Ok so I have an 05 MCS,
Last night she just turned 60,000 miles. However at 60,015 problems started.
I was driving around town at maybe 30-35mph when my S/C went silent. I had a sudden drop in power and my dash lit up like a christmas tree. So I pulled over and decided to check it out.
Now a couple months ago I had my A/C compressor just "fall off" the engine block and the belt broke. It was a very similar experience so I was praying that wasn't the issue. Well it wasn't. Belt was intake, heck even the S/C pulley was still spinning. Just NO S/C whine or power.
I got the car towed back to the house and now I am trying to figure out what to do. The S/C definitely hasn't seized, could it be a pulley shaft or something that has stripped or what?
Do I need a full rebuild or just a rebuild of the pulley end of the S/C? Am I even on the right track with this or am I totally off base?

Thanks!

 

We have an '05 MCS. At 50,700 miles we thought the same thing. Reading the forums seemed like the S/C must have died. Sounds too familiar... the "Christmas Tree"... limp mode... A/C crap (we also had REALLY rough idle).

On the way to the closest independent garage (since we were 700 miles past warranty) there was a smell of burning rubber and some smoke. Immediately pulled the car over... turned it off... and after a couple of minutes we heard the belt snap (but the belt didn't look broken)! Only about TWO blocks from that garage ... but we had it towed so there wouldn't be any further damage. Once at the garage, the guy thought the S/C had seized because it wasn't turning. He reco'd that we try to get MINI to cover it so it was towed to the dealership.

We worked with Pat Wallis (I think the "king" of the pulley 'round these parts ). If I remember correctly, there was a piece of the belt that had gotten stuck and prevented movement of the S/C (it still spun). Thankfully the belt snapped after we were stopped so there was no other damage.

Anyway, we were the second one that week apparently. And it was the pulley (stock BTW). He showed us one that had heated up and split down the center which of course caused the belt to get all wonky and the craziness that ensued after that. Stressful time... but at least it WASN'T the S/C. Hopefully this will be the same for you.

I know there will be other more qualified people that can answer your question here (and some that just pretend to know more )... but I hope you get it all worked out! Just wanted to share with you that it might not be as bad as you're thinking.

Good luck!

 

Based on my own experience, I suspect that for whatever reason your s/c has seized but the torque of the motor has caused the pulley to lose its grip on the s/c shaft and the pulley now spins freely.

 

Yeah, I spoke to someone at an independent shop, They said that they are almost 100% sure that the pulley "assembly" has broken free of the working parts of the s/c, but its hard to tell if it has seized without looking at it. What can I do to check this sort of thing?
I have done all the work on my car since the warranty expired, if this something I should keep my hands off. Or is it something I could tackle? I have done extensive work on a number of my vehicle, but I am unsure of the "complete" workings of this supercharger. However I realize that the most expensive part for this repair would be labor, and $$ doesnt come easily these days

 

Do you have any pulley enthusiasts near you? Maybe someone like that would be able to help you.

I think there are DIY's on here about changing out the pulley. Probably the cheapest thing to try first. Are you still on the original stock from new?

We also had to replace the "low speed" fan which had burned out previously and were told that that may have had an effect on the pulley. (One good thing was that our car never overheated.)

 

I don't know how you can say with confidence that your s/c hasn't seized. You need to relieve the pressure on the s/c belt so that you can then feel whether the pulley is turning the s/c, or rotating freely on its shaft without turning the s/c. If the latter, then you are looking at a significant rebuild.

 

If the S/C shaft is no longer spinning, would that lead to the coolant over-heating as the shaft spins the coolant pump?

 

Yes.

 

Well... there it is, jduplooy.

If your coolant pump isn't spinning, the coolant won't be circulated from the radiator to the engine, causing the temp to rise. Be careful running the engine too long will lead to overheating.

 

I appreciate the responses. I am going to start pulling the car apart tomorrow. I bought a snout rebuild kit just in case that was the only issue. If I need a s/c rebuild I guess I am gonna just send it in somewhere to get that handled. Time will tell. I will keep you guys posted on my findings though

 

Is your car originally registered and currently registered in CA?

If yes, the S/C is still covered by the California Emission Warranty up to 7yrs/70,000 miles, which ever comes first.

 

oh my.. my 05 is at 54,500 miles now...what should i look out for?

 

old lady drivers on the road

 

Just replaced the crank shaft pulley on my '06 MCS JCW a few days before MITM. Was driving along and first the battery light came on and the Mini had a drop in power. Pulled over and turned it off, started it back up, drove a few hundred feet and it started all over. This continued for approximately one mile and then I started smelling the burning rubber. By then, the EMS, battery, DSC, and check engine lights were on. I had about 54,000 miles on mine when it happened. Quite the expensive repair at the dealer but had no choice... had to get it back on the road in time for MITM.

 

I just replaced my dead super charger off my '05 MCS a couple of weeks ago. This is what a dead S/C sounds like.
I have 102,000 miles on it.

 

OctaneGuy - What was the cause of the failure? Loss of lubricant in the water pump end, or something else?

 

Not sure. Danny has the super charger. When we took it off, it was completely locked. It couldn't be turned over.

 

Good call. Check this part out too. Our crank pulley are actually two pieces of metal separated by a layer of rubber. If the rubber gets destroyed you get what what is being described above.

 

Yup! That's what we saw. (There's a nice pic on the "pulley gone bad" thread.)

We were told that it could be associated with the low speed fan dying. And the symptom of the low speed fan dying is when sitting at a light and the car feels like it's going to stall... a kind of shudder.

 

Well i got on the Phone with Dustin from AutoXCooper last night. He helped me a great deal. It seems like the s/c may not be my problem after all. I noticed that when I rev my engine above 3000-3500rpm my crank pulley STOPS SPINNING!!
Not sure if that is the ONLY problem, but I have a brand new one sitting in my house now, so I am going to change that out First.
What do you guys think? Could something like that put the s/c "system" into a form of "limp" mode? The car is not overheating at all and s/c sounds smooth, so I am hoping that nothing is seriously wrong with it. Time will tell though.

Would I need to remove the whole bumper assembly, radiator etc to get back to the crank shaft pulley or is there an easier method?

 

having some trouble getting this crankshaft pulley off. I didnt buy the puller tool yet.
IS it possible to do it without the tool? Like some creative methods? or should I just buy the puller??

 

It's my understanding that you need the tool... but what do I know... I'm just a gal that relies on her friends to keep her informed on Mini related issues!

 

If it is your crank pulley you don't need to remove it to check it. Just need to spin the belt part without the main part and see if it will, or you can pry on it and see if it is seperated. We've replaced several of these lately.

 

Well The pulley install is done and that was definitely the culprit. S/C and everything is working perfectly now! thanks for all the help guys!

 

Good to hear