DIY: UUC Pulley Install Enjoy!!

I decided to write up my UUC pulley install. I have an auto tranny
which requires the clutch fan removed to be able access one of the
pullies. I felt this should be documented for those installing
pullies on an auto tranny car (Damn you manual tranny owners)
Note: My car is a 2000 323i and I dont know if there are any
changes/differences in the later models.

Tools Needed:

FlatHead Screwdriver
5 mm Hex socket
10 mm Open Ended wrench
13 mm socket
32 mm Open Ended Wrench
16 mm socket (Recommended) or T-50 socket
T-25 or T-20 Bit (Sorry I forgot which size it was)
Homemade BMW Special Tool



Step 1:

Pop the hood and locate the clutch fan/shroud. Find the 2 electrical
connectors and unplug them. Now on Your right side there is one small
expanding rivet that needs to be released. On your left side this is
where you need your T-25 or T-20 Bit to remove the one screw.





Step 2:

You cannot just remove the fan shroud you have to remove both the
shroud and the fan at the same time. In order to do this you need
to lift the shroud up as far as it can go to expose the 3 - 5 mm Hex
bolts holding the plastic fan on. There is barely any room so just
be patient. Once those 3 bolts are removed you can lift both the fan
and shroud out. Just a note when reinstalling the fan shroud it is a
bit tricky for the shroud locks into a couple of clips below near the
plastic undercarriage peice just remember to be patient.



Step 3:

Now here is the fustrating part. I dont care what the bentley manual
says there is no way this fan bolt was coming off without using the
BMWspecial tool or a homeade tool like I made myself. First off if
your feeling lucky use you 32mm wrench and turn CLOCKWISE TO LOOSEN.
If it comes loose good for you now you dont have to make the special
tool. Basically all the Special tool was a peice of metal that locked
onto two of the 10mm bolts on the pullie. What I did was found some
metal hinges and flattened them. Luckily for me the holes matching
up exactly with the pullie holes, all I had to do was drill them just
a tad larger for my tool that is. Anyways once you have your tool made
you place it on 2 of the 4 10mm pullie bolts. Now you are going to
push down ConterClockwise with your special tool and CLOCKWISE with
your 32mm wrench to loosen/remove that fan nut.

Step 4:

Now its time to loosen the pullie bolts and remove the belts. First
loosen all the pullie bolts the 4 10mm ones and the 3 13mm ones just
loosen them for now DO NOT remove them. Once loosened it's time to
find the tensioner. First you must remove the AC Belt it is smaller.
Both have a plastic cap on each tensioner that can be popped off with
your falthead screwdriver. Now you can see the T-50 socket you must
turn it CLOCKWISE to relieve tension. Now I didnt like using the T-50
bit for it kept popping out and it ended up stripping my bit plus I
didnt feel like loosing a finger, so there is a alternative which I
highly recommend. There is a 16mm Hex shaped part on the both
tensioners (I dont think it's a bolt but just a part of the tensioner).
Use your 16mm socket and you can relieve tension on the belt by turning
CLOCKWISE and remove it in a breeze. Now you dont have to worry about
the Tensioner springing back. Note: take note of which way the belt
is fed through the pullie system.

Step 5:

Once both belts are removed now you can completely remove the bolts
for the 2 pullies. Once the bolts are removed you may now take off
the pullies please note that although difficult there is nothing else
holding those pullies on. I'm guessing it was just a tight fit by
design by BMW or something. The one that gave me the hardest time
was the lower one connected to the Power Steering Pump. I had to
keep wiggling and rotating the pulley before it eventually came off.
Just be patient and try not to damage your pulleys.

Step 6:

Now it's time to install your new pullies. Installation is reverse
of removal. Once your pulleys are bolted back on and torqued to spec
(Really Low) start by reinstalling the the belts ONLY this time start
with your new belt route it through the pulley system exactly how the
old one was (Note: remember you will have to relieve the tension
again using what I recommend the 16mm socket. After you installed
your new belt go over to the AC tensioner and reinstall that belt
noting the same direction of rotation before it was uninstalled.







