Are you sure there is no central nut there? I have a 2010 X5 3.0 and just did my belts two weeks ago and I used the nut in the middle. It was around 26mm, I think, maybe a bit bigger? I did mine from on top and couldn't see so I took a picture with my phone and sure enough there was a nut there.
As an aside, I bought that Lisle/whatever brand stretch belt installer/remover and it was completely useless for this job. The a/c pulley has a large lip which blocks the tool from resting on the pulley and no way to use it on the main pulley. The new a/c belt was obviously quite a bit tighter but I actually got it on just by initially holding it on the a/c pulley with my left hand, carefully so I wouldn't get pinched, while my right hand was turning the main pulley with a 1/2" ratchet. I was able to walk it on the pulley and get it lined up correctly. I spent more time trying with that tool than it took just to do it by hand. Note, also, I have 4 zone climate and it makes a difference with the belts or something so maybe yours is different if you don't have that option.
Good luck!
Edit: Just attached the photo that I took in case you have the same setup.
Last edited by rpoitras; 02-08-2019 at 09:08 PM.
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