I recently bought a R53 cooper s with 176XXX miles and I had always planned on putting a reduction pulley on it, specifically the WMW 16% reduction pulley kit. I don't think the supercharger has ever been replaced, by the way. Is this a bad idea on a car with such high miles?

 

Not necessarily a bad idea, but you will want to get a health check on the engine before you start to do it.

 

thanks. When you say health test do you mean something like a compression test or anything else in particular?

 

Leak down test is a good start. Also have the rest of the engine checked by a good mechanic that knows MINIs to ensure that everything is in top shape.

 

Before tacking on that pulley, may want to perform a supercharger service if none has been done yet.

 

Ditto! You don't want to end up like I did driving cross country and have your super charger seize. That was before the pulley and only 80-90K miles. I didn't even make it to 100K where I planed a rebuild. Obviously a pulley is going to put more age into the SC so I'd strongly recommend having it serviced before hand.

 

sorry that im such a newbie, but when you say supercharger service do you mean I should have the supercharger oil changed? Or something else?

 

Basically yes, that is what they mean. There are two areas that have oil in them and if it runs dry your SC could chew itself up.

 

Supercharger service would mean the gears get checked out, gear oil is changed, rotor clearances are verified, rotors themselves appear to have little or no coating missing, and the rotors are still sealing correctly to make steady boost. Also make sure the water pump is in working order, as it's bolted to the back of the supercharger. If you have any issues, you can opt to find a supercharger with a lower mileage in the marketplace here or on E-Bay. If your supercharger needs repairs, I would recommend Stiegemeyer: http://www.stiegemeier.com/pricing.html. Scroll to the bottom for MINI pricing.

 

Normally I would say that is over kill, but with the milage on the SC, it might be totally worth it.

 

If there were some paperwork to prove servicing was done sometime around 100K miles, then a rebuild might not be necessary. Only thing I could suggest is find out if any local dealers or private shops worked on your MINI. Simply show them your registration proving you're the new owner, and they should be willing to help you out.