HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE PUT IN THERE OWN PULLEY? And how did ya make out?

 

I did, it hasn't fallen off yet, and its been on for ~120,000+ miles

Nik

 

OMG, I read install instructions and I hardly even want to watch someone that knows what they are doing install one. Yet, I can't wait! Soon I hope.

 

I did mine, and haven't had any problems. If you're comfortable working on cars you should be fine.

 

I had a buddy to help me, we did it in 3 hours for our first time. it's fun. with beer.

 

anyone in the md area wanna help me install mine?
dont feel like forking over all that cash to install it.

 

it was the first thing i did to my mini. I've got moderate car experience and heavy bike experience.

 

Randy's instructions in the "How to" sectio is very well writte and should help anyone with moderate mechanical skills.

I did it, and that's something to say.

 

Wasn't that hard, just a long process. Took me something like 4 hours by myself on a 95* day.

 

If i was back in md i'd help out, but i moved =P

me and my friend did exhaust, intake, crank pulley, supercharger pully, in about 3 hours.

 

I did it myself 13K miles ago, no problems with it yet.

 

and the hassle is dependant on the puller used. Also, a few (one of mine included) seem to ahve been really, really frozen on. If you get one of these, the job explodes and you have to cut it off. There's a thread around here showing some examples of that.

But it's not a hard job at all.


Matt

 

I Did my own. Not difficult to do if you have the right tools.

 

I watched/slightly helped Draggonmann install mine. Didn't seem to hard, just make sure to watch the lines when raising/lowering the engine so you don't cut or pinch them.

-Cody

 

Errr... went great until I realized that I hadn't slid the collar all the way on to the shaft before putting the pulley on. The reason I didnt is because the collar didn't fit freely over the shaft, it took some light force. I really wish the documentation I found went over this part in better detail with pics.

Lesson Learned: You'll get to install the pulley twice if you don't get it aligned right the first time. If using the classic taper bore fit. Push that collar all the way on to the shaft, so far that the shaft comes out the otherside and the collar is under the S/C cast lip piece. Then when you put the pulley on, it will definetly bottom out, with the back to the end of the shaft, and the bolts will then pull the collar back into correct position.

PS. Get the tensioner tool that has the LONG nubs on it, otherwise you could get stuck with the one they use on AUTO's that I did, and has the tendency to come out at the most in opportune moments, and you'll get a nice self inflicted smack on the head with the tensioner arm bar.

 

I installed my own 19% ALTA pulley, JCW injectors, colder plugs, GIAC ECU flash, Miltek exhaust, JCW intake, JCW suspension, and JCW brakes. It's been so long now (almost 3 years!) that I don't really remember doing the installs, but I don't recall having any real problems either. The MINI is a pretty straight forward car to work on as long as you have the proper tools.

 

what did everyone use for a tensioner tool?

 

Uh...the tensioner tool.

EDIT: Seriously, I carry one in the boot with a spare belt, if you need to borrow it just let me know. The best time to stop at Inskip and get it would be on Saturdays(except the 22nd of this month).

 

If the engine is lifted its easy. I used a pry bar and some allen wrenches. But to change the belt without the engine lifted a tensioner tool is well worth the money!

Nik

 

Wait -- it's possible to get someone else to do you for you?

Oh, great -- now you tell me.....

 

It can easily be done without a tensioner tool, I learned after a while. I used this method when I changed my belt a couple weeks ago.

Take a short 16mm socket, and wedge it onto the front-most bolt of the tensioner, near the supercharger pulley. To help this, the stamped metal where the hood latch is will actually flex a bit if you pull on it, so you can get the socket in there easier. I did a lot of scratching of paint on that part, but c'est la vie.. nobody will see it anyway.

Next, take a smallish allen wrench, and stick the short end (it's the only way it will fit) into one of the holes on the tensioner, where the tool would normally go. THen get a narrow yet ridgid bar, or peice of metal stock. Stick it under the allen wrench, and use the 16mm socket as a fulcrum. Pull down on the bar, and stick a small screwdriver or another allen wrench into the locking hole near the spring on the tensioner. Now, you're all set. It can easily be done by one person. I actually prefer this method to using a real tensioner because when I did a pulley install, i happened to have a tensioner tool but it slipped as I was reaching in to insert a pin into the locking hole, and i smashed my finger really badly. The tensioner tools have a habit of doing this in my experience.

 

Bump!!

 

I've done six or seven pulley installs so far, with no major problems or difficulties. I use the Alta Pro puller and the factory tensioner tool.
Some things I've learned:

As per Randy's directions, you need to thread a bolt into the end of the supercharger shaft to keep the puller from damaging the shaft. The bolt that attaches the passenger-side ground strap works perfectly for this.

Randy Webb's directions are excellent, but if you're installing a pulley on a car with an auto transmission, be prepared to be flexible - there are some brackets/braces/assorted hardware that have to be removed to get to everything in an auto car that you don't have to mess with on a manual car.

As others have said, make sure the tapered collar is bottomed out all the way on the shaft before attaching the pulley.

If you have a 2005+ car, There's a big honkin' U-shaped aluminum bracket that makes it difficult to get your hand/wrench in to remove the tensioner. The bracket is just held on to the engine with four identical 16mm bolts, so it's easier to just remove the bracket entirely to gain easier access to the tensioner assembly.

When you re-install the tensioner, start with the smaller bolts to the rear of the car and work forward. If you start off with the larger front bolt (the one you use as a pivot point for the tensioner tool), it makes it harder to line up the other bolts. Also, don't tighten down any of the four tensioner bolts until you have all four of them started.

Disconnect the electrical connection from the coil pack. I guess it depends on how/where you lift the engine, but the first place I ever get any interference while raising the engine is where the coil pack's electrical plug hits the coolant overflow bottle that's mounted on the firewall. Removing the plug gives you an extra inch of so of clearance.

I've installed the Alta V1, Alta V2, Helix, and M7 pullies, and they're all about equally-easy to install. The only difficulty I had is that with the Alta V2 pulley, the innermost bolt that attaches the collar to the shaft is partially blocked by the supercharger casing, making it hard to get an allen socket in there to tighten it to the proper torque spec. You can easily get a regular allen wrench in there, but you need an allen socket if you're going to use a torque wrench (which you should).

If you have an aftermarket air intake that uses hose clamps to attach the filter to the airbox, or the intake hose to the airbox/throttle body, be sure to wipe any oil off of the inside of the filter collar and hoses, and only tighten the clamps until the connections are snug. If you overtighten the clamps, they just pop off.

 

I was wondering where is the link to the instructions??

 

Here:

http://store.webbmotorsports.com/for...topic.php?t=17

and here:

http://store.webbmotorsports.com/for...topic.php?t=16

and here:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ead.php?t=5338