I have a 2005 MCS with a 15% SC pulley and stock belt. It was installed February of 2005 but only has about 10,000 miles. How often should the belt be changed?

 

Perferably once a year. two tops .. after that I personally dont trust it.. no matter what belt i use. This is after Busting 2 belts.

 

I was just begining to wonder the same thing...

I have just over 37k miles on my 05 MCS, and the JCW belt that I use with my 15% was put on at just over 1k miles. Never have changed it.

 

These belts will show signs of wear long before they must be replaced. Best just to inspect it and replace as you see fit. I replaced my stock belt at about 45k when I got my 15% pulley. Now I am at 76k and that "new" belt is just fine.

 

Yea I've looked down at it, and it looks perfectly fine to me. Just wondering how long they usually last.

 

I suggest also checking the indicator on the tensioner. After nearly 2 years and 20k miles with a stock pulley and m7 16% pulley I'm overdue. See attached for what I mean.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...69&postcount=9

 

i guess ur not hard on your car. i have to change mine within a year no matter what type ive used...

 

I change mine every 10k.

 

I just had mine double checked, and much like I thought, it's in perfect condition. Its in perfect shape after a pretty hard 40k miles.

Maybe my dealer changed it sometime without me knowing?? I dunno.

 

Under normal street use about every 2 years or about 20,000 miles or which ever comes first.

Under track conditions every 6 months.

I usually change once per year about 8000 miles or less. After 6 belt changes only one was frayed (6 months of wear- mostly street use), none broke, most were fine.

 

How hard is it to change the belt? What exactly is involved? Do you have to jack up the motor such as when the pulley is installed?

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=81741
See post #10
You need the belt tensioner tool
and a small thin screw driver or similar sized ice pick.
Basic tools
Remove the passenger front tire and wheel well plastic- pulled back is OK.

You would jack up the motor if you had to remove and replace the belt tensioner part itself but not for replacing the belt. 30-40 minutes usually.

 

Sitting at 38k miles and 1.5 years, like others mine looks fine / seems fine. I'd imagine you'd want to change more often than necessary if you're looking for that last nth of performance. Or if you're using a belt-shredding 19% reduction pulley... :P

 

speak of the devil....i lost one rib the other day and final got to my friends house today for the tensioner.

decided to go out tonite and jumped on it "alittle bit" and heard something fly under the car and the boost dropped and the s/c started gargglin....lost have the belt. im off tomorrow so im gonna put the lightened crank pulley i bought on and a new belt. yay

 

just as an fyi... you won't notice a slipping belt on the butt dyno. The belts depredation to slipping is such a slow process that you ease into it. After seeing mini's on the dyno I think a lot of people are driving around with belts that are slipping without noticing it. Since belts cost about 15 bux... I see no reason for that.

I look at it this way. Change the belt is an amazingly easy process. Scoop up one of those bmw tools and your 75 in the hole. But have a tech change your belt twice and you're also 75 in the hole. Buying and switching belts often is cheap insurance that your car is running at the optimum performance level. It's also quite easy, experienced techs such as way of waymotorworks can do it only having to remove the front lower plastic skirt and that's it in about 10 minutes. This means by the second time you do it... I'd bet you're down to 30-40 minutes as a diy. If you can change your own oil, you can definitely change your belt.

 

def a easy swap out....took me about 30mins cuz i have fat hands so i took off the wheel and pulled the liner back.

i had 2 ribs left on the belt.

 

i did it with my passenger side wheel off and liner pulled..

is there any easier way?? i gotta perform another swap soon and I don't feel like pulling all them bolts out again...

 

What replacement brand do you guys use? Any part number/s for 15% red. pulley?

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=120478

Check hornguy's post (4th). NAPA 060535 is recommended by John of LDG.

 

...isnt john NEW to the mini scene. so how would he know which belt is better for these cars.

p.s.....ive def know ive been doin this longer than him and havent noticed a difference in any belt used as long as its the right size

 

I wouldn't say he's new to it at all. I notice a difference between a 539 and a 535.

 

which do you use and what differences are you seeing?

then im mistaken....just never really heard of these guys and hear people say "they" rec it.

 

I change mine about every 30k, I've been using the one from Mini for the JCW set up. So far they have all looked fine when I replaced them, just did it because I don't like being stuck.

Nik