Step 7:

Once belts are back in place put back on the tensioner dust caps and
start installing the 32mm fan nut that needs to be torqued to 29 ft/lbs
. Once fan nut is in place reinstall the shroud and plastic fan.
Reconnect the 2 electrical connectors and put back on the T-25 or
T-20 bolt and the expanding rivet.

Done! It's that simple probably took me about 45 min to 1 hr to
install If you have any questions or comments feel free to PM me.

Oh BTW here are some pics of my old belt look at how cracked it was.

perfect timing!...im should be gettin my pullies sometime next week!

but I need to go buy those tools....i dont have any of them.

btw....what are your impressions on the pullies....did they help at all?

Originally Posted by rana

perfect timing!...im should be gettin my pullies sometime next week!

but I need to go buy those tools....i dont have any of them.

btw....what are your impressions on the pullies....did they help at all?

I'm sure you must have a flathead screwdriver

But yea I did notice a little more responsiveness and plus with new belt no more chirping like theres a birds nest in my engine haha. I did not notice any big difference in steering like others have mentioned. But overall I give the pulleys a for the price I paid for them.

Hope the DIY helps you out

Jared

Just wanted to say thanks for the DIY instructions. I just received my UUC pulleys and their instructions were a bit weak. I did a search and found your post. Thanks again, with your help I completed my first under the hood mod (besides a K&N filter) with little drama. By the way, my name is Jared too. That's just freaky. Have a great life.

Do you have to buy the accessory belt from them or can you get it elsewhere?

very nice DIY. Do you think changing the pulley will affect the dealer warranty???

what kind of power gains are claimed with the pulleys?

As I promised the update on the special tool needed. Instead of making a special tool all you need is a 16mm socket a extender and a socket wrench , also a 10 mm wrench, now all you have to do is place the 16mm socket on the tensioner bolt that untightens the belts put the 10mm wrench on the bottom nut on the pulley now rest the 10mm wrench on top of the socket and turn the fan screw with the 35mm wrench and that is it. The 10mm will put the pressure on the socket and hold the pulley in place so you can loosen the fan screw.

Sorry for the newbie question, what do you gain from replacing the pulleys?

A few hp some say they feel nothing others say they feel it me personally I can tell the difference in the higher RPMs also it will tighten up your steering a bit.

Yep, just did mine... 5 MT 300ci... slightly tighter steering at some speeds, totally not feeling anything at other speeds... no really change in power, except the engine seems to rev lowder... For the simple install, it's cool... Otherway, I'm not sure it's worth the money if you are looking for power - I was looking for the power steering effect since I have the 01 soft steering...

Does the metal center portion of the fan (the part that used the homemade tool) really have to come off to replace the belt? I was thinking the belt could squeeze around this assembly once loosened up. Is this not possible?

Originally Posted by The Nebulizer

Does the metal center portion of the fan (the part that used the homemade tool) really have to come off to replace the belt? I was thinking the belt could squeeze around this assembly once loosened up. Is this not possible?

You still need to take the fan off to take off the WP Pulley

Originally Posted by Marlin311

You still need to take the fan off to take off the WP Pulley

Yeah, I know the plastic fan itself has to come off, but does the metal piece (about 5" diamater) have to come off?

(BTW what is the WP pulley? )
I was actually just using this DIY for info on replacing the belt with an auto transmission fan set up - for supercharger install.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by The Nebulizer

Yeah, I know the plastic fan itself has to come off, but does the metal piece (about 5" diamater) have to come off?

(BTW what is the WP pulley? )
I was actually just using this DIY for info on replacing the belt with an auto transmission fan set up - for supercharger install.

Thanks.

The metal peice is attached to the WP (Water pump) you need to take that off in order to detach and reattach the Water Pump Pulley. If you don't take off the metal peice there is no way for the Pulley to come off