I am thinking about installing an ALTA supercharger pulley, and looking for an easier way to do it. Anyone tried this method and any comments on potential problems?

pulley install

Thanks

 

not for the faint of heart, but having watched Randy do a bunch, it IS doable.You'll need 4 jack stands , 2 floor jacks, a pulley puller (like in the third pic) , some kind of belt tensioner tool. My suggestion is go to a webbmotorsports pulley party and pay the man to do it RIGHT. It's quite a show and you'll learn ALOT about this car/engine in the process. Jock.

 

I've always found Randy Webb's "How-To's" to be the best written and easiest to follow. His supercharger pulley How-To is here.

 

I followed Randy's version on my '03. Easy. And, I've never tinkered with an engine like that before. You will learn a lot about this engine when you do a pulley swap--or watch someone else swap it.

dan

 

Randy is trying to put a pulley party for the first part of Nov. together. You may want to go to his website under pulley party and check the Boston area party. Or give him a call.

 

That guide skipped the need to remove your intake box to get enough clearance to lift the engine high enough to expose the SC Pulley. Then again, the method outlined involved removing the front passenger wheel and wheel liner so maybe you don't need so much vertical clearance to do it that way.

I had mine put in at Steve's Auto Clinic in L.A. (they do LOTS of them) and they had it down to around 1.5 hours w/o removing the wheel. It's actually a fairly involved undertaking and you definitely need the pulley removal tool(tools, they used 2 different types at various stages of pulley removal, maybe clearance issues from NOT removing the wheel) and a tensioner removal tool is nice too.

Also, going with a smaller belt (as the SC Pulley will be smaller causing more slack in the belt) would be a good idea if you are going bigger than a 15% reduction pulley. I had a JCW Belt put in (I think the JCW Pulley is 13.8% so it would work with the 15% pulley right?) when I had a 17% Alta Pulley put in, to reduce belt slippage.

I'm OK with working on basic car stuff but definitely didn't have half the tools required. I'm really glad I left it to the pros as it was really disturbing to see the engine lifted that far out and it was nice to know that someone knew how to put it all back together properly. I'm pretty sure I would have spend 5x the time and lost parts/nuts and stuff and then still would have had a pretty high probability of having to flatbed my Mini to Steve's to have it finished/done right in the end

Still, if you are handy and comfortable with the process, go for it. Lots of equally competent home car mechanic type guys have done it themselves with great success. Just make sure you have the right tools, torque specs and enough time to do it carefully.

Here are 2 additional detailed Pulley install methods from Randy Webb's excellent web site.
Old Invasive way that requires taking off the SC:
http://store.webbmotorsports.com/for...topic.php?t=16
Minimally invasive way using pulley removal tools:
http://store.webbmotorsports.com/for...topic.php?t=17

Nice instructions with tool/part lists and pictures as well!!

Good luck,

DaveC

 

Yes the do it yourselfer can do this but consider the tools necessary, the time spent and the fact that if you are not properly set-up you could get hurt.

3rd Pulley Install method - PAY a quality shop to do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Thanks for the input. I saw Randy’s method, and was just wondering if there was an easier way, so I came across the “remove wheel” method.

As I enjoy working on my stuff and have done more challenging endeavors; I will most likely do the job myself as it does not look that difficult. Besides..... that's what being a "car guy" is all about............doing your own upgrades, right?

Will purchase the ALTA 15% pulley and the Out Motoring Deluxe puller to alleviate removing the belt.

 

Yes I did it the easy way at Vegas -- I let Randy Webb do it

Earl

 

EXACTLY

I dropped mine off and then proceed to a T*tty bar down the street from the mechanic. Best install I ever did .

 

I love it Oh, wait, we were talking about installing a pully.

Earl

 

Um, folks, its really not that hard...

I ordered the Alta pulley and delux pulley tool from Outmotoring.com and I completed the entire pulley swap in about 2 hours! Its really a straightforward bit of business. With the delux tool you don't need to removed the tensioner, or the belt. All you need to remove is the engine mount!

I used the AMD pulley install directions, but the Webb directions or the Alta directions will also work.

All in all, I think it can be done in under 2 hours if you preread the directions and have all the recommended tools on hand. The nice part about the Delux pulley tool is it limits the total number of required tools to a minimum (floorjack, wheel ramps (or blocks), a couple of wrenches (including a good torque wrench), and an allen wrench set).

I will say that if you have NEVER worked on your car before, than maybe you should have someone else do it, but if you are reasonably handy, and can follow directions than this is a straight forward mod. Personally, this was the second thing I EVER did to a car (besides a CAI) and I didn't have any trouble with it.

my $0.02

RM2k5

 

RallyMINI2005:

Now that's what I'm talking about.

With the Deluxe puller, this should be a simple install.

I'm not sure that I have seen the AMD pulley install directions, but I will research that as well.

Thanks, guys

 

I need to loosen the belt to install a crank pulley. Dealer quoted me $165 for the tool. Are there any alternatives which are cheaper?

 

I think that the Outmotoring tool looks like the ticket. $100, one piece and you don't have to take the tensioner off...

CAn someone link to the AMD directions....

thanks!

-jac

 

What's a ballpark price for the installation of this? Not including the item, just pure labor?

 

I have an e-mail in to Randy as to what the charge is when done at a "pulley install party" will let you know.

 

Randy is $400 for a 15% pulley installed. (parts and labor at a PP)

He has more costs on his forum @ www.webbmotorsports.com

 

For those that need them, I have the AMD directions as a PDF, but I can't seem to find the link to the original location on the web. Let me know if you want me to email a copy!

Also, if anyone has a way to post the directions on their webpage or something, that would be even more helpful... it is a pretty big document (lots of good photos).

For those asking about a belt-tensioner tool, I just used a LONG piece of aluminum bar (about 1" by 0.5" by 6ft) and just pryed the tensioner up and placed the little screwdriver to hold it in place... pretty easy.

ciao
RM2k5

 

You could also go to Helix in Philly and let Eric do the pulley--none better!

 

PM sent for instructions...thanks!

 

RallyMINI2005:

Thanks, I got you PDF

 

With the deluxe puller or the Dinan puller you do not need to remove the airbox. Our group (PSMINI) did a pulley party with three members experienced in automotive work. We only took donatations for the labor as we did this as a help for the group. We installed 8 pulleys in 8 hours doing two cars at a time using the DINAN Puller. We had a garage that had all the tools we neeeded. We removed the the right front wheel, tensioner, and jacked up just the right side of the engine, it was pretty quick. We got a group buy on the pulley and the most anyone paid for the complete install was $200.00. Everyone that had them installed was happy with the results. If you have the access to a garage and someone with auto experience I would suggest a group party, we are planning our second pulley party now and will most likely do it in October or November.

 

mini-rolls:

Thanks for your insight on this. Very good information. The more I read up on this, I am sure that the best, less complicated way is to just lift the one side of the engine. With the correct puller, it will be that much easier. thanks again.