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Thread: cost/hours to replace timing belt?

  1. #1
    xsproutx is offline Member Secret Santa Deadbeat
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    cost/hours to replace timing belt?

    Ok, I just bought an e30 325e with 160K+ miles on it and have no idea when the timing belt was last changed, if ever. is there a way to tell if it's still good? Hell, can you SEE the timing belt without disassembling things (obviously, don't know much about it). Either way, I know they suck on e30s apparently and it'll need to be changed out for some peace of mind. How much am I looking at for labor? How many hours does this take? Is this something i can do myself? The extent of my mechanical knowledge extends to suspension work. I've changed control arms, bushings, and shocks. That's really about it. Thanks in advance!



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    Yes it is a job that someone can do but in your case i would leave it up to the professionals. If you mess one thing up it can damage the whole engine.

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    xsproutx is offline Member Secret Santa Deadbeat
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    Quote Originally Posted by tsweers89 View Post
    Yes it is a job that someone can do but in your case i would leave it up to the professionals. If you mess one thing up it can damage the whole engine.
    that's what i figured after looking up some instructions. never know though; some things look harder than they really are, so i figured i'd ask. how much am i looking for on labor though?



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    I wouldn't want to say futile words, but i don't think you have a timing belt in your engine. It's a timing chain and it is inside the engine compared to a belt that would be outside the engine. I guess for a timing chain the flatrate that BMW would charge should be in between of 3-6 hours but i never asked since you don't change a chain as much as a belt. Like mine as over 200000 miles on it and still strong.

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  5. #5
    xsproutx is offline Member Secret Santa Deadbeat
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    Quote Originally Posted by nrgee1 View Post
    I wouldn't want to say futile words, but i don't think you have a timing belt in your engine. It's a timing chain and it is inside the engine compared to a belt that would be outside the engine. I guess for a timing chain the flatrate that BMW would charge should be in between of 3-6 hours but i never asked since you don't change a chain as much as a belt. Like mine as over 200000 miles on it and still strong.
    is that right? i thought i had read somewhere that e30s had belts and they were quite prone to failure. guess i'll need to look a little deeper into this

    edit: after doing some research, it looks like it has a belt, like i thought. It seems the e30 M3 had a chain



  6. #6
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    your correct. e30 do have timing belt and i would def recommend replacing it before a major failure occurs

  7. #7
    xsproutx is offline Member Secret Santa Deadbeat
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    Quote Originally Posted by tsweers89 View Post
    your correct. e30 do have timing belt and i would def recommend replacing it before a major failure occurs
    no guess on labor amount?



  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by tsweers89 View Post
    your correct. e30 do have timing belt and i would def recommend replacing it before a major failure occurs
    first, i'm sorry for the wrong info. Second I don't get it, the other day a member told me that BMW stop using belt like in 1992 or ealier ???

    Winter and summer cars..... life is goooooood.

  9. #9
    xsproutx is offline Member Secret Santa Deadbeat
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    Quote Originally Posted by nrgee1 View Post
    first, i'm sorry for the wrong info. Second I don't get it, the other day a member told me that BMW stop using belt like in 1992 or ealier ???
    no, that's the year when they stopped using a belt. AFTER that they used a chain so that was half right (was either 92 or 93)



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    Talking

    I think i understand my "in space brain" thought now. The E30 is your 1987 bmw ? i'm not to good with the E.... kinna models. I thought it was for the bimmer on the pic, so that is why i didn't understand you newer model had a belt. Am I getting this right this time......

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    yes thats correct. you need to study up more on BMW

  12. #12
    xsproutx is offline Member Secret Santa Deadbeat
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    hah, yeh, the 87 is an e30. the white one is an e46
    you'll get the hang of it. just keep reading the boards



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    I did the timing belt on my daughter's 1987 528e, it was SIMPLE. The only mistake I made was when I loosened the fan clutch's 32mm LEFT HAND nut. Yeah, I knew it was a LH, but when the wrench slipped, my arm broke off the hose that goes from the coolant overflow reservoir to the radiator...AT the radiator. I couldn't mickey-mouse it, I had to get a replacement radiator (cost me $25!)

