...oh and BTW,

- 1.5 yrs, stock pulley, 32,000 miles, no problems

 

I didn't read the whole thread but... no 17% pullies? How odd.
-G

 

no 17's are u sure? interesting.. was going to ask if anyone experience snapped/shredded etc belts with the 17.

 

well i'm putting a 17% alta in soon, so i'll be able to post for the end of this year's audit

 

I'm getting a 17% Helix next week too so I guess we'll be ready for the end of this year.
-G

 

Hey, I got a question. What happens when your belt snaps? Does the supercharger just become inoperable? Will the motor still run? I'm just asking because I don't want the belt to snap on me on the way to work and be stranded on the freeway or be forced to return home to replace it. It'd be much better if I could just go to work and then replace it at the end of the day.

 

when the belt snaps, DO NOT drive. The belt runs the water pump and the alternator. If you continue to drive, the car will overheat, and you will lose electrical power. You will also lose power steering, eventually, when the power gets low. These are all BAD...

 

as i understand it, it's quite easy to change a belt. Just carry a belt tensioner tool and a fresh belt with you, in the case that you snap a belt....

One thing you can do to stop damage resulting from a belt snap is investing in a tensioner stop. When your belt snaps, apparently the tensioner slams in to the crank and/or idler pulley or some such, and can cause a hell of a lot of damage....

If your belt should snap, the supercharger (which drives alternator, AC, and water pump, will stop working, and if nothing else, the engine will overheat without the water pump....i'd recommend stopping immediately

 

Don't you need to be able to remove the wheel well to get to the belt? So, you would need to carry additional tools to do that also, no? Also, where do you get this tensioner stop?

 

yes, you have to remove the wheel well to do this (sorry, forgot to mention that). Yeh i forget sometimes that some mini owners don't get the jack and wheel bolt thingimabob.....i got one in a bag that rests in the boot (trunk, or watever you guys call it ). So yes you'll have to carry all those tools if you wanna do it on the spot, but you could always leave them at your house and get them only when you need it, or when you go on a long drive....

I think a few ppl make the tensioner stop bar, GTT in the UK make one, but the cheapest option looks like this....

http://www.myminiparts.com/proddetai...prod=TSB&cat=7

 

Actually, I do have the jack and 'wheel bolt thingamabob.' Are there any other tools required to remove the wheel well? I haven't done this yet, but will do it in a week or two when I go 19%. What's the cheapest or best belt tensioner tool out there?

 

%15 about two years 70k kms.. only one belt snap.. it was my bad, not changing it for 70k kms

 

i haven't gone about removing the wheel well as yet (no reason to, as i don't have a redux pulley as yet). But doing stuff to my MINI is usually trial and error, so i think i might not be the best one to advise you....

Ummm, i'm getting a mate to make me a belt tensioner tool for me, but i think someone posted a how-to on making a belt tensioner tool somewhere either here or on M2. Did you mean tensioner stop or Belt tensioner tool?

 

PHillips head screwdriver which if I rememeber correctly there should be one int the tool kit in the boot, net to the Battery.