Idler bearing squeek on front of engine when cold

[bcolins]

I have a pronounced squeaking at idle on the front on my 2004 4.4i engine until it warms up. Sounds like an idler bearing to me. I've tried zeroing in on it with the hood open, and no luck there,....it's very crowded in there.

Any suggestions on how to zero in on which bearing is making the noise? Is there a typical culprit that squeaks on these engines?

BC

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by trader4

Given the age and likely miles, why not just replace all of the
bearings on the tensioners and idler pulleys? Alternatively, with
the belts off, you can check for play. Any play, side to side, and
it's bad.

[bcolins]

Originally Posted by trader4

Given the age and likely miles, why not just replace all of the
bearings on the tensioners and idler pulleys? Alternatively, with
the belts off, you can check for play. Any play, side to side, and
it's bad.

Thanks for the tip. Sounds like the bearings can be replaced without replacing the entire idler assembly? If so, are these dealer only parts or are they available elsewhere?

[David.X5]

The bearing and plastic wheel are one part. The plastic does get worn, so it's worth replacing anyway. The idler has a single spinning part. The tensioner has two. Measure the diameters of your plastic wheels - they are likely to be 70mm. Some online sources list 80mm...

[jdstrickland]

While you are replacing the idler/tensioner pulleys, you should also replace the belt. No point in working again in the same place in a month or two.

[David.X5]

You can go either way (just pulleys or whole assembly).

See (for example, shop around):

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...-11281731220my

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...-11281731838-1

You can also get the hydraulic/spring dampener seperately, but if you need that I would probably buy the whole assembly as it costs more to buy 2 pulleys and the dampener then the whole thing.