    Other than failing to disconnect that one thing FIRST, it went easy and took less than 90 minutes. I wasn't actually in there to change the belt, but the water pump. On that engine (and I think it's the same as yours), the coolant pump is part of the timing belt tensioning system.

  14. #14
    xsproutx is offline Member Secret Santa Deadbeat
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    Quote Originally Posted by PixMan View Post
    I did the timing belt on my daughter's 1987 528e, it was SIMPLE. The only mistake I made was when I loosened the fan clutch's 32mm LEFT HAND nut. Yeah, I knew it was a LH, but when the wrench slipped, my arm broke off the hose that goes from the coolant overflow reservoir to the radiator...AT the radiator. I couldn't mickey-mouse it, I had to get a replacement radiator (cost me $25!)

    Other than failing to disconnect that one thing FIRST, it went easy and took less than 90 minutes. I wasn't actually in there to change the belt, but the water pump. On that engine (and I think it's the same as yours), the coolant pump is part of the timing belt tensioning system.

    was there a DIY you used? How mechanical are you to start with?



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    Actually, I'm pretty experienced. Years of owning crappy American cars got me loads of work. I have both a Bentley's manual and a Haynes for the E28's (I also have a '88 535i.) Given the choice, it's a Bentley's, hands down better.

    For the job, you need to remove the fan shroud, then that little hose ant the big ones. On an E30, you may need to pull the radiator for more room, and have a THIN 32mm or 1-1/4" wrench to get the fan clutch off the water pump. If I recall correctly, take off the distributor cap & rotor, a few bolts around the water pump and the timing belt cover, and you're in.

    Just look for the timing alignment marks to be matched, and don't move anything once the water pump is out (it's holding the belt tensioner.)

    Really a much simpler job than I thought it would have been, and I'd never done a timing belt before. Timing chains on big American v8's, yes, but this was MUCH easier.

  16. #16
    xsproutx is offline Member Secret Santa Deadbeat
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    hmm... i'll have to see if i can find a writeup on this. I'm always up for a challenge and could be fun and give me some confidence in the mechanical thing. just don't want it to be TOO much a problem. would hate to start it and then have to pay for a tow on top of the labor



  17. #17
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    Most shops charge about 3 hours to do the job. With an understanding of what needs to be done but never having done one before, I was able to get one done on my old '87 325 in a little over 4 hours.

  18. #18
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    +1

    3 hours. just asked one of our veteran tech's, and he did just did his on his E30 in about 30 minutes, LOL.
    ASE and BMW Master Certified Technician

  19. #19
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    Took me 90 minutes on my daughter's E28, and I'd never touched one before. Having all the right tools helps enormously, BTW.

    As I stated above, I was in there to change the water pump, but at the suggestion of my parts supplier (Steve Haygood, Automobile Solutions of Thomaston GA, http://www.stevehaygood.com)
    I decided to change that belt while I was at it, just in case it was due. (It wasn't, but I had the parts in hand so why not. Belt and tensioner, new.)

  20. #20
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    there should be enough room to do the work w/o removing the radiator, you can put a piece of cardboard to protect the radiator.

  21. #21
    xsproutx is offline Member Secret Santa Deadbeat
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    fantastic. you guys are great. one last thing. any web writeups, preferably with pictures or at least exactly what tools i need?



  22. #22
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    ETA engine has a belt.


    I disassembled mine a few months ago.


    Just take the radiator out. it'll be so much easier. And flushing your coolant system every so often is a good idea too
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    thedaddy ties Obama to Ozzie Osbourne...........nails triple word score.

  23. #23
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    Yeah this one
    http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/tech...iming-Belt.htm
    is pretty good. Your best guide is the Bentley manual.

    No pictures on this onebut a very good step-by-step description http://www.bmwe30.net/cgi-bin/datacg...119&Section=08
    Last edited by Chris325i; 10-02-2007 at 12:00 AM.

  24. #24
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    yeah i think our shop charges around 4 hrs including the cam seal.
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  25. #25
    xsproutx is offline Member Secret Santa Deadbeat
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    thanks for the help everyone. i'm still deciding whether i want to attempt this or not. reading writeups, it looks like a job that could be extremely easy but then not be once i start.



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