking out the radiator and shroud and the shroud is broken at the bottom of it. Is this bad or not? It's just the black plastic that is right at the bottom

I'll post a pic soon of it

No idea if its bad or not, but if it makes you feel better my car doesn't have one on it.

[SRE3O]

Soo I got to taking out the radiator and shroud and the shroud is broken at the bottom of it. Is this bad or not? It's just the black plastic that is right at the bottom

I'll post a pic soon of it

[SRE3O]

Great write up!! I will be starting this in about 10 mins. Don't think I will finish today because I work but we will see hopefully I can finish so i dont have to bum rides

[nighthawk]

Great diy. I recently purchased an e30 and am about to do this myself.

[andrewm]

Can anyone recommend the best timing belt/water pump kit available online??

get OEM from blunt or pelican parts.

As for rotation, on the several I have done I do rotate the assembly. All of mine lined up perfectly, and never had any issues.