Does anyone have or post a how to on the install of a lightweight crank pulley? Any tips will help greatly!! Thanks- James

 

Unorthodox has a PDF how to on their website... Not too difficult...

 

I went onto the unorthodox website and they don't list any products for the mini cooper s except for accessories ie. license plate covers!!

 

I've made the mod myself, and it's true, it aint that difficult as long as you take your time and rent the harmonic balancer puller - or you could just go and buy one at Pep Boys, where I got mine.
If you don't have confidence as a mechanic then don't try this at home - take this mod to someone who has done it or has confience to do it. You stand the chance to hurt yourself and your car.
Do a search on these topics and you'll likely find quite a bit on this subject.

 

Ok, I have done the search and not found a whole lot about it, twice. The most important things that I would like to know from the ones that have done this is:

-What is the torque screw requirements for the Alta Cranck Pulley? (in Ft pounds) I have found conflicting information on this. Your input is welcomed.
-Did you use Lock Tight (?), red?
-Did you have to heat up the Alta Crank Pulley to help slite it IN?
-If you did, how hot.
-If you have the Alta Crank Pulley installation instructions, can you scan it or fax it to me (PM)? I purchased one from previous owner, it is never been used but no instructions.
- The harmonic balancer puller, does it have to be a two or three legged type? Does it matter? What size? 6 or 7 inches is fine?
-Any specific info is welcomed.

Bomboasy

 

Bentley Manual states = 85 ft. lbs.
Yes, I used red loctite
Yes, I heated up the M7 pulley to about boiling point/200 deg F in an oven, this helped immensly, pretty much slid on except for the last bit which the bolt took the rest of the way. Use gloves, it can be a scorcher until you get it on.
No instructions come with these mods cause they aren't for the average jow to install themselves, though many, like me, have been successful.
Harmonic balancer I used was borrowed and had two legs and center push bolt. I saw that Pep Boys typically sells these, and they are occasionaly for rent in some larger cities.
You will definately need a special tool to remove the pulley belt carefully. And - BTW - if your pulley is a 2% you will also need a smaller belt to replace your original. Napa sells them and with your search you probably found the right part number for that.

Good luck!

Paul

 

Good luck getting the crank pulley off with a standard puller. You'ed be much better of buying the right tools from BMW. pberry, how did you keep from just spinning the crank when you did this?

 

Here is the instructions I have found on line. To the question that onasled asks, one poster answered in another thread and unorthodoxracing suggests:

"step on the brakes while the tranny was in 6th gear "
"- Manual Transmission: Have helper place car in 5th gear, with clutch released. Have helper hold the brake pedal firmly. The crank pulley bolt is tight
and will require significant force to loosen."

http://www.unorthodoxracing.com/inst.../02020040_.pdf

Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2005 11:32 am

Take off the right front tyre and the inner fender. Be carful not to pull off the side molding when you do. I used a standard universal puller. To get the bolt off the crank you're going to have to use an impact wrench becasue you won't have the BMW tool that keeps the crank from rotating. Once you get the bolt and belt off (I assume you have the special tool to take tension off the belt) you're going to need some bolts. Use 3 6mmx1.0 pitch bolts about 80mm long to attatch the puller to the old pulley. You're also going to need a bolt 12mmx1.75 pitch (check that once you get the old bolt out) that's about 55mm long. Most cranks have a tappered end with a keyway to line up the pulley. With that type of crank the end is exposed for the center bolt of the puller to use as leverage. BMW uses a crank with a press fit pulley so the end of the crack is covered by the pulley. In order to get something for the center bolt of the puller to rest against you are going to have to use a bolt that is tredded into the crank. This is another special BMW tool that we don't have. Use that 12 mm bolt for that purpose. It's not easy, but you should see steady movement of the old pulley as you tightedn the center bolt of your puller. If you don't, then STOP because you have something lined up wrong. Once you get the old pulley off, heat the new pulley in 350 oven for about 15 min. Once heated, the pulley will slid on the crank. Make sure it goes all the way on then put everything back together. It's really not that bad if you don't hurry and pay attention to where things line up. Let me know if you have any more questions once you read this over.

Good luck,
Russ

Then reinstall the bolt and torque to 115 Nm (There is also a special tool to do this from BMW as well)

Good Luck!
________________

pberry51mini
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Santa Maria, CA
Posts: 125

Well I did it myself, and it was not all that easy but it wasn't that hard. I'm not a professional wrench guy and I found some help from a local shop with some guidance at one point.
Take it slow, get yourself a Factory Manual and carefully heat your new crank pulley in an oven at about 200F or 150F to help installation.
A harmonic balancer puller can usually be rented locally, if not they are not that expensive at the local Pep Boys.
I had a friend step on the brakes while the tranny was in 6th gear while I torqued the crank bolt on slowly with a impact wrench until it got close enough to torque with a torque wrench at the end.
You're welcome to email me if you havbe any specific questions.

Happy wrenching

RandyBMC
Vendor
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Denver
Posts: 2,786
Gallery

Henry,

I use the factory tools - there are two different set ups depending on which year the car is - to both pull the old pulley and install the new one.

Here are some tips for using standard tools - I've done it that way too.

1) Use a harmonic balancer puller to get the old unit off using different size center bolts. Just keep installing longer and longer bolts to push on in the crank.

2) Heat the new pulley up and slide it on (Bake on 400 for 5 minutes). Make sure it is all the way on, then tighten the bolt.

I do all of the work through the wheel well on the passenger side with the plastic liner removed.

Hope that helps!
Randy

_________________________________

I welcome any comments that can help us in this mission. Notice that 02-04 hole pattern is not the same as 05-06 because the pulley is not the same.

Bomboasy

 

I really hope that somebody like Randy Webb could do a DYI for this installation, providing the right torque for the screws. Below is some more valuable information, but I am not sure what year that this part are good for:

"If you plan on doing the swap yourself I HIGHLY recommend that you use the OEM tools for the job. They make it much easier and safer for both you and the car. I purchased a tensioner tool from Helix:



and the brace, puller, and thread protector from Classic. The brace and puller are for 02-04

Brace PN 90880118460
Puller PN 90880118450
Protector PN 90886118270

There is a re-install tool that you may want to consider, but I went to Fastenal down the road and purchased a bolt that matched the crank bolt just longer and used it for the re-install. Probably not the smartest way to do the job in hindsight given the fact that if the threads had stripped I would have damaged the crank not the re-install tool, so take it for what it is worth"

Bomboasy

 

I contacted ALTA and here is the installation Instructions:


0%, 2%, 3% and 4% Oversized
Lightened Crank Pulley

