Pretensioner - E36

[snchin]

Moderator,i think this might be a repost. If it is,, please remove it. Thanks.i guess most e36 drivers have come across the irritating and embarassing noise that the self adjusting pretensioners make. Heard it's quite expensive to replace and not worth it cause after sometime, it makes noise as well.There's a 'fixed' pretensioner available and it's relatively cheap. I am just wondering if there are any ill side effects to the engine. I am sure BMW designed it this way for a reason, as opposed to the 'fixed' type used on other makes. Is it used to counter any force when you downshift?Any insight into this might help.

 

[Lee36328]

? Are you talking about the self-adjusting tensioner pulley, or the seatbelt pretensioner?

I assume it's the former.

The self-adjusting tensioner maintains proper tension on the belts even as the belts wear over time. Hence, self-adjusting.

How would a fixed tensioner work? Would it self adjust, or require regular manual adjustment? Just curious.

 

[M30revival]

There is a reason for having self-adjusting tensioner to cater for the expansion of tension in the belt. The last time I heard this problem was due to the fact that the batch of tensioners shipped in by the local agent was not up to the quality spec of BMW. Is this still happening?

The one you mentioned as I ventured to guess is not really 'fixed'. It is still adjustable but it doesn't have the self-adjusting function. You'll still have to get your mechanic/aircond specialist to adjust the position of the 'rod' to cater for the tension of the belt get loose over time. I remembered this was a local 'invention', probably from the same source I used to got one before. It is cheaper but not by a lot.

 

[1996E36328i]

I've just had mine replaced with the 'local' invention. We'll see how this 'invention' fares out againts time.