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Friday, March 29, 2024

Doug's Domain

Doug Vetter, ATP/CFI

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Saturday, June 11, 2011

Hydraulic Tensioner Parts Received

After going through couple revisions to the parts list, this week I ordered and received the parts required to convert to the hydraulic tensioner. Here they are:

Part Number Arrow Description
11287838797 1 Hydraulic tensioner kit, includes baseplate, pitman arm, hydraulic tensioner and the hardware to fasten these components together.
11281748131 2 Adjusting pulley
11281730532 3 Metal mud guard for adjusting pulley (installs between adjuster and pulley)
07129905534 4 Fillister head screw (torx bolt used to fasten pulley to tensioner)
11281727159 5 Plastic protection cap for front of adjusting pulley
07119904532 6 M8x105 hex bolt
07119904533 8 M8x50 hex bolt
11287835130 7,9 Flat washer (Qty 2 Required, one used with *532, one with *533)
07119904115 10 Wave washer (used with *252)
07119904252 11 M8x35-8.8-ZNS hex bolt
12311713143 12 Plastic protection cap (covers M8x105 hex bolt, arrow 6)

(Image: Closeup of parts associated with the hydraulic accessory belt tensioner)While the baseplate, pitman arm, and hydraulic tensioner are available separately, they cost significantly more that way, so if doing the conversion the kit is the way to go.

Unrelated to the conversion project but included on invoice was a new idler pulley. I bought this simply because, where one pulley is on its way out, the other is sure to follow. It's not really hard to understand why these pulleys wear out. Since they're half the size of the crank pulley, when the engine is cruising at 3000 RPM these pulleys are actually turning at 6000 RPM! Next time your RPM needle is kissing the redline, keep this math in mind. The pulleys take a beating and don't last forever. Based on my experience, all pulleys should be replaced along with the belts at 60K. As previously disclosed, my most recent failure occurred at 72K.

Retail for the conversion parts is $320 and my cost was $255, or a savings of $65. Of course, I spent another $39 on the new idler pulley (11287841228), which brought the total right back up to $320 including tax. Sometimes I just can't win.

I had planned to install the tensioner at the same time I put the door back together this weekend but as it turned out I'm still waiting for the coded door handle assembly to come in from Germany. The parts guys called over there and confirmed that it should ship this coming week, so if that happens I expect to do all the work next weekend. In the meantime, I'll be enjoying the E46 and it's 6800 RPM redline. And that's hardly an inconvenience.

Mileage: 208880, Parts: $320, Parts Saved: $75