Welcome aboard bimmernut3 and hoping you might be able to offer some advice please?
First time BMW owner, bought X3 2008 E83 2.0d M 16 months ago, it had 69k at purchase and now has 81-82k...a delightful vehicle to drive, only thing I don't like is the Silbergrau colour, was hoping to find Alpine White with Black interior but none to be found at the time. Decided that when driving the car I can't see what colour it is, so it's not that important.
As is usual I go car shopping with a list of 'must haves' followed by some 'nice to haves' and this car ticked most of those boxes and after some dealer problems at time of purchase I've since fitted Kumho tyres and the car is a whole different beast...much quieter in relation to tyre noise, better handling and just a better 'feel'.
Anyway, while doing a U-turn yesterday heard a clunk/thud, immediately noticed loss of power steering, initially thought the belt had failed but then discovered the harmonic balancer was lying on the front undertray...serpentine belt is still intact but guess it would be wise to replace the belt?
Towed to a repair shop and waiting until Mon to get a repair quote, is there anything else you would expect should/might need to be replaced/repaired at the same time? No noticeable vibrations prior to failure, the M suspension is always a bit stiff although that was improved somewhat with the Kumho's but there has been nothing to indicate any problems, either when being checked in the workshop or driving down the highway, but no further vibration etc evident. Not driven hard or raced etc since purchase, previous owners appeared to have young kids (rubbish left in car) so don't expect they would have raced it either. Condition (after a thorough cleanup) looks like brand new, in fact most people don't believe when I say it's a late 08 model.
Not much fun when this fails away from home and late on a Friday afternooon....naturally am grounded until it's repaired. Just hoping to be a bit better prepared on Monday (Downunder time).
Thanks in advance
