Hi Scotty, I'm a subscriber to your show and watch almost every day. Thank you for it.
I've got a 2007 bmw 328i and the serpentine belt fell off this week. I took the car to the shop today and they said the problem is with the Air condenser.
Before going to the shop I took the belt to Napa for an opinion on it's condition and the counter man said there was nothing wrong with it.
After that, at the shop they said they need to overhaul the entire air condenser unit. They want an arm and a leg to perform the service. I haven't used the A. C. In the car since I've had it, I bought it with 82,000 miles on it 6 years ago. It now has 105,000 miles. It doesn't overheat, I've had the shop maintenance it regularly and I think it runs fine.
I've hardly used the A.C. in the car and don't plan to use it much, I live in coastal Northern California, it doesn't get very hot here.
What is an Air Condenser? I've hardly used the A.C.. and how does it affect the belt falling off?
It's a big job, and maybe help explain why this happened, please.
Thank you ✌️
Are you sure they didn't say it's the AC Compressor?
If the compressor is locked up it will toss or break the serpentine belt because I think your car has a variable displacement compressor.
There is no AC clutch. The compressor turns whether the AC is turned on or not. So if the compressor is locked up the pulley can't turn.
I guess with the belt off you can grab the AC compressor pulley and see for yourself if it turns freely.
But since you don't use your AC an affordable option for you would be to see if there's an AC compressor bypass pulley kit available for your year and model BMW.
That allows the compressor to be removed, the pulley unit installed, and you can use the OEM serpentine belt.
Of course you will no longer have air conditioning but these bypass pulley units are typically available for under $100
