Hello ppl!

Well we finally got the KMT pulley from Slovenia installed. It is a 2 piece pulley much like any other pulley.

Let me say one thing first. For the price it is the BEST BUY, honestly it looks like a pulley, it feels like a pulley, it's made just like the other pulleys with CNC machines, the grooves are perfect, the pulley in general is pretty well made.

Anyway... so the removal... .. lemme say that what a pain in the a**.. we broke the pulley puller trying to remove my pulley (I have an 02), the freaking thing would't come off, not even a bit!, it stripped part of the tool so we cleaned it off and tried to reuse on the 06 automatic.

It came right off, obviously with some effort but it came off clean.

We installed the KMT pulley and it slid right in, put some thread lock on the bolts, tighten them up and we put everything back in place.

We took it out for a test drive and IT PUUUUUUUUULLLLLLEEEEEDDD!!! WOOHOOOOO what a huge difference!!! so we went back to work on the other 2 cars (both 02 :impatient)

we got the other car first figuring "well, mine isn't coming off and we used the half broken tool to remove the 06's pulley so we should re-try mine at the end"

Well we started screwing the tool, the pulley was coming out, half way theeeeeere and BAM! the tool finally gave up and the bolt stripped completely inside!

We couldn't remove the tool so we had to cut it using an airtool... yep a cutting wheel :impatient..

So we cut the tool free off the pulley and since there was no way to put that pulley back in all the way we had to cut the culley off the shaft.

Well 2 hours later and after using a cutting wheel and a dremmel tool we got the pulley off the S/C shaft. Installed the pulley and I went to work on mine while the others put that car together to testdrive it.

I cut mine off too using the same tools and put mine together before the other guys got a chance to put their's .

Went for a test drive and that was my face when I came back... what a huge difference!!!!

So we went back and started the other car up and there is a griding noise Oh NOES!

Took everything apart and tried to remove the KMT pulley and holy crap was that attached to the shaft... which is good, that tells you that thing is never gonna slip off the shaft.

We finally got it out and there is a metal clip/ring on the S/C wall... aparently MINI uses that for tampering check, it was bent and wavy so we removed it.

installed everythingn back up and started the car and it worked!!!

So to conclude, to all of you who said "OMG WHY WOULD YOU PAY SO LITTEL FOR A PULLEY, THERE HAS GOT TO BE SOMETHIGN WRONG WITH IT, WHY ARE YOU BUYING FROM A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY".. there...

and to Ambroz Kavs, thank you for contacting me with info and thanks for the business!!


Here are a couple of pics
http://gallery.morker.us/pulley/

 

Pulley before it went on the car.





Old pulley coming off the hard way.



Anyone going back to stock? I have an OEM pulley, I can let it go for A STEAL!

No but in all seirousness, our pulley performed well. It went onto the '06 without a hitch. Once those collet bolts are tightened tho, that sucker is ON. We removed the bolts from mine completely to remove it to inspect the grinding noise (which wasn't the fault of the pulley), and had to pry the pulley off with a bit of brute force. All in all, I gotta say the pulley works. Thanks Ambroz!

Total cost of parts for pulley install: $67 for pulley + $20 for a JCW belt.

 

wow!! That a rude way of getting the stock pulley off lol

Enjoy the pulley!

 

lol.. yep.. but it worked hahahaa

 

Slovenia?

 

 

Still it was definitely an "informative" day, and we did manage to get all 3 cars up and running in the end. Sorry I had to bail before Aeromax was done. I was impressed with the KMT pulley, especially for the price. All I have to say is that it’s my turn next heh.

 

I'm waiting for the pulley from Uzbekistan to be released for $19.99...

Good write up, and glad to hear it's working well. The part is NOT expensive to make, and the mark up that we see on other pulleys is simply a combination of "what the market will bear", supply & demand, recouping R&D time, and desired profit margins from the manufacturer.

It would be great to see some of the prices drop for the "name brand" pulleys instead of being held at an artificially high (just my opinion) price...

 

Good deal, rock on.

 

I'm having a hard time deciding if it's worth the risk of dealing with a business in a 3rd world country or just go with the Uber Titanium pulley for $798.97.

