TSB for Harmonic Balancer (Crank Pulley) Failure?
 

It looks like the dreaded crank pulley failure bit me this past Sunday. I have a dealer service appointment for Thursday morning and I talked to a guy that used to work at bmw/mini service department today who told me he thinks there is a TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) out for the damper failure.

Can anyone confirm if this is true and if it is can provide a reference number for it?

Thanks in advance:thumbsup:

Never knew that was a problem on these car.....

I'm pretty sure the TSB refers to the early cars...'05 and later should already have the redesigned damper.

You are right, but the cutoff point is right around my "birth" date, I have an 01/05 build. I've never been able to clearly identify if mine is a pre or post redesign. I'm suspecting that it is an early design from the failure, but can't be 100% sure until I see it.

Do you have the TSB#, even if it is for early cars?

Thanks:thumbsup:

what symptoms were you experiencing before your balancer went to heaven? i have rattling/chattering coming from the belt-side with my 17% sc and 0% crank pulleys.

I will check tomorrow at work.

I think there is a pic posted on here somewhere showing the difference in the two.

Do you have a pic of the one on your car?

EDIT: check this post...
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...24-post21.html

My failure wasn't a gradual thing, at least I hadn't heard anything out of the ordinary coming from that side. I was at WOT when my car went into limp mode. It drives just fine as long as I baby it, it went into limp mode again the only time it was under boost.

It also makes an abnormal sound while driving, smells like burnt rubber, and has rubber residue around the engine mount on the passenger side. All tell tale damper failure signs. I probably won't get a chance to get good look at it unless the dealer denies warranty and I have to deal with this on my own.

Thanks for the link PARTSMAN, I haven't had the opportunity to take apart the wheel well area to take a look at the damage. Heck, I haven't even checked what code(s) I have stored. I'll post a pic if I get the chance.

The failure caused a series of additional issues: coolant reservoir started overflowing, I lost the first (low) stage of the radiator fan (although I don't know if that had happened before the failure), and now the A/C doesn't work. Good times!!

YUCK-y!

We had the same issue with our '05 S. The burning rubber smell was our belt which eventually started smoking and then snapped on the way to a shop. I was driving behind the husband and made him pull over when I saw the smoke. After we stopped was when the belt snapped. We were about 2 blocks away and had to get it towed. (We were taking it to a local shop because we were @ 50,700 miles... just 700 over the warranty for mileage.)

We had limp mode, VERY rough idling, A/C pressure was crazy, and lots of lights on the dash. The husband initially thought the problem was happening because of malfunctioning A/C... but malfunctioning A/C was because of the pulley issue which caused the misalignment and wear of the belt and so on. We were stock pulley.

I would love to know if there was a TSB issued and when it was issued.

I have an 01/03 would build, would it be a smart idea to swap to an 06 crank pulley?

The only one I could find is dated May 2002...SI M 11 01 02

My crank pulley has fine cracks all the way around the rubber. Does that TSB apply to cars out of warranty, and do they then replace it with a redesigned part?

My tech said there was another, more recent one...but I couldn't find it. Sometimes they are removed without notice.

If your car is out of warranty then it would no longer apply, and would be customer pay.
Depending on your dealer, and if your car doesn't have more 75k miles, then it could be eligible for a good will replacement.

This is the first I've heard of a crank pulley damper problem. However, our car (07/2002 MCS with 55,000 ,miles) does seem to have a burnt rubber smell after a drive. It seems to come from the back of the car, but I only smell it when I get home and am in the garage, so it might be wafting from the front. What do I look for? I just had the engine up to install a 15% pulley, so I'm bummed I didn't check the crank pulley more closely.
Ian
'02 MCS with original crank pulley

You'd actually access the crank with the engine down - through the wheel well. I'm not sure what to look for, but cracks can't be good...

Yeah, the crank pulley can be accessed by removing the front passenger wheel and well cover, pretty simple to check.

That's the same thing my tech told me. I left it at the dealership this morning, we'll see how it goes. When I told the SA of what happened (limp mode, SES/EML/LOW BAT lights on) he didn't let me finish when I told him what I thought was the problem. He just told me: engine damper, right? Looks like they've seen it sufficient times before.

To keep my bad streak going, I had a nail stuck in my front passenger wheel on the way to service.:mad: Since its the same wheel they have to remove for the crank pulley, they told me they would call me to go pick it up so I can fix it. I'm lucky I work about 1 mile from the dealership...

