Serpentine belt
 

Hi Guys
I have a 2012 X5 3.0 and the serpentine belt got shredded
I tried installing a new one, but i can't get it to fit, the belt seems a little short
the length on the belt shows 28mm x 1490 mm
Any tricks to get it to fit appreciated

Do you have the tensioner pinned opene with the locking pin so you can take your time?

If so I've found with my 35i i have to get the belt onto all the pulleys with lips first then over a smooth pulley last. Also, it's pretty easy to invent an alternate path for the belt are you 100% sure you're going the right way?

Thanks for the info, i will try again by locking the tensioner pin, also i believe i am putting the belt on correctly, i started at the bottom crank pulley and tried to finish at the alternator, just couldn't get it over its pulley lip
i am first going to call dealership and see if they can give me the length of the belt and see if its different from the one i got from the local parts store

Serpentine belt
 

Yeah I've fought a few and had a hard time if i did any pulley with a lip last. Usually either idler pulley or tensioner pulley last.

I've also had a problem with the belt getting caught on the engine block behind the crank pulley without realizing

Yes i had all those issues too, finally got it on by finishing it with slipping it on to the smooth pulley last
Thanks for the tips

My tensioner is moving quite a bit after i installed the new belt, could this be the reason my belt came off, should i change the tensioner too or is this normal

I lost a few belts before i replaced the tensioner. I suspect pulsed (pwm) load on the alternator is causing tugs that wobble the tensioner.

A knock off tensioner still shook a lot and oem was much better.

Now it has thrown a check engine light, not sure if its connected to the belt issue
P112F
P0300
P0301
P0302
P0304

Any ideas

If you wanna get freaked out, google "BMW N55 serpentine Belt Ingestion"

I was afraid of this because as soon as my belt got shredded i got the P0112F straight away
Looks like I'll have to call my indy tech to check it out, youtube is showing a special tool is needed to take out the front main seal, does anyone know if this is correct or is it a DIY