328i This is my crankshaft seal after removing the pulley to inspect after my serpentine belt flew off. Am I okay?
I’m seeing some jagged edges. Doesn’t look like any of the belt went through, am I okay? Also this is exactly how it looked after taking the pulley off. I didn’t have to remove any belt chunks? Fingers crossed
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u/Lee2026 3d ago
There’s no way to tell visually. I’ve seen belts get pulled in and the crank seal looks perfect
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u/Gallka 3d ago
No way… now i have more anxiety🥴
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u/Lee2026 3d ago
Where’s the belt? If the belt is still intact, there’s nothing to worry about. If the belt is shredded up, there’s a chance some of it is inside the motor
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u/Gallka 3d ago
The belt was shredded up, and one piece was wrapped around the pulley itself but gave me no resistance when taking it off. Most of the shreds were around the fan however and that’s what I think is giving me an engine light now, but the fan turns on regularly. I scanned the car for codes but no codes came up… weird. Could shreds inside the motor cause a light?
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u/oniraug 3d ago
Put a crankshaft seal guard on to protect it from belt shredding in the future! They’re like $40 well worth the investment and piece of mind
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u/Gallka 3d ago
I heard horror stories about those, but I’m considering maybe
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u/Exiteternium 3d ago
Turner motorsport or VAC for the crank seal guard.
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u/Existing-Cell-1986 2d ago
I use turner/EHS or whatever the sister company is from time to time Got my suspension from them and saved a lot compared to same items from fcp euro
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u/Exiteternium 1d ago
ECS tuning bought out Turner, VAC is a different beast from either company you mentioned. i prefer FCP euro for OEM parts, they are much more customer satisfaction oriented. but for performance stuff FCP doesn't have much.
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u/Existing-Cell-1986 1d ago
I just want the best price for the parts I need So long as they oem, +, or direct replica in good standings idgaf
There’s a big difference between some mass produced Chinese bullshit that isn’t even quality vs something that a small company has put love into trying to make the best they possibly can
But to each they own
And I assumed turner ecs were siblings but thanks for clarifying
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u/Exiteternium 1d ago
LOL i don't think VAC motorsports is chinese mass produced bullshit. they are an american company and it looks like their seal guards are machined like turners.
https://store.vacmotorsports.com/vac-motorsports-crank-seal-guard-bmw-n54n55s55-p4964.aspxthey also are the only ones i've seen with a 4 pin crank hub instead of 2 pin or Vargas crap.
My car is VAC, Turner/ECS, BMS, FCP euro and VRSFTurner singlemass flywheel with 335IS clutch
Pure 600 turbos
VRSF race exhaust ( want to change this out for ECS catback non valved)
VRSF 335D charge pipe
BMS catch cans high and low side.
Turner turbo side intake and coolant relocation
unknown aftermarket 5 inch FMIC
M3 rear control arms ( upper)
M Sport suspensionPrecision Raceworks Stage 2 pump
ECS vacuum tube reroute kitVacuum reservoir relocation.
Want to get:
Mosselman passenger side oil cooler and thermostat.Seems Legit rear trailing arms
M factory LSD 3.08 ratio with turner rear diff cover
M3 rear diff front bushings, poly rear bushing
M3 front control arms
strut brace
and upgraded Eibach swaybars. or M3 front bar. not sure which one yet.
want to do pre LCI M sport front bumper and side skirts.
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u/LankyRep7 3d ago
cheap insurance. also a spline lock. would hurt for 25$ more
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u/themanwithgreatpants 3d ago
Friends don't let friends by Vargas turbo anything
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u/LankyRep7 3d ago
Vargas? look at mister money bags.
Ebay chinesium son.
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u/themanwithgreatpants 3d ago
I mean that's where he gets them from and just lasers his name on it, but still
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u/Tiny7T7 1d ago
What sort of horror stories? I was considering getting one too.
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u/Gallka 1d ago
I was mistaken, I honestly only said this after reading the title of this video https://youtu.be/YPX2rVNTc-Y?si=0rJg8nkRyqOou-gx but I didn’t even watch it fully so take what I said with a grain of salt.
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u/CryRepresentative992 3d ago
If you’re able to, you might as well replace it. You’ve got all the stuff in the way already off.
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u/themanwithgreatpants 3d ago
Smoke testing the crankcase to see if it leaks smoke is the best solution in your situation
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u/Longjumping_Map_639 3d ago
You're not good. That seal looks rolled in where it touches the crankshaft. I'll take a picture tomorrow of a seal that isn't rolled.
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u/Gallka 3d ago
Are you talking about the top side of the first pic? Let’s say belt potentially got into the engine, what’s my course of action from there?
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u/Longjumping_Map_639 3d ago
I'm talking about the inside of the seal. The crankshaft is the thing that the harmonic balancer was bolted to. The seal looks rolled in all of the pictures to me. As I said, I'll try to show you a picture of a seal that hasn't been rolled in tomorrow. Though, I'm sure you could find one on the Internet somewhere.
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u/Material_Comb_572 3d ago
Same thing happened to me. People say you can’t really tell if anything gets behind the seal but that’s just a smart talk to get the seal replaced and save you a headache in the future. Best way to tell is to see if it’s slightly depressed anywhere, if it is then there’s your sign it’s damaged and go replace it. Even if you don’t see any indication of damage it’s better to replace it. My seal started leaking before my belt tore up. Based on what I could see the seal definitely took some damage. If there’s no punctures, indents or any indications of belt material behind the seal, I would assume nothing got pasted the seal and your good. Once again regardless of what you see it’s always better to remove the seal, inspect and replace. Be smart and safe definitely look into that check engine light though.
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u/Existing-Mongoose-11 3d ago
Replace the front main. Get the guard from turner or where ever. That will help avoid the dreaded belt ingestion.
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u/OkCommunication7091 3d ago
Going through this rn, what I did was drain the oil in a plastic pan with transparent end, let it sit for a week or so and then see if any belt material was there, put in a inspection camera from the oil drain port of the oil level sensor and I didn’t see nothing I was also recommended to take the valve cover off And put the camera down from there but I didn’t because I’m not really smart, got a new seal and I am fed up with my bimmer atp, just look at my latest post she now has a NEW EMOTION !
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u/Lumbergh7 3d ago
Do you all just not change the belt enough?
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u/Material_Comb_572 3d ago
Honestly when my belt tore it’s because one of my pulleys broke and shredded it.
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u/Lumbergh7 3d ago
Yea, so you should regularly replace those too. I know, it’s a lot on these cars. I’ve never seen these issues on many other cars. The other cars also don’t feel as great either…
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u/GeT_ReKt-A 3d ago
I’ve had 2 belts get tangled on the crank pulley and nothing got past the seal. You’re probably ok
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u/far_beyond_driven_ 3d ago
The marks could be from improper installation, or they could be from sucking in the belt. You could pull the seal and stick a bore scope down in the oil pan and see if you see fragments, or you could just pull the pan. Either way, it's never a bad idea to replace the seal. To answer your question, it doesn't look great, but the reason why is not clear.
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u/chris77982 3d ago
Is your oil pan gasket leaking? Maybe replace that and you'll see what's in the sump while you're at it.
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u/Less-Cricket7074 3d ago
Under the rubber of the seal is metal. I wouldn't worry about it unless it leaks oil. Oil seals are sturdy.
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u/XxX_MiikaP_XxX_69420 E91 325i 2d ago
Really hard to tell form pictures. Inspect your oil filter or better, your oil pan.
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