Serp belt info and windshield gasket question

N8N · 05-23-2014, 07:57 PM

Hi all,

long time no nothin'. Haven't posted because I haven't really been working on my car nor has anything broken. Just came back from the dealership, they had a $80 oil change coupon, for that plus a loaner car it isn't worth my time to mess with it plus their guys will crawl all over it to try to upsell me on something.

First of all, this may be old news (because I haven't been on in a while) but I thought I should share this. Based on the reports of N54s and other engines occasionally shredding a serp belt and ingesting it into the crankcase through the front main seal, I asked my SA about this and he said yes, he was very familiar with this issue, not so much on N54s but on other BMW engines. What he said was that it was typically not a belt let go too long, in fact there is no recommended service interval for the belt, what the issue was was the pivot of the automatic tensioner would wear (NOT the pulley bearing, which you would expect to be the obvious failure) and the whole tensioner assembly could move fore-aft while the engine was running, possibly causing the belt to jump a groove or two on another pulley, starting the shredding process. He said that his techs were aware of this as being a not very common but possible problem and that they'd started to check this out as a matter of course. I said well please take a look at mine while you have it in there, as I'm at about 86K and don't drive it particularly easy, although I do take care of it. I had looked at the belt itself earlier and it looked great but I didn't do it with the engine running because I didn't know to do so. So guess who got a new tensioner today? Not that I'm really complaining, I swore I heard an idler pulley bearing starting to sing last time I went through a drive thru. Figured I would let you all know to keep an eye on your tensioners, stick an eyeball on them with the engine running and if you see it moving fore-aft, that's apparently what is causing the serp belt issues, time to replace before shreddilarity ensues.

In other news, other than the usual BMW taxes, my car got a clean bill of health although I was advised that I should change my brake fluid and microfilter before September, which I knew. Wow, I'm coming up on two years with this car, and it's been rather good to me.

Now my question. When I stopped to get gas on my way home, I noticed that it looks like something caught the lip of the windshield rubber trim (center top of windshield) and bent it up away from the glass, and it's also looking rather shabby in general. I'm assuming that it was when the dealer washed my car, although it'll probably be hard to get them to pay for it because it's clearly a little on the baked and hard side.

Please tell me that this is something that can be replaced without R&Ring the windshield...? I really can't afford to do that right now especially after just getting a new tensioner assembly... and I need to do the same job on my Jeep (not due to the trim, but due to rust, don't get me started on Safelite... a-holes) which involves removing the whole windshield... waaaaaah!

e92_enthusiast_1 · 05-23-2014, 08:07 PM

Good to hear its been a couple trouble free years. Grats on that. Thx for the heads up on the tensioner/belt. Not sure about your windshield issue but I'm sure someone will chime in.

Monster900 · 05-24-2014, 11:49 PM

You can replace windshield moulding without removing the glass. Part is ~$20 and it is attached to the body with double coated tape. Just pull old one out and install the new one in. It took me about 40 minutes including cleaning of the grooves after removing the old one. Make sure not to pill of all of the tape backing, pill as you go to insure proper alignment and adchesion.

N8N · 05-25-2014, 03:34 PM

that's the best news I've heard all day. Does the new one come with adhesive or does that need to be ordered separately?

e92_enthusiast_1 · 05-25-2014, 03:43 PM

I'm going to guess no but your local auto parts store has 3M double sided tape specifically for automotive application. Mine did at least.

Quote:

Originally Posted by N8N

that's the best news I've heard all day. Does the new one come with adhesive or does that need to be ordered separately?

ALPINWEISS330i · 05-25-2014, 05:12 PM

You dont need any adhesive to install the windshield seal. Just remove the old seal, clean up the grooves. Install new seal, peel back the adhesive. I just got a new seal and waiting to install too. Here's a youtube clip I found to help you get an idea on how it's done.

