Kopfjaeger Posted July 16 Share Posted July 16 The alternator belt on my F07 is original, so at 8 years old in November this year, a good idea to change. I've spent the last few weeks assembling the parts In order to change the belt, the fan cowl has to be removed. To remove the fan cowl, the structural supports on top of the engine need to be removed and a rubber strip at the front of the engine It's also recommended to remove the side covers, but that isn't really necessary, if you're careful. You will need to remove at least 4 of the retaining clips, to allow the covers to flex, as you remove the fan cowl. You need to remove 13 bolts to get the structural supports out to get the fan cowl out. Only two of the bolts need to be binned and replace with new. These are the aluminium stretch bolts used on the struts that brace between the side and front of the car. with the bolts removed and the fan cowl out, put them somewhere safe to refit later With the obstructions removed, now you need to remove the belt. In order to remove the belt, you need to take the tension of the tensioner arm. You can see access to the belt is obstructed by some semi rigid pipe lines. The lower grey pipe is very stiff and awkward to move, even if you remove the bolt securing the bracket. For this you will need a T50 bit and a breaker bar to rotate the tensioner to a point you can insert a 4-5mm diameter rod to lock the arm away from the belt. You need to remove the bolt from the bracket shown above, or you won't be able to remove the belt. (This step isn't mentioned on the on line manual🙄) So, if you're just changing the belt, you can work the old one off and replace with the new one. As I'm replacing the tensioner too, I had to free the bolt fixing the tensioner arm to the block. With the bolt free you then have to 'wiggle the old arm out. If you've used a long rod to lock the arm, you'll regret it as it will prevent you from getting the arm out. Getting the arm out is quite fiddly, but with it out, gives you more room to get the old belt off and the new one in. The new Tensioner arm fitted and a new belt i also cleaned the fan cowl The parts that have been replaced I wanted to replace a roller behind the pipe bracket, but could see no way of removing I without disconnecting the pipe bracket and pipework fixed to it. With the belt and tensioner arm replaced, everything could go back, in the reverse order. I use card to place the bolts/screws in the locations they came out of, so bolts, etc. Don't get mixed up. 2 new M10x47 stretch bolts were used to secure the rear part of the structural bracing into the car body. After putting everything back, the car was taken for a test drive and everything seems to be OK. The date on the old belt was 2016 The new one? 20/3/2017🙄 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve84N Posted July 16 Share Posted July 16 I seem to recall it's a T55 for the tensioner? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted July 16 Share Posted July 16 5 minutes ago, Steve84N said: I seem to recall it's a T55 for the tensioner? T60 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopfjaeger Posted July 16 Author Share Posted July 16 I may revisit the idler pulley, if that bracket has enough play to get access to the torx bolt. The original spun OK and I've no noise issues at the moment. I think I used a T55, not a T50. The T55 worked and I didn't feel any slippage. But worth gettinga T60, for the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve84N Posted July 16 Share Posted July 16 I knew it was bigger than T50! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopfjaeger Posted July 16 Author Share Posted July 16 May be zi just got lucky with the T55. I've still got to put the old tensioner in a vice to get my 5mm drill bit back🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve84N Posted July 16 Share Posted July 16 I kept the pin the new one came with as a tool for holding the tensioner, presumably yours had one too? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted July 16 Share Posted July 16 3 minutes ago, Kopfjaeger said: May be zi just got lucky with the T55. I've still got to put the old tensioner in a vice to get my 5mm drill bit back🤣 lol yeah I did just that as I wanted my drill bit back too. But I did keep the locking pin from the new one so if I ever do it again….. It’s worth changing the idler pulley as they all wear together at the same rate. Pop the centre cover off (after having undone that bolt and de tensioning the tensioner) and undo bolt in the middle. It’s a Torx T50 bit. The bracket needs to be persuaded slightly to give you access. But it will come out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopfjaeger Posted July 16 Author Share Posted July 16 Understood and should be quicker, second time round removing the structural braces, etc. Plus I have a few of the M10×47 bolts. I might even fit the crankcase seal guard I bought. I baulked at doing this at the weekend, due to time and as I would be working blind to get the 8 bolts out of the balancer, plus I wasn't sure what the torque required is to tighten the two bolts that hold the guard in place. The online manual also suggests that you need to lock the transmission (I bought the toothed wedge) but that means dropping the undertray, which would be a pain to refit, without being able to get under the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve84N Posted July 16 Share Posted July 16 It's actually not that bad a job. The eight bolts are not much torque so you can counter hold the pulley by hand with the belt on. The two sump bolts aren't much torque either. With the fan out there's plenty of room to feel the bolt holes blind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted July 16 Share Posted July 16 @Kopfjaeger Crankshaft damper bolts, 8No, are 35Nm which isn’t really much. No need to lock the flywheel. As an alternative to @Steve84N suggestion you could hold the crank on its central bolt with a 21 or 22mm socket, can’t remember which. The crank bolt is RFT (600Nm breakaway needed to undo) so you’ll not undo that if turning a bolt that is at 35Nm. Bed plate bolts are aluminium and should be replaced when removed to fit crank seal guard. I’m not sure of their size so… M10 bolts are 15Nm plus 90 deg. M8 bolts are 8Nm plus 90 deg. It’s the thought of undoing the two bed plate bolts unsettles me as I’m not evenly undoing them all progressively or replacing any sealing material. It’s my automotive OCD…. