[AlpineX]

Originally Posted by vladmury

What are the symptoms of a bad vibration damper? I have vibrations at idle when putting the transmission in D or R ..not sure if I should change the vibration damper. I looked at it when idling and looks fine, no wobble or visual damage, what do you think?

Vacuum controlled motor mounts in your model? I first think mounting if vibrations while idling under light load and no vibrations idling with no load.

[vladmury]

How can I check the vibration damper? As I said it doesnt show any failure but I have vibrationa at idle when in D or R

[AlpineX]

Originally Posted by vladmury

How can I check the vibration damper? As I said it doesnt show any failure but I have vibrationa at idle when in D or R

The vibration damper is for torsional vibration of the crankshaft (similar to flywheel or torque converter)... the vibration that you feel is lateral or vertical, and possibly due to mounting of engine and/or trans (and also a common wear point for most BMWs with some mileage or oil soakage).

[Mik325tds]

Originally Posted by vladmury

How can I check the vibration damper? As I said it doesnt show any failure but I have vibrationa at idle when in D or R

Just look for cracks in the rubber. If it looks like this, it's time to get a new one in:

[faz]

Hi everyone,
First of all what a wonderful DIY instruction set. OP and others who have contributed, what a great thread you all have put together.

My 2011 335D is around 77k miles now and this morning ran fine to work, then at lunch time I started it to go run some errands and noticed burnt rubber smell, then loss of power steering, then battery charging red indicator... turned around and parked it back into the spot and looked inside, and seeing some melted rubber around the inner part of the crankshaft pulley. I am sure this is a open and shot case of failed balancer pulley.

I am thinking of doing the job myself, but local shops are quoting $450ish to do the install and due to time limitation and need for a car (we don't have an extra car), I might just go that route.

But to save some money, I am wondering if any of the aftermarket parts are preferred and tried without too much of a performance loss (vibration wise). Or should I just bite the bullet and get the part from ECS tuning or similar that is listing it for $580ish as compared with $720 from dealership?

also, should I just replace the belts while I am at this too? (these all seem to add up very quickly.)

I normally wouldn't think twice about it but as much as I love this car, I may have to replace it soon with a honda pilot for extra room / family reasons.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

[ranthum]

Originally Posted by faz

Hi everyone,
First of all what a wonderful DIY instruction set. OP and others who have contributed, what a great thread you all have put together.

My 2011 335D is around 77k miles now and this morning ran fine to work, then at lunch time I started it to go run some errands and noticed burnt rubber smell, then loss of power steering, then battery charging red indicator... turned around and parked it back into the spot and looked inside, and seeing some melted rubber around the inner part of the crankshaft pulley. I am sure this is a open and shot case of failed balancer pulley.

I am thinking of doing the job myself, but local shops are quoting $450ish to do the install and due to time limitation and need for a car (we don't have an extra car), I might just go that route.

But to save some money, I am wondering if any of the aftermarket parts are preferred and tried without too much of a performance loss (vibration wise). Or should I just bite the bullet and get the part from ECS tuning or similar that is listing it for $580ish as compared with $720 from dealership?

also, should I just replace the belts while I am at this too? (these all seem to add up very quickly.)

I normally wouldn't think twice about it but as much as I love this car, I may have to replace it soon with a honda pilot for extra room / family reasons.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

If you want to spend that much buy a fluidamper. Otherwise get one for like $300.

[Mik325tds]

Originally Posted by faz

Hi everyone,
First of all what a wonderful DIY instruction set. OP and others who have contributed, what a great thread you all have put together.

My 2011 335D is around 77k miles now and this morning ran fine to work, then at lunch time I started it to go run some errands and noticed burnt rubber smell, then loss of power steering, then battery charging red indicator... turned around and parked it back into the spot and looked inside, and seeing some melted rubber around the inner part of the crankshaft pulley. I am sure this is a open and shot case of failed balancer pulley.

I am thinking of doing the job myself, but local shops are quoting $450ish to do the install and due to time limitation and need for a car (we don't have an extra car), I might just go that route.

But to save some money, I am wondering if any of the aftermarket parts are preferred and tried without too much of a performance loss (vibration wise). Or should I just bite the bullet and get the part from ECS tuning or similar that is listing it for $580ish as compared with $720 from dealership?

also, should I just replace the belts while I am at this too? (these all seem to add up very quickly.)

I normally wouldn't think twice about it but as much as I love this car, I may have to replace it soon with a honda pilot for extra room / family reasons.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks for you kudos.
I've used both the Vaico and Febi from ECS tuning. Both are running fine while the Febi seems to run slightly untrue. If you want to keep the car I'd recommend Fluidampr and be done with it for life but for your situation I'd go with the Vaico (which comes with new bolts!), and new belts. Should run you below $250.

[faz]

Originally Posted by Mik325tds

Thanks for you kudos.
I've used both the Vaico and Febi from ECS tuning. Both are running fine while the Febi seems to run slightly untrue. If you want to keep the car I'd recommend Fluidampr and be done with it for life but for your situation I'd go with the Vaico (which comes with new bolts!), and new belts. Should run you below $250.

Thank you for the feedback, really appreciate it.

I might take this on myself and do it at home, if I can find a third car. Seems like owning an older BMW, one should just have a 3rd car in the driveway to allow one to do the repairs at home in a timely fashion.

[faz]

Originally Posted by ranthum

If you want to spend that much buy a fluidamper. Otherwise get one for like $300.

