Hi,

I drive a 2002 I35 with 55 000km 1 owner. A little bit before winter, my belt started to make noise when i was starting the car but with the cold temperature the car didn't make any noise for months. Now that the winter is almost finish, my belt started again to make noise when I start the car but also a little noise all the time... I was thinking that the binder was fully open and the belt was still slack so I would need to change it but doing resersh I found that the 3 liters have a manuel binder and not an automatic binder but I can't find the info for the 3.5...

So my question is, could I just tight the belt or I need to change it because it's fully extended?

Thanks!

 

Anyone correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the 3.0 and the 3.5 have the same belt tensioner (I'll just assume it is). So to answer your question, yes to both ideas. First you could just tighten the belt. To do this you must first loosen the lock bolt directly on the idler pulley, then move to the the idler belt tensioner screw/assembly on the top side of the engine and rotate till the belt is tight. Finally, return to the idler pulley lock bolt and retighten; done. Second, and the best move is to also replace the belt (since it's worn and will really take no more time to do than just tightening old belt). Additionally, it's cheap insurance against a break down on the side of the road.

 

Prob just use some belt dressing to stop noise. But if you see any cracks replace.

 

I think I'll go for the belt dressing and replace the 2 belts in a couple of weeks when the snow will be gone!

Thanks guys!

 

replace the belts with Factory ones, stay away from after market, the Tensioner is the same for 3.0 and 3.5