M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS

DISCUSSION => Engine + Driveline => Topic started by: juliea on January 19, 2013, 01:49:46 PM

Title: How to tension P/S belt?
Post by: juliea on January 19, 2013, 01:49:46 PM

Wanted advice on how to tension power steering belt on an e30. I read Zoso's instructions but there's two nuts on this bracket (a 13mm in front, a 19mm behind) and also wasn't sure if there was a nut you had to loosen on the back of the bracket like with the alternator belt. Can anyone give me specific instructions for how to tension this belt?

Title: How to tension P/S belt?
Post by: juliea on January 19, 2013, 02:49:33 PM

I think I figured it out - there's nothing to loosen on the back of the bracket, and you have to loosen the 13mm nut in front before adjusting the 19mm toothed nut. But it's super hard to tighten everything back up after adjusting the tension - any tips from those who've done this lots before?? I ended up prying the end of a crescent wrench under the bracket to hold the whole assembly up while I tightened the 13mm nut...

Title: How to tension P/S belt?
Post by: Nelson_40 on January 19, 2013, 09:37:29 PM

You nailed it, just a little prying and you're all set. The M42 P/S pump tensioner is not as sound an engineering effort as the alternator tensioner IMHO.