anyone with the tensioner out, can you get the part number of the damper?

I think it's made by Stabilus... maybe it can be tracked down.

thanks!

 

I have my old one at home. I'll check it out after work and post it here. Good idea btw.

 

Stabilus
Stab-o-shoc
D-56070
5754PR 112/02 D 02

The last time I was searching for replacement dampers, there was a thread that someone said that they went to Stabilus, and they refused to sell the part. Somehow it seems they have some kind of contract with BMW.
Still worth a shot, things might have changed.

http://www.stabilus.de/us/main/products/dampers.html

 

Is that a BMW/Mini or Stabilus part #?

Sounds like an "exclusivity contract"... meaning BMW handed over a wad of cash to Stabilus to dictate how a component is distributed. In this case, it seems the damper can only be purchased as part of the complete tensioner assembly through Litens or Mini dealers.

 

Yep.....still hasn't changed since the last time I checked too.

 

Can't find anything for the Mini but there seems to be quite a few dampers for Mercedes C and E series available up to the late 90s. Price wise, they run $35-$55...

http://www.google.com/products?q=sta...ed=0CDkQrQQwAg

Unknowns:

1. Dimension & fitting - length of body and extension of the piston; diameter of the holes.

2. Damping rate: similar to Mini's?

 

I just discovered a piece of my powerflex belt damper bushing in my driveway I just installed them probably only less then 2 months ago. guess I'll be contacting powerflex. not sure where I bought them from..still going thru my emails.

 

Here are pics of my bushing. I just sent an email to powerflex. luckily I had my old dampener laying around

 

Can you measure the length of the the damper housing in mm? I'm trying to find out if it's possible to use Mercedes dampers. Thanks!

 

i was going to put these on this weekend but i think i will hold off.

At 50k i was going to replace as preventive but i guess ill just hold out on the stock.

Are there any batch numbers on the the powerflex brushings that might indicate what is bad?

-Jonathan

 

The body of the damper is 108mm.

 

Thanks for the replacement damper link Raven!

 

?

No link to an available product is there?

 

Forgot to ask... what's the diameter of the holes for the bolts.

Thanks!

 

I'll bet a dollar to a doughnut that the problem is the metal sleeve is too thick which doesn't allow enough material in the bushing to absorb the shock thus, it just hammers apart.

 

Any further info. on why the failures and if any corrective action has been suggested?

 

Powerflex UK told me they had a bad batch of the "goo" used to make the bushings. They sent me a replacement set made from the "new goo". Still don't know if I'll install them or not.
Jim

 

Thanks for the feedback. I hope you do install the new "GOO" ones and report how/if they stand up. Your the only one so far that I know that has the new goo stuff.

 

Looks like this site is suggesting a mercedes part to replace just the dampener:

http://www.all-miniparts.com/item.ww...s&weight=0.530

They also have a Meyle part listed on their mercedes website:

http://www.allmercedesparts.com/Shop...juster%20Shock

 

I knew these bushings wouldn't hold up! When I did my pulley, I had a tight budget and decided to not go for these. I have a huge amount of respect and trust for the powerflex bushings. I plan on replacing every single bushing on my car with them (with the exception of these and some others where i'd rather just replace the whole part with something aftermarket). I already have their engine bushings and have some trailing arm bushings coming in the mail soon. Their bushings are definitely super high qaulity, the tensioner just seems to be best fit to a rubber bushing. In this case, rubber wins over poly... imo anyways.

 

Tensioner bushing failed after a short period.....

 

FWIW, I went by the M-B dealer today to compare some of their dampers. Much too big!

 

I tracked a rattle I was having down to the dampener last spring, the rubber bushing on the end toward the rear of the engine had completely disintegrated. I removed the dampener to get #'s off it to start my internet parts search... that's when I realized the little strut was shot, and probably hadn't been doing whatever it was designed to do for some time. When I then discovered getting just the dampener was next to impossible, and having driven the car a couple days without it didn't seem to cause any ill effects I just left it off and threw it in a drawer of my toolbox.

That was 11 months, and almost 13,000 miles ago

Can someone explain what purpose it serves anyway?

 

If your belt ever breaks, you're going to be in some trouble unless you've installed a tensioner stop or strap (same thing). The damper limits and smooths the range that the tensioner pulley can move. It's necessary and you're taking a risk driving without it.

I had my belt break a couple of months ago. No damage because my tensioner was completely in tact. Just a bit of a pain in the butt to change when you don't have any tools with you and I happened to be in BFE! Thanks to some friends driving me to a Harbor Freight for some basic tools, I was able to replace the belt and get back on the road. It would have been much worse if the damper was removed.

 

Maitland Imports in Orlando, FL has come up with a great solution for this problem. I don't want to speak for them so hopefully they'll post here. Just in case they don't, here is a number for them; (407) 425-0545. Ask for Ian.