I could swear they are both conti by looking at them too. Event he one with the BMW logo. The weird thing is that the ones that say conti, make that noise. I'd put my original ones back on, but they have over 70k miles on them.

exactly like you think they do.


squeeky belts could actually be squeeky bearings. Getting the belts off on an m54 is pretty easy, provided you removed the fan first. After that, make sure the belts were routed correctly, not chipped or frayed, and that your tensioner is still tight. There are a lot of DIY's, or find one on an e46 site.

I did mine twice as I chipped my waterpump pulley the first time (on my 46).

Even if yours have low mileage, they can dry out and rot. You can also try spraying them with belt dressing (most stores carry this specific product), and that basically makes the rubber swell a little. If the noise goes away when you spray, it could be your belts going bad.

I always hate to say this, but when it comes to the m54 engine, e46 fanatics has a ton of great info, and 99% of it is germain to our cars. I seem to recall hearing issues with squeeking after replacement and its either the bearing or the tensioner.

Lots of great info once again!

Mice/hamster on a wheel is a good description of the sound I get once in a while.

Curious though, why BMW went from hydraulic to mechanical on the belt tensioners?

Because who wants to talk spring mechanics when you can have an overly complex discussion behind the fluid dynamics of your hydraulic belt tensioner?? It is German after all! Lol

That I gotta see, you have to post a link to that here!!! :D

I need to start a list of the various ways german engineers fuck with us.

1. cupholders
2. the three dots on the dash
3. tensioners
4. the door locks on GM3 cars

Of the three BMW's i've owned the x5 is the least terrible, but thats because it was influenced by Range Rover!

Changed water pump, tensioners and belts. Squeeky noise when cold or in the morning. After warm up, it goes away. Any clues?

you need to identify where the noise is coming from. Have someone start the car for you.

It could be all kinds of things.

Stupid question, but you said, tensioners and belts. I assume you replaced all of the pulleys as well?

Regardless whether or not you had the squeaking prior to changing the belts, I would see if belt dressing would solve the problem before removing the belts to check anything else.

Yes, replaced everything including pulleys. The sound seems coming from the right side when facing the engine.