Drivetrain (Cooper S) MINI Cooper S (R53) intakes, exhausts, pulleys, headers, throttle bodies, and any other modifications to the Cooper S drivetrain.

Drivetrain What in the world just happened? Just added 17% pulley and then this...

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Old Apr 12, 2017 | 06:12 PM
  #1  
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What in the world just happened? Just added 17% pulley and then this...

This past Monday I drove from Asheville, NC for 4 hours to a reputable shop to get my 17% pulley added to go along with Alta Intake and Colder plugs on my 06 cooper s w/ auto transmission. I have LOVED driving it since then. Such a better power band and good gains on butt dyno.

So I am driving for my job about 3 hours ago and as I pull into park I hear a nasty rattling sound and think for sure its the belt tensioner. Turned the engine off. The pictures provided are what I found. No idea what exactly has happened.

I am about to call a tow truck when a guy comes up asking if I needed help. Was a car restorer he claimed. I said no thanks this needs to be towed, but after looking it over he claimed he could fix it with his tool set in his car.

About an hour later we finally together somehow get that bolt back lined up with the tensioner and managed to tighten it down as best we could with as little room as we had to work with. We started the car up and it seemed to be running fine... No more rattles. Never got a CEL. I tipped the guy 100 bucks for his troubles....but did he actually fix the problem? Or did my tensioner break? Or what? And was this problem due to a faulty install with the pulley? I was able to drive the 10 or so miles and stay out of boost as much as possible and now it's parked at my place. Is my car safe to drive? Please advise because without my car I don't get paid I have emailed the tuner to see what he has to say but wont hear back from him until tomorrow I am sure. I need to know wtf happened now before I worry myself to death
 
Attached Thumbnails What in the world just happened?  Just added 17% pulley and then this...-0412171858_hdr.jpg   What in the world just happened?  Just added 17% pulley and then this...-0412171858a_hdr.jpg  
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Old Apr 24, 2017 | 06:48 PM
  #2  
pnwR53S's Avatar
pnwR53S
6th Gear - NAM Hall of Fame
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From: soggy pnw
Originally Posted by tsiug
This past Monday I drove from Asheville, NC for 4 hours to a reputable shop to get my 17% pulley added to go along with Alta Intake and Colder plugs on my 06 cooper s w/ auto transmission. I have LOVED driving it since then. Such a better power band and good gains on butt dyno.

So I am driving for my job about 3 hours ago and as I pull into park I hear a nasty rattling sound and think for sure its the belt tensioner. Turned the engine off. The pictures provided are what I found. No idea what exactly has happened.

I am about to call a tow truck when a guy comes up asking if I needed help. Was a car restorer he claimed. I said no thanks this needs to be towed, but after looking it over he claimed he could fix it with his tool set in his car.

About an hour later we finally together somehow get that bolt back lined up with the tensioner and managed to tighten it down as best we could with as little room as we had to work with. We started the car up and it seemed to be running fine... No more rattles. Never got a CEL. I tipped the guy 100 bucks for his troubles....but did he actually fix the problem? Or did my tensioner break? Or what? And was this problem due to a faulty install with the pulley? I was able to drive the 10 or so miles and stay out of boost as much as possible and now it's parked at my place. Is my car safe to drive? Please advise because without my car I don't get paid I have emailed the tuner to see what he has to say but wont hear back from him until tomorrow I am sure. I need to know wtf happened now before I worry myself to death
In order to change the SC pulley your reputable shop had to remove and later reinstall the belt tensioner that came loose as in your photo. You should recount the event with the shop and show them the photo. It is possible they neglected to properly tighten the two bolts that fasten it to the engine block. The other possibility is the tech stripped the screw thread, but that is very hard to do being a cast iron block.
 
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Old May 1, 2017 | 11:11 AM
  #3  
Whine not Walnuts's Avatar
Whine not Walnuts
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Joined: Mar 2013
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From: Fuquay Varina, NC
What did you find out?

If the shop did not have a belt tensioner tool, then they most likely loosened the top bolt so that they could use it as a fulcrum for a flat bar (done this myself several times) and they then did not tighten the bolt back. At that location the bolt is mating into aluminum and not cast iron. If they had the tool then they did not tighten the bolt back up.
 
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