Vibration Damper E34 525 td

[Tony777]

Can anybody help me?
I have a E34 525 td with the vibration damper ( crankshaft pulley ) making a hell of a clattering noise. Has anybody changed one and how hard is it to change.
Please let me know and I will be eternally gratefull.
Tony

[yaofeng]

The best pictures I can show you are from my 525. Hope the diesel engine is not too much different.

You need to remove the fan, water pump pulley, six bolts on the outer pulley and the big crank bolt.

[Dave M]

If you suspect its the harmonic balancer, you don't need to crack the crankshaft bolt. Just remove the six bolts that hold the pully on and the balancer can be removed as well.

Not sure how the balancer would make a noise, but maybe you'll figure something out while you fiddle around. Hopefully its minor.

Dave

[Tony777]

If you suspect its the harmonic balancer, you don't need to crack the crankshaft bolt. Just remove the six bolts that hold the pully on and the balancer can be removed as well.

Not sure how the balancer would make a noise, but maybe you'll figure something out while you fiddle around. Hopefully its minor.

Dave

Hi Dave,
I have removed the 6 bolts, but I cannot get the pulley off. Do you need a puller? The vibration damper has an inner part, then a rubber bit then the outer. The rubber has given way and it sounds like a bucket of bolts and you can see clean metal where it's been hitting

[Dave M]

Hi Dave,
I have removed the 6 bolts, but I cannot get the pulley off. Do you need a puller? The vibration damper has an inner part, then a rubber bit then the outer. The rubber has given way and it sounds like a bucket of bolts and you can see clean metal where it's been hitting

Honesty, I don't recall exactly how I removed mine. It may not have been as tough as you're describing, but I likely tried prying with a long flathead screwdriver. Just work your way around it and it should budge.

Once removed, you'll see a small alignment dowel. Just make sure you line it up correctly when re-asssembling.

Dave

[Jon K]

Just remove the 6 inner bolts. Maybe tap it with a hammer or walk a screw driver around it. I have swapped this part a couple times.

[Tony777]

Just remove the 6 inner bolts. Maybe tap it with a hammer or walk a screw driver around it. I have swapped this part a couple times.

Thanks so much for your advice. I got it off without any major problems. Now if BMW lowered the price of the Vibration dampers,( Crankshaft pulley) I could afford a new one!!!

[Dave M]

I'm pretty sure a wrecker near you is having a blowout sale on M50 dampers

Definately try them, e-bay or BMA first.

[Tony777]

I'm pretty sure a wrecker near you is having a blowout sale on M50 dampers

Definately try them, e-bay or BMA first.

I have phoned around and looked on Ebay but I cannot locate one yet for my 525 diesel (M51 engine), so I got out my old trusty arc welder and welded it together and it seems to work fine. I will change it as soon as I can but at least I'm back on the road again.
Thanks for your help and advice.
Tony