Author Topic: Converting to a serpintine belt. (Read 7567 times)

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.

Teaguer · « **Reply #1 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 .

AL GReeNeRy · « **Reply #2 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

Teaguer · « **Reply #3 on:** March 19, 2007, 02:26:08 AM »

Seems like you would need at least a idler pulley of some kind on that side .

sheepdog · « **Reply #4 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.

hesgone2fast · « **Reply #5 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.

ak96ss · « **Reply #6 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...

shellback · « **Reply #7 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

christophbmw · « **Reply #8 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.

D. Clay · « **Reply #9 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.

hesgone2fast · « **Reply #10 on:** March 20, 2007, 01:19:37 PM »

yes, the ac runs with a separate belt, I�m 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 haven�t mounted the DASC, I still have to order it. I can�t 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 don�t 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.

doigal · « **Reply #11 on:** March 21, 2007, 04:14:33 AM »

does any one have a definitive part list with numbers?

Alpine003 · « **Reply #12 on:** March 21, 2007, 09:44:52 AM »

Quote from: hesgone2fast;21818

DA does not make a kit for the E30 because they don�t 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.

Teaguer · « **Reply #13 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 is the whole write-up in pdf format .

They got a healthy 60hp gain at the wheels from their baseline of 127whp .
HERE is the next installment where they added bigger injectors , MAF conversion and ign management to the mix .
No new dyno numbers though .

Majikal · « **Reply #14 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...