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

DISCUSSION => Engine + Driveline => Topic started by: christophbmw on March 18, 2007, 09:37:46 PM

Title: Converting to a serpintine belt.
Post by: christophbmw on March 18, 2007, 09:37:46 PM
Has anyone converted their early style M42 to the newer style serpintine belt? is the crank pulley the same (besides the fact that it is for a serp. belt), i.e. does it match up? seems like all i need to do is change all the pulleys & change the a/c compresor (wich i need to replace anyways). i might be going with the DA supercharger a few years down the road, and i want my car to be quieter, those v-belts are noisy! thanks in advance for any info.
Title: Converting to a serpintine belt.
Post by: Teaguer on March 19, 2007, 01:34:41 AM
That is pretty much what GrassrootsMagazine did with their project 318is .

Just changed the pulleys and the compressor was really the only big thing to swap .
Title: Converting to a serpintine belt.
Post by: AL GReeNeRy on March 19, 2007, 02:24:04 AM
is the ac compressor required? is there any way to delete it while running a serpentine belt
Title: Converting to a serpintine belt.
Post by: Teaguer on March 19, 2007, 02:26:08 AM
Seems like you would need at least a idler pulley of some kind on that side .
Title: Converting to a serpintine belt.
Post by: sheepdog on March 19, 2007, 11:22:25 AM
If I remember right, there is an idler on the compressor mount.
I do not remember if it is spring loaded or not.

Just check out realoem, you should be able to figure out what you need rather quick.
Title: Converting to a serpintine belt.
Post by: hesgone2fast on March 19, 2007, 04:48:31 PM
I have done this in order to mount the DASC as well. all you need is both of the crankshaft pulleys, water pump pulley, alternator from the e36, and the alternator mounting(with idlers) watch for clearance of the dipstick.
Title: Converting to a serpintine belt.
Post by: ak96ss on March 19, 2007, 06:13:58 PM
What if you want to keep the AC?  I know, I know, but I like my AC every once in a while...  :)
Title: Converting to a serpintine belt.
Post by: shellback on March 19, 2007, 07:22:23 PM
Quote from: hesgone2fast;21695
I have done this in order to mount the DASC as well. all you need is both of the crankshaft pulleys, water pump pulley, alternator from the e36, and the alternator mounting(with idlers) watch for clearance of the dipstick.



could you share your experience with the DASC?
Ever since reading the GR article, I'm really interested in the DASC.
Thanks in advance
Title: Converting to a serpintine belt.
Post by: christophbmw on March 19, 2007, 09:08:36 PM
Quote from: hesgone2fast;21695
I have done this in order to mount the DASC as well. all you need is both of the crankshaft pulleys, water pump pulley, alternator from the e36, and the alternator mounting(with idlers) watch for clearance of the dipstick.

what about the p/s pulley? can you just swap the pulley. also, arent the alternators similar? you would think the shaft size is simalar so all you would need is the pulley.


AL GReeNeRy: is the ac compressor required? is there any way to delete it while running a serpentine belt

no you can delete it, it is the only thing that is run by a seperate belt.
Title: Converting to a serpintine belt.
Post by: D. Clay on March 20, 2007, 11:17:22 AM
On 318is's up to 95 the A/C belt is similar to the 90-91 models and separate from the serpentine belt. You can run the serpentine belt with or without A/C.
Title: Converting to a serpintine belt.
Post by: hesgone2fast on March 20, 2007, 01:19:37 PM
yes, the ac runs with a separate belt, Iīm thinking about just changing the pulley from the e36 Ac compressor. It can be deleted though. about the power steering, I took from the E36 pump, mountings, and pulley, because I think it mounts to the alterantor mounting. And the E30 alternator cannot be used, because the alternator mounting is different and the holes on the alternator are in different place.
 I still havenīt mounted the DASC, I still have to order it. I canīt contact DA, but I contacted Chris Bethel form understeer.com(they sell the DASC), and has told me that DA does not make a kit for the E30 because they donīt want to be responsible of ruining an E30 engine for not having knock sensors.
However, I will fit it on mine, and enrich the fuel/air mixture, eliminating the possibility of knocking.
Title: Converting to a serpintine belt.
Post by: doigal on March 21, 2007, 04:14:33 AM
does any one have a definitive part list with numbers?
Title: Converting to a serpintine belt.
Post by: Alpine003 on March 21, 2007, 09:44:52 AM
Quote from: hesgone2fast;21818
DA does not make a kit for the E30 because they donīt want to be responsible of ruining an E30 engine for not having knock sensors.
However, I will fit it on mine, and enrich the fuel/air mixture, eliminating the possibility of knocking.


You obviously don't want to run pig rich or else you won't be making the most amount of power you can. Here's a very helpful article I came across years ago that a lot of tuners still use. Very effective method and better detection than factory knock sensors(assuming you have a trained ear).

http://autospeed.drive.com.au/cms/article.html?&A=0353

Ideally you'll want to use this in various conditions(load, temp, gearing, etc.) to refine your map. Depending on your region, the Spring time or Fall are good times to tune since ambient temps can vary quite a bit from day to night.
Title: Converting to a serpintine belt.
Post by: Teaguer on April 15, 2007, 06:19:58 AM
According to the GRM article that I referred to the 92-93 US E36 316 has a part-srpentine and part-v-belt system .

Looks like all they did was swap out the crank pulley and the complete AC compressor with E36 bracket .

HERE (http://www.grassrootsmotorsports.com/images/bmw_pdfs/june06_318is.pdf) is the whole write-up in pdf format .

They got a healthy 60hp gain at the wheels from their baseline of 127whp .
HERE (http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/news/category/project-cars/current-project-cars/1991-bmw-318is/) is the next installment where they added bigger injectors , MAF conversion and ign management to the mix .
No new dyno numbers though .
Title: Converting to a serpintine belt.
Post by: Majikal on May 01, 2007, 10:03:58 PM
I would love to change over to a serpentine belt... Can anyone provide a sure-certain list of parts I need, and possibly part numbers? I really hate V-belts... lol...
Title: Converting to a serpintine belt.
Post by: D. Clay on May 01, 2007, 11:38:17 PM
I'd go to a salvage yard for the complete setup from a core motor. You could probably buy a cheap hi-mile engine for what the new parts would cost, especially considering the alternator and bracket, and power steering pump are different..