Cost of having a timing belt changed

[kenwoir]

Roughly what is the cost of getting a timing belt changed on a 325i sport? Im not sure when the one on mine was last done and i'm airing on the side of caution before the big snap happens.. Has anyone done this themselves or is it best to leave it for a pro?

Cheers

[Andy_magic]

If you're handy with the spanners it's not a bad job, loads have done it them selves and theres plenty of help available.

a genuine belt is about Ԛ£20 from a BMW stealer.

The money you would spend having it done could easily cover a good service and a few beers.

[E30BeemerLad]

if you have a good basic mechanical knowledge and can follow instructions then there is a good guide I know of. I did mine 4K miles ago having never tackled a job like that and she's still running.

You're prob into Ԛ£150-Ԛ£200 for a garage as a rough estimate, but I could be way over there

[A1BMW325iSport]

bmw quoted me 120 inc parts

[Adammcf]

Changing the belt was one of the things I was worried about when rebuilding the head on mine as I'd never done it before. Its a piece of piss though.
As long as you make sure the cam and crank pulley are lined up with the notches on the cover you cant go wrong.

[Big_M_]

on the m20 325 it's an easy job, good idea to change the water pump, belt tensioner if either of these seize then your belt will snap and you know the rest. change thermostat aswell it's a good precaution as you know the m20 doesn't like heat that much. just remember that the when taking off the fan the nut is l/h thread and it's a 32mm open end spanner you need. also watch when re-filling the coolant system that engine off, bleed screw open, fill with water and coolant mix until water flows with no bubbles then close the bleed screw, run the engine until top pipe is hot (shows thermostat is open) then open the bleed screw frequently for short peroids until only water flows out (no bubbles remain). once you do this and make sure the index mars are lined up on the crank pulley and cam pulley you'll be laughing.

p.s: also good practice to rotate the engine by hand before starting (put a scoket on the crank pulley mount) if you get a high resistance when turning or it won't turn for you go back and check your index marks.

[Big_M_]

adam, how much is your e30 lowered, it looks well slamed, what kit have you fitted to that,

p.s sorry for going off topic

[alan325i]

only thing really bad which stops me doing this myself is getting the tension right, to much and bye bye belt, bye bye head.

I was quoted Ԛ£80 to fit it if i supplied parts, as i didnt want no made in hong kong crap lol

[Andy_magic]

Thats what the little sprung loaded belt tensioner is for

If it's missing, replace it, genuine only though or off a scrapper.

If you can't get one, adjust the belt tension so that the belt will twist through 90 degree's on the longest run between camshaft and jockey shaft.

[alan325i]

Yes they have spring tensioner, BMW also us a specail tool to measure that it has right tension.

All im saying it Ԛ£80 for garage job plus parts or

Cock it up, and u have a nice bill of a new head.

I know which one i'd op for.

[Adammcf]

I bought a new belt, tensioner, tensioner spring and water pump from BMW as they are all relatively cheap. Once fitted and the tensioner bolt was released the belt tension was just nice. It just about turned to 90 deg and no more. A few manual turns of the engine and it was still the same and everything still lined up!

Big M - Ive no idea what springs are in the car but it has yellow shocks. To be honest its too low and even on standard 205/15 tyres it rubs on the front when turning. Im going to get a full kit if I keep the car and raise it to about 45-50mm if possible.

[Brianmoooore]

Yes they have spring tensioner, BMW also us a specail tool to measure that it has right tension.

All im saying it Ԛ£80 for garage job plus parts or

Cock it up, and u have a nice bill of a new head.

I know which one i'd op for.

The spring sets the tension perfectly.
You'd have to be totaly mechanicaly inept to set it dangerously wrong.
An over tight cambelt will howl.
What makes you think a garage will do the job properly?

[Big_M_]

Big M - Ive no idea what springs are in the car but it has yellow shocks. To be honest its too low and even on standard 205/15 tyres it rubs on the front when turning. Im going to get a full kit if I keep the car and raise it to about 45-50mm if possible.

yeah looks well low Adam, probally 80/80 think i'll go 40/40 myself with a new kit.

[kenwoir]

Thanks for the tips guys, im handy enough with a spanner but just have the fear of fookin it up as its something ive never attempted before and the result in getting it wrong wont be cheap. I'll have a look for a guide and maybe give it a go.. Thanks again

[E30BeemerLad]

check out this thread, with the links to the guides mate

go on, get stuck in

Edit: here's the link http://www.e30zone.co.uk/modules.php?na ... iots+guide

[kenwoir]

Finally got round to doing my timing belt the other day, was nowhere near as bad as i thought. the above link to the guide was spot on and made the job so much easier. Thanks for all the tips guys.

[charlE30]

Dosen't it feel really good when you do something like this for the first time? I bet your pleased you didn't pay someone else to do it