05-23-2014, 07:57 PM	#1
N8N Lieutenant Colonel 170 Rep 1,843 Posts Drives: 2009 E92 335i 6MT Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Berwyn Heights, MD iTrader: (2)	Serp belt info and windshield gasket question Hi all, long time no nothin'. Haven't posted because I haven't really been working on my car nor has anything broken. Just came back from the dealership, they had a $80 oil change coupon, for that plus a loaner car it isn't worth my time to mess with it plus their guys will crawl all over it to try to upsell me on something. First of all, this may be old news (because I haven't been on in a while) but I thought I should share this. Based on the reports of N54s and other engines occasionally shredding a serp belt and ingesting it into the crankcase through the front main seal, I asked my SA about this and he said yes, he was very familiar with this issue, not so much on N54s but on other BMW engines. What he said was that it was typically not a belt let go too long, in fact there is no recommended service interval for the belt, what the issue was was the pivot of the automatic tensioner would wear (NOT the pulley bearing, which you would expect to be the obvious failure) and the whole tensioner assembly could move fore-aft while the engine was running, possibly causing the belt to jump a groove or two on another pulley, starting the shredding process. He said that his techs were aware of this as being a not very common but possible problem and that they'd started to check this out as a matter of course. I said well please take a look at mine while you have it in there, as I'm at about 86K and don't drive it particularly easy, although I do take care of it. I had looked at the belt itself earlier and it looked great but I didn't do it with the engine running because I didn't know to do so. So guess who got a new tensioner today? Not that I'm really complaining, I swore I heard an idler pulley bearing starting to sing last time I went through a drive thru. Figured I would let you all know to keep an eye on your tensioners, stick an eyeball on them with the engine running and if you see it moving fore-aft, that's apparently what is causing the serp belt issues, time to replace before shreddilarity ensues. In other news, other than the usual BMW taxes, my car got a clean bill of health although I was advised that I should change my brake fluid and microfilter before September, which I knew. Wow, I'm coming up on two years with this car, and it's been rather good to me. Now my question. When I stopped to get gas on my way home, I noticed that it looks like something caught the lip of the windshield rubber trim (center top of windshield) and bent it up away from the glass, and it's also looking rather shabby in general. I'm assuming that it was when the dealer washed my car, although it'll probably be hard to get them to pay for it because it's clearly a little on the baked and hard side. Please tell me that this is something that can be replaced without R&Ring the windshield...? I really can't afford to do that right now especially after just getting a new tensioner assembly... and I need to do the same job on my Jeep (not due to the trim, but due to rust, don't get me started on Safelite... a-holes) which involves removing the whole windshield... waaaaaah!
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05-23-2014, 08:07 PM	#2
e92_enthusiast_1 Lieutenant Colonel 35 Rep 1,652 Posts Drives: '10 AW/CR e92 6mt 335i Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Chandler, AZ iTrader: (1) Garage List 2010 BMW 335i [0.00]	Good to hear its been a couple trouble free years. Grats on that. Thx for the heads up on the tensioner/belt. Not sure about your windshield issue but I'm sure someone will chime in. __________________ COBB AP Stg 2+ FMIC Aggressive \| VRSF 3" Catless DP \| COBB FMIC \| BMS DCI \| CP-e Metal Charge Pipe \| 370+ whp/435+ lb.ft torque
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05-24-2014, 11:49 PM	#3
Monster900 Zeed 17 Rep 561 Posts Drives: E92 335i Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Detroit, MI iTrader: (0)	You can replace windshield moulding without removing the glass. Part is ~$20 and it is attached to the body with double coated tape. Just pull old one out and install the new one in. It took me about 40 minutes including cleaning of the grooves after removing the old one. Make sure not to pill of all of the tape backing, pill as you go to insure proper alignment and adchesion.
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05-25-2014, 03:34 PM	#4
N8N Lieutenant Colonel 170 Rep 1,843 Posts Drives: 2009 E92 335i 6MT Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Berwyn Heights, MD iTrader: (2)	that's the best news I've heard all day. Does the new one come with adhesive or does that need to be ordered separately?
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05-25-2014, 05:12 PM	#6
ALPINWEISS330i Enlisted Member 5 Rep 43 Posts Drives: N52 Join Date: May 2014 Location: California iTrader: (0)	You dont need any adhesive to install the windshield seal. Just remove the old seal, clean up the grooves. Install new seal, peel back the adhesive. I just got a new seal and waiting to install too. Here's a youtube clip I found to help you get an idea on how it's done.
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