 

+1

 

either way, you're probably buying the same pulley

 

hahahahaha

 

yeah you know, the ones that make the lightbulbs, right?

 

To be honest, I'd have been fine buying a pulley from one of the "big name" tuners. I was really waiting to find a good deal on a used one. We stumbled upon Ambroz, who goes on NAM and other boards by the name "fisher", and he told us he'd sell us the pullies we wanted which worked out to be $67 apeice. That included the pulley, the shipping, wiring the money via western union, etc. The pullies came quickly, and without any hassle whatsoever. Ambroz makes them in a machine shop which is run by his father, a company which specializes in pullies for automotive applications. We felt confident in our decision, and wanted to try a product from someone new. I'm happy to say, we have no regrets whatsoever with our choice. This pulley is used by other people in Slovenian mini circles as well as Ambroz himself, and seeing as Minis in Slovenia aren't any different than Minis here, we saw no reason for doubt.

Just to be clear, I'm in no way trying to slander any of the more well-known pulley manufacturers and their prices. People pay what they feel is justified for the parts they buy, and even at twice the cost of our pulley, the result you get from most 15% pullies is still WELL worth the money. You decide what's important to you. This pulley came from half way around the world, came wrapped in a Slovenian newspaper, and no instructions. Not that we needed instructions, because the pulley install is so simple, and really installs just like most other two peice pullies. If having an aluminum pulley is important to you, then this pulley is not for you. The KMT pulley is made out of steel.

To sum up- we took a chance with a product that nobody this side of the Atlantic has ever heard of and had success while saving money at the same time. Wether anyone else decides to buy this pulley as well remains to be seen, but we had excellent results.

Edit- Slovenia is not a 3rd world country so I don't think we should be referring to is as such...

 

Honestly, the ones who works electrical servo for MINI and others and much more.

 

mm maybe i might buy one. for that price it makes me want to get a pulley!
but wat do you know. fisher left a post here! i dont have to look for him.
ill add him to my buddy list so when im ready. ill buy a pulley from him.

but one quick question that's probably been asked before. does the pulley void your warranty in any way?

 

Depends on how nice your mini dealer is. I don't have any personal experience with it, so I can't say for sure.

 

yeah. after i asked. i did a quick search and many said it depends on the dealer. i guess ill ask them when i get my oil change. probably in about 2 months.
and i may be buying one from fisher sometime soon
i may not install it right away. but might as well get it and have it until im ready to install.

 

They come rather quickly. I believe he shipped them on a Monday, and they arrived on thursday. Correct me if I'm wrong Chisss?

 

That metal ring chisss mentioned unceremoniously discarding, is the shaft seal retainer. If after installing a pulley there is any extra resistance to turning, there is binding against this retainer/scuff protector; that would indicate either an installation issue or pulley manufacturing spec inaccuracy.

Would you show some photos of the failed puller for the OEM pulley please?

The two non-recessed holes in the center of the pulley are for pulley removal (or should be) on a collet style aftermarket pulley. Use two bolts with the same thread size and thread pitch as the pulley fasteners and screw them in those holes to separate the collet from the pulley. Unless the SC shaft is very buggered the collet should slide off easily afterwards; if not, then back to the drawing board for either the design or machining tolerances. In the photo below I’m using bicycle quick release wheel skewers from a Camagnolo Record group in lieu of “longer bolts”.

 

ywah k-huevo, we ended up doing that to remove the pulley.

The clip was bent in aeromax's car, must've been like that from before because wen never touched that clip until we saw the problems.

as far as being a pulley defect, well it's not since it's working now with no problems.

Aeromax, he shipped on Monday and it came on Tuesday of the following week. so a week and a day for shipping.

 

Well unfortunately, we had no bolts of the same thread pattern to remove the pulley, but all is good now. When we removed the retaining clip, we inspected the area behind it and judged by looking at it that the little metal clip wasn't needed as it looked like an internal seal. So far so good, let's hope it stays that way.

 

I'm impressed, you just happen to have an extra set laying around, very nice.

 

Sorry Fisher, no disrespect meant. Any chance you can machine those pulleys in other metal ...like aluminum or even Titanium?