Originally Posted by Mik325tds

Thanks for you kudos.
I've used both the Vaico and Febi from ECS tuning. Both are running fine while the Febi seems to run slightly untrue. If you want to keep the car I'd recommend Fluidampr and be done with it for life but for your situation I'd go with the Vaico (which comes with new bolts!), and new belts. Should run you below $250.

Just an update, and first of all thank you all for the great info in this thread and your guidance above.

I ended up having the dealership do the work, as I didn't have the time or energy to do this myself and needed a quick turnaround (even though I had already wasted a few days parking the car trying to find a best alternative solution.)

Dealership cost as follows:

11-23-8-511-371 damper +$722
64-55-7-793-608 AC belt +$42
11-28-7-792-059 serpentine belt +$78
11-23-2-247-932 Torx bolt (4) +$56


Tax: +$77
Total Parts: $975
Total Labor: $577
Discount -$100

Total cost for the crankshaft pulley + belts = $1450


In addition to the above, I also had the battery that I replaced myself two weeks ago programmed, at the cost of half an hour labor for $107 - $10 discount = $97


Yes, I am a loser and serves me right for not doing the work myself. Who am I kidding, with two kids and a busy schedule I really don't have time for doing the work myself anymore. The indy shops that I use basically told me they won't warranty the work if I don't go with the Orig BMW parts (understandable), and their labor quoted was only $150 different than the dealership.

Sad part is, now that the battery is new, the harmonic balancer and belts are new, (just about $1900 in parts and labor for all), I will probably put the car on the market and let the next owner enjoy these new parts. I really like the car and the way it handles and drives, but man, I am tired of these surprise popups.

[PaKii94]

Originally Posted by faz

Just an update, and first of all thank you all for the great info in this thread and your guidance above.

I ended up having the dealership do the work, as I didn't have the time or energy to do this myself and needed a quick turnaround (even though I had already wasted a few days parking the car trying to find a best alternative solution.)

Dealership cost as follows:

11-23-8-511-371 damper +$722
64-55-7-793-608 AC belt +$42
11-28-7-792-059 serpentine belt +$78
11-23-2-247-932 Torx bolt (4) +$56


Tax: +$77
Total Parts: $975
Total Labor: $577
Discount -$100

Total cost for the crankshaft pulley + belts = $1450


In addition to the above, I also had the battery that I replaced myself two weeks ago programmed, at the cost of half an hour labor for $107 - $10 discount = $97


Yes, I am a loser and serves me right for not doing the work myself. Who am I kidding, with two kids and a busy schedule I really don't have time for doing the work myself anymore. The indy shops that I use basically told me they won't warranty the work if I don't go with the Orig BMW parts (understandable), and their labor quoted was only $150 different than the dealership.

Sad part is, now that the battery is new, the harmonic balancer and belts are new, (just about $1900 in parts and labor for all), I will probably put the car on the market and let the next owner enjoy these new parts. I really like the car and the way it handles and drives, but man, I am tired of these surprise popups.

What other problems have you had? From what I've read, after deletes, this is the major breakpoint. Now that you've done this, you should be good besides regular maintenance right?

[Chief Orman]

My car is making a sort of rubber chirping sound immediately after I let off after a hard pull. Thinking my harmonic balancer is beginning to go bad. Already replaced at 85K. Now at 125K mileage. Any thoughts on my theory?

[Yozh]

Could come from many sources. You would be on the very early range if not before HBs begin to fail.

[Chief Orman]

Originally Posted by Yozh

Could come from many sources. You would be on the very early range if not before HBs begin to fail.

I was thinking maybe it was coming from the intake system someplace since with the new ATM air intake I can hear everything

[stockegsix]

My factory HB went out around 79k. I went with Fluidampr from AArodriguez, cost me around $650 including belts and specialty tools. Took about 4 hours to remove and 2 hours to install. Labor was free since I did it myself with the help of Youtube.

[Mik325tds]

Originally Posted by Chief Orman

I was thinking maybe it was coming from the intake system someplace since with the new ATM air intake I can hear everything

The sound that comes from the ATM air intake is pretty strange and loud after you let off a hard pull. Mine does it, too. I would say it's normal and doesn't come from the HB.

[Owen81]

That sound is "turbo bark" or compressor surge. Its the excess pressurized air from letting off the throttle surging backwards through your turbo. It is completely normal, however some would argue its not very good for your turbo as it hastily slows down the compressor wheel. You can mitigate this by easing off the throttle or installing a blow off valve, depending on the blow off valve, it could be much louder than this surge.

Example clips:

[Chief Orman]

nailed it...that is the noise

[alex sol]

Ason,

pulling up an old thread on the HB

looks like you tweaked the bolts an extra 10 ft lbs. not sure how accurate your torque wrench is but feel you wouldn't shear off a bolt with the extra torque. at least you know it won't likely back out...

[alex sol]

looking at 4 choices of hb from ecs tuning.

price range from $199 to 570. Anyone have experience with the $199 continental harmonic balancer?

[335dlci]

Buy the fluidamper the stock units are junk.

[The_DDub]

Thanks for this DIY. I replaced mine yesterday @ 109K mi. The crack caused the damper to separate from the hub. I wasn't stranded, but I got the trifecta of issues, no power steering, battery charge warning on my dash and burned rubber smell.

[Kozlio]

Hmm i bought a cheap hb from rock auto. Manufacturer is Rein with part made in China. My mechanic says "i don't trust it". Sounds like i might have wasted $200 thinking id save that much in the process...