Quick Update: I picked up my car today from the dealership. Items fixed under warranty: Crank Pulley, A/C Compressor, Radiator Fan.

No TSB was referenced in the service papers, however, so I still don't know if there is a more recent TSB than the one PARTSMAN referenced. I asked the SA if he could get me the failed harmonic balancer to see if it was an older or newer version, but he didn't think it was available. I was in a hurry so I wasn't insisting too much.

I didn't push the car hard today, but something seemed out of sorts powerwise for some reason. Nothing specific, but just a feeling. Might be my mind playing tricks with me, who knows. I'll find out soon enough when I take it to the Dyno next time.

Thanks everyone for the help.

so revisiting an old thread...

my 03 mcs has a 17% sc pulley and a 0% crank pulley. over the past few months there's been an increasingly loud chatter from the pulley/belt side. also, there has been some burning rubber smell... someone else stated they smelled something weird and it turned out to be their belt.

what can i do now to fix it so it doesn't get worse? new harmonic balancer? should i also get a belt tensioner stop? please save my audrey from being another statistic!

Since you already have an aftermarket crank pulley (no harmonic balancer), my first thought would be your belt tensioner is giving out, which is not uncommon. (I seem to be saying this more and more as my MINI ownership continues)

Related to your aftermarket crank pulley? I can't say, but I've read of plenty tensioner assemblies giving out with stock crank pulleys. Try to pinpoint where the noise is comming from, or try to get a mini tech to diagnose it before it gets any worse. Rattling sounds are usually a sign of trouble.

Oh, and the tensioner stop already saved my a$$ once, so I'm a believer. If you already need to do some work in the tensioner/pulley area, it's a no-brainer for me.

Call up Detroit Tuned and pick up their tensioner stop cable, well worth the $25 or whatever it costs. Check your belt tensioner as those tend to go with a lot of miles and can be noisy.

As MiniMacPR stated, since you already have an aftermarket crank pulley installed...it sounds like you may have a bad tensioner and/or a stretched out belt.

I would replace the tensioner and the idler pulley, and install an Alta tensioner stop...
http://www.altaperformance.com/produ...Tensioner-Stop
... a much better design than the cable type.

I'm not sure what belt you're running, but you may need a different size.

I had to have my crank pulley replaced a few weeks ago out of warranty.

The rubber was allowing the outer area to wobble which created a clicking sound under light load.

I went with a solid zero OD pulley and now I get no noise.

Is my balancer pulley stuffed?
 

Hi All, It is my first time here. I have an 04 MCS Monte Carlo ltd edition (only available in OZ), with reduced supercharger pulley(not sure if 15 or 17%, last owner fitted it), hi-tech race tuned exhaust system (full system), MSD coil, Nology hotwires, Alta cold air intake, and colder Denso plugs. I can hear a ticking noise under load with the drivers window down. My BMW service rep thinks the balancer pulley may be on its way out. Do you think he's on the right track? I am considering a lightened crank pulley, but notice it does not have a balancer in it. Will this reduce the life of the engine or crank due to no damping or do they work fine. I am considering the lightened pulley as it is a quarter of the price of a genuine balancer pulley. (quoted at around $800)
I have no vibrations or burning smell, just this annoying clicking/ticking noise, especially under hard acceleration. If I didn't have my window down to hear it I wouldn't of known it was there. Any info would be appreciated. Warranty is not an option, being an 04 model, even though I only have around 60000 kms on the clock. I do get slight sort of pulsin of acceleration sometimes and when cruising on the highway. Again, I am lost and all your experiences would be great to hear.

It's hard to diagnose without actually hearing it, but if it is the harmonic damper, I only know of two aftermarket crank pulleys currently available that have harmonic balancer charcateristics.

1) RMW is a registered vendor here and offers a liquid filled damper replacement (I think, not too much info available). You would have to call him directly to check.

2) Werkin Mini is not a registered vendor here, but the owner (Keith) goes by the nam username khuevo. Go to www.motoringalliance.com for more info, he is a registered vendor on M|A and there is a thread about his harmoinc balancer offering.

WMW is also a registered vendor offering the Super Damper for the R53. It is almost half the weight the OEM crank pulley. A great alternative to the OEM and it should last longer.
http://www.waymotorworks.com/product...cat=272&page=2

Good to know Way:thumbsup:

Bump for a great vendor, and the one who sold me my first performance mods four years ago:cool: