A/C Belt Tensioner

[foomonkey525i]

I recently replaced a couple pulleys on my fan belt. Anyway, to make a long story short, I broke the belt tensioner on my a/c belt. The hydraulic piston thing snapped in half while I was de-tensioning the belt to put it back on. What am I looking at to replace this? I've been without a/c for a while now, and I figure that once I'm done being young and reckless, I'll want it back, so I'll need to know which part to buy, and how I would be looking at spending. I tried using the omnicient Google, but I couldn't find much.

 

[Kirby]

Been there, done that - on my '94 325i. It seems like that cylinder is prone to freeze up over time.

I paid $48 at my dealer for the hydraulic tensioner with a 15% BMW CCA discount. It was not in stock, but only took 1 day to get from the warehouse. I'm guessing the 3 series and the 5 series use the same part.

 

[jsanchezhotbimmer]

Did you change the pulleys because of a noise they were making? When I start my 97 528i it starts making a noise and sounds as if it's coming from the pulley on the alternator or fan. Are these pulleys easy to change for a do it your selfer?