I was sitting at the red light yesterday when I heard a loud pop and then my battery light and trunk light came on and a few seconds later my car started overheating and my entire dash was lit up...I pulled off the side of the road and seen my belt had broken, well turns out that my entire crank pulley came apart half of it is still on the car and half of it where the belt goes is broken off. I bought the new OEM pulley from MINI today but I was just wondering what the special tool is to get the crank pulley off and put the new one on? if its a hard job? and if someone has the steps to do it. Im not sure if theirs a key that needs to be in place to keep the timing or cams in place?

 

The pulley and timing are independent. This thread should help.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...oem-tools.html

or this:RA Removing and installing or replacing vibration damper (COOPER S).pdf

 

There's no key for the pulley. Removal takes a puller, but you have to have something to press against, like a long bolt into the crankshaft. Just be careful to not strip the thread out of the pulley, cause it will be real hard to get off if that happens.

Also check out our ATI damper for a replacement, it's just a bit lighter and will last longer.

 

so what holds the cams in place? just sticking a long bolt? i wish i would have known about that ATI damper, i just bought the OEM though.

 

is the job a hard job? im a girl, i was going to have my friend come help me hes a honda mechanic though

 

It's not a hard job once you get the pulley moving off of the crank. There is a gear on your crankshaft and a gear on your cam with a chain connecting the two internally. That's why you don't have to worry about the position of the pulley.

 

It's not a hard job once you get the pulley moving off of the crank. There is a gear on your crankshaft and a gear on your cam with a chain connecting the two internally. That's why you don't have to worry about the position of the pulley.

 

ok i have a question once you loosen the bolt on the crank is everything locked into place automatically or do i have to worry about the gears moving and coming off timing? or what can i use to lock the motor into place if so?

 

The crank is connected to the timing chain internally. You won't affect the timing by anything you do to the belt on the outside.

 

You need to go to your local auto parts store and rent a puller. It's usually free with a refundable deposit. You may also need to go to your local hardware store to buy a long bolt with the correct threading because those pullers usually don't have the correct size bolt for your crank. Make sure you get the right thread, you don't want to mess up the threads on your crank.

 

what thread do i need

 

If you follow the first link that Oxybluecoop posted at the beginning of this thread you will get all the information you need to swap your pulley. I found this link very helpful when my factory pulley broke in half as well.

The thread pitch is 1.75, I think. Just to be sure, you should remove the factory crank bolt and bring it with you so you get the right one.

 

i did but i didn't understand very well because he was talking about cutting bolts down to size ect.

 

so do the crank pulleys breaking in half happen often?

 

Yes, it's very common. Those pulleys have a rubber damper center that gets old and weak and eventually fails. I replaced mine with an ATI Super damper from WMW.

Just use that link as a guide. I didn't buy the rods and cut them down either. Once you remove your crank bolt you can bring it with you to use as a reference for sizing. Your mechanic friend will know all of this as well.

 

he wants to know if turning the engine on to crack the bolt loose will mess up the timing he's trying to step on the brake and crack the bolt lose while having the car in gear but its not working its still turning

 

I've never heard of trying it that way but I really wouldn't recommend it. Just put the tranny in 6th gear and apply the brakes hard. You will break it loose that way.

 

ok i got the bolt loose, i went to autozone and the guy saidhe didnt have a damper puller big enough to fit that bolt size? sooo any suggestions?

 

Autozone should have a generic pulley puller. Looks like a Chicken foot cost about 15 bucks. May need to ask for a steering wheel puller.

 

Is that the only auto parts place around you. Just about all of the have tool rentals. BTW that crank pulley is actually pretty small. Did you ask Autozone if the center hole is big enough for a 12mm bolt? It should be.

 

Now that I think of it, any three prong puller will work. Just make sure to buy a longer crank bolt to push against. Read that link again and you'll see what I mean. The three bolts that connect to the pulley itself are 6mm.

 

You wouldn't happen to live in central FL, would you? If so I can help.