Newbie Saying hello & a couple of Q's

[Revie]

Hello everybody I've just become an X5 (3.0 2001) owner for the first time. I previously had a E36 coupe back in England but had to sell my pride and joy when I moved to Dallas, Texas. I've just picked up an immaculate X5 3.0 with only 70K on the clock that just has a couple of minor issues. First was the brake pads which were taken care of last weekend. The second being a squeeky upper idler pulley. I've seen a great write up on here where someone was replacing the alternator which seemed to cover most of the things I needed to know just to change the pulley (and belts while I'm at it).

I was just wondering, 1. how slim does the 32mm wrench need to be, can I get away with using a regular 32mm wrench or will I need the special tool @ $30.
and 2. if I was just to replace the upper idler pulley without changing the belts (which look to be in good condition), can this be done without even needing to take off the fan/fan shroud?

Many thanks in advance and again 'Hello'.
John