Cambelt Q...

[jog5000]

1989 325i - Does it have a cambelt or a cam chain??

Are the valves hydraulic or mechanic??

Thanks all.

[maxfield]

Cambelt.
Hydraulic.

[Dan318-is]

young one they are mechanical not hydraulic!

[maxfield]

I'm not rong my dad told me

[ivesy]

DOES ANYONE KNOW how often the belt needs to be changed please? I'm pretty sure at 100k miles but would like conformation?

[maxfield]

I read every 30k miles.

[ivesy]

Have you ever had yours done or done it yourself? £Â£Ã‚£Ã‚£????

[maxfield]

Nope.

[ivesy]

I've gotta get mine done and I'm not lookin forward to forkin out as I need a new hood and 3-400quid spent on rust!

[ivesy]

Is that yours in the photo mate? Why cant I access the members rides bit, any ideas??

[maxfield]

My dads have a look in photo gallery for peoples rides

[Chris-W]

For me, 25k or 3 years.

[Speedtouch]

Haynes manual says every 40,000 miles (60,000km) or 4 years (whichever comes first). Recently had mine changed; it cost £92.66 including change of antifreeze (fortunate enough to live just around the corner from a good value mechanic!)

[jog5000]

So they are mechanical. And when the belt snaps it kills the motor......... damn I need to get mine done asap then.

[gooner1]

Doing mine this weekend,plus water pump and thermostat all belts and oil change,jog i advise you to do your water pump at same time mate.Just hope this poxy rain holds off for long enough.

[orangecurry]

if you are keeping the car for any time, IMHO you should replace the pulley at the same time; I had mine done a few months ago, and the mechanic gave me the old pulley to look at...

He said I was correct to bother to replace it, as it was noisy (put it on something like a wooden windowsill, spin the wheel and you can hear the bearings grumbling)

if you go to your local BMW dealership, and say you are in the trade, you will probably get a discount
cambelt B93.24.0.00.006 15% discount = 14.67
roller (pulley) B11.31.1.711.153 10% discount = 39.45
plus VAT of course

[Pete159]

I used a technical article by John S Smith as a guide. The article can be found at a website that is not as good as this one but is worth the occasional visit purely for research purposes see: http://www.bmwe30.net/ The first time that I did it I brought a belt from the main dealer and the tensioner (roller/pulley) from and independent stockist.

[e30bmlover]

Haynes manual says every 40,000 miles (60,000km) or 4 years (whichever comes first). Recently had mine changed; it cost £92.66 including change of antifreeze (fortunate enough to live just around the corner from a good value mechanic!)

damn right. the 320 has just had a new belt and tensioners. they are not Hydraulic. e36 tappets are hydraulic but thats another story altogether. if the belt snaps you can kiss goodbye to your valves and christ knows whatelse. CHANGE IT!
as for chain driven engines........ ///M power s14's, 318is's

[Gwynleym10]

as for chain driven engines........ ///M power s14's, 318is's

and m10's...


Just about to write up a tech article for a m40 cambelt change, which needs to be done ever 2 years 20k! It really is only a 2 hour job.

M20 is a little harder from what I can work out plus you have less room.

[kam-325i]

So they are mechanical. And when the belt snaps it kills the motor......... damn I need to get mine done asap then.

Oh yes, Most BMW engines are "Interferance Engines".

[Gwynleym10]

Did you have have the m40 tool?

I found getting the timing very easy, it was my first cambelt change as well. Was a easy 65k miles car to work on though.

When I messing with another m40 I couldn't find the hole to lock the ring gear.... I don't think I looked hard enough.

M20 must be very easy then!

[Dan318-is]

Honda v6; now i was once offered to do an alternator belt on one of them; took a look an ran! fuckin shockin design!