[ShadowDeso]

It's a 2004 Automatic 330ci ZHP, with a hydraulic tensioner. Before I couldn't seem to get the tensioner to release tension so I took it off to get the belt off. When I put it back on I may have over-tightened it without the washer on the back. After removing the bolt the pulley won't come back off and I'm not sure what to do.

 

[TobyB]

Can you get the whole tensioner off?

If so, you can then put a gear puller on it. If it's really stuck, that will destroy the
plastic idler, but then you can get the puller onto the bearing, and pull that off.

If not, have you tried gentle prying with a wide pry tool? Something out of the
carpentry toolbox with a wide flat surface would be best, to spread out the force.

The entire assembly was available, last I looked. But not cheap...

t

 

[ShadowDeso]

Can you get the whole tensioner off?

If so, you can then put a gear puller on it. If it's really stuck, that will destroy the
plastic idler, but then you can get the puller onto the bearing, and pull that off.

If not, have you tried gentle prying with a wide pry tool? Something out of the
carpentry toolbox with a wide flat surface would be best, to spread out the force.

The entire assembly was available, last I looked. But not cheap...

t

I'd have to remove the alternator to get the entire assembly off correct? And I'm not sure I have anything capable of prying the pulley off.
Any ideas why the hydraulic tensioner wouldn't move though, even when I try to use leverage it doesn't seem to use it's full range of motion.

 

[IdahoDoug]

No need to remove alt. Fan and shroud give access I believe. I wonder if lack of washer allowed you to push bearing onto a larger dia it was not supposed to be pushed onto - thus jamming it on?

 

[ShadowDeso]

No need to remove alt. Fan and shroud give access I believe. I wonder if lack of washer allowed you to push bearing onto a larger dia it was not supposed to be pushed onto - thus jamming it on?

That's what I believe happened, I can get the bolt out but the pulley remains on. Can't seem to twist or pull it off either. I'll look into removing it if no other solutions are presented.

 

[Sapote]

Before I couldn't seem to get the tensioner to release tension so I took it off to get the belt off.

What is IT? I can't read people mind, so don't know exactly what did you remove - which bolts. Take pic and point to what was removed and where the pulley can't be removed.

 

[Sapote]

Any ideas why the hydraulic tensioner wouldn't move though, even when I try to use leverage it doesn't seem to use it's full range of motion.

The oil moves slowly through a small valve so you have to compress the pulley arm slowly, and it will move.

 

[ShadowDeso]

The oil moves slowly through a small valve so you have to compress the pulley arm slowly, and it will move.

Well, I took the pulley attached to the tensioner off, the one with the T50. But now I can't seem to get the belt back on because it's not releasing enough tension.

 

[Sapote]

But now I can't seem to get the belt back on because it's not releasing enough tension.

Turn that T50 bolt CW firm but slow to compress the oil, and it will move slowly then you can loop the belt over.

 

[ShadowDeso]

Turn that T50 bolt CW firm but slow to compress the oil, and it will move slowly then you can loop the belt over.

Yea it just doesn’t seem to work, the bolt just turns. I’m not sure if it’s stripped or what but it doesn’t seem to hold in place and the pulley doesn’t move. I’ve looked at videos of how it’s meant to move but it’s not even close.

 

[TobyB]

I was suggesting to remove the tensioner.
They can jam, bind, corrode, or the parts store can sell you a belt that's too short!
If the torx that holds the idler onto the tensioner isn't tightening enough to compress
the tensioner, then yeah, it's probably stripped...

t

 

[ShadowDeso]

I was suggesting to remove the tensioner.
They can jam, bind, corrode, or the parts store can sell you a belt that's too short!
If the torx that holds the idler onto the tensioner isn't tightening enough to compress
the tensioner, then yeah, it's probably stripped...

t

Do you think I could just replace the bolt? Im assuming the tensioner is the original and the car has 130k miles. But the tensioner itself seems to be damaged because I’ve seen people leverage them and it works pretty well but leveraging mine is very difficult with minimal results.

 

[IdahoDoug]

I think you are the only one who can answer that - pull the bolt and if it's threads are fine, then you know its stripped on the tensioner end. Good news is a tensioner is not that expensive. Put a new one on. If you kludge this together, and it fails at RPM, you could do thousands in damage very fast.

 

[Redbull123]

If you don't see the tensioner moving, then you know that it's probably frozen. If you see the tensioner moving when you pull on this, but it doesn't actually fully retract to the point where it puts proper amount of tension on your belt, it could also be bad in that way.

 

[TobyB]

The hydraulic tensioner takes a significant amount of force to get it to move, and THEN it only moves really slowly.
So if the bolt that runs into it is stripped, it's going to feel stuck.

I looked- RockAuto lists the INA replacement at less than $50- at this point it's probably the easiest
way to solve this. Swap the tensioner, problem's in the trashbin, life's good again.
t

 

[Sapote]

Yea it just doesn’t seem to work, the bolt just turns. I’m not sure if it’s stripped or what but it doesn’t seem to hold in place and the pulley doesn’t move. I’ve looked at videos of how it’s meant to move but it’s not even close.

Prove this to yourself:
remove the whole tensioner off the car; remove the hydraulic cylinder off the tensioner; now move the pulley pivot arm and it should move freely on the pivot ball bearing - if not then throw it out or rebuild it.
If the arm moves easily without the hydraulic cylinder, then try to compress the cylinder (vise or 2x4 whatever you have) and see how hard to compress it. You also check the T50 bolt threaded hole for tripping.

 

[ShadowDeso]

So I finally got the new tensioner, got the belt back on, and replaced the water pump and the thermostat. After bleeding the coolant system and finally starting the car, it started violently shaking. I immediately turned it off because if the engine isn't already fucked im not trying to kill it. It's also 29F outside if that means anything.

 

[IdahoDoug]

So, what was the reason you opened the hood to work on the car in the first place? How long have you been driving this car?

 

[ShadowDeso]

So, what was the reason you opened the hood to work on the car in the first place? How long have you been driving this car?

Car overheated but turns out the shaking was irrelevant. I believe it was just cold injectors. Turns out the coolant still isn't circulating, but I think its just because of the thermostat sensor. I replaced the thermostat but not the sensor because I'm afraid of braking it or the radiator in the cold. I'm gonna try again when the temperature rises.

 

[yjsaabman]

Car overheated but turns out the shaking was irrelevant. I believe it was just cold injectors. Turns out the coolant still isn't circulating, but I think its just because of the thermostat sensor. I replaced the thermostat but not the sensor because I'm afraid of braking it or the radiator in the cold. I'm gonna try again when the temperature rises.

What do you mean thermostat sensor? There is no sensor that should have any effect on coolant circulating. There is a heating element in the thermostat itself that regulates the opening of the thermostat under certain conditions. The waterpump moves the coolant, the thermostat allows it to flow through the radiator. How long did you run the car? Why do you think there is no flow?