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopfjaeger Posted July 17 Author Share Posted July 17 @Andrew Thanks. I'm with you on the last paragraph. The seal comes with 2 new stainless steel screws and I think the instructions mentioned 20Nm. You mention M10 and M8 bolts for the bedplate. Wouldn't they all be the same size? The 2 that need removing and replacing are shown below. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 1 hour ago, Kopfjaeger said: @Andrew Thanks. I'm with you on the last paragraph. The seal comes with 2 new stainless steel screws and I think the instructions mentioned 20Nm. You mention M10 and M8 bolts for the bedplate. Wouldn't they all be the same size? The 2 that need removing and replacing are shown below. Yes the bolts will be the same size, I just don’t know if they are M8 or M10 bolts. In general Bigger bolts have a higher torque. Depending on their size will determine the torque needed to tighten them. The stainless steel bolts won’t behave like the factory OEM bolts which are aluminium due to different physical properties of their materials. Go with what they tell you for replacement bolts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve84N Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 Do you honestly think two 20Nm bolts that have been removed will allow the plate to move when it's still clamped down by all the others... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 lol perhaps not but my ocd doesn’t like the thought of it. It’s why you progressively loosen and tighten bolts in a pattern. Besides if it creates a weep from the main seal, it’s a real Jeremy Hunt of a job to replace needing a pricey tool. 🤪 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopfjaeger Posted July 17 Author Share Posted July 17 @Andrew Precisely. Localised variation in pressure if not tightened sufficiently, might give rise to a weep. The factory equipment used to tighten these bolts are extremely accurate....better than the usual +/- 2% of supposed calibrated torque wrenches. At the end of the day each to their own.😊 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 24 minutes ago, Kopfjaeger said: At the end of the day each to their own.😊 This 100% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopfjaeger Posted July 21 Author Share Posted July 21 So following sage advice from forum members here, I went back in to change that pulley. First 4 clips on each side were removed Then the bolts were removed The fiddly one at the front.. The stretched aluminium bolts come out and are discarded. The brace and fan are then removed, to enable access to the auxillary belt. I put the clips/bolts removed in a piece of card, so they go back where they came from. The tension arm is locked in place, using a T55 Torx bit. It should be a T60, but I don't have one🙄 I disengaged the belt, not fully removed as the larger intercooler pipework recently fitted makes this a bit more awkward. With the belt disengaged, the pipe bracket is persuaded to move so T50 torx bit can be used to get the fully off, after the cap is removed The old pulley is removed and a new one put in Then tightened to 60 Nm and fitted with a new cap. With the pulley replaced, the belt is refitted and the and the tension arm released. Care was taken to ensure all grooved pulleys were covered by belts and pulleys had belts centred on the wheels. Everything was refitted and torqued. Everything seems OK and belt rotates evenly. So that job is now finished.😊 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 If it helps…. I went back in a week later to correct the tightening torques for a number of bolts. I now right down the torques so I don’t incorrectly tighten them…. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopfjaeger Posted July 24 Author Share Posted July 24 Now I've got a T60 for next time.😊 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 Doing these jobs is a great excuse to increase the number of tools you own even if you only use them once, but we’ll gloss over that last bit. And of course owning more tools means needing to buy more big shiny big red roll cabs to store them all in. Man maths 👍 Although buying a specialist tool is still usually cheaper than paying a garage to do it. 1 to 1.5 hours labour for an auxiliary belt on one of these I reckon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve84N Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 12 hours ago, Andrew said: 1 to 1.5 hours labour for an auxiliary belt on one of these I reckon. Probably, takes half an hour if you know what you're doing. Next you'll want a shorter T60 to do the tensioner without removing the fan... 😅 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted July 26 Share Posted July 26 16 hours ago, Steve84N said: Next you'll want a shorter T60 to do the tensioner without removing the fan... 😅 lol You just have really skinny(cyclists) arms then. No way I was getting my arms in there to reset torques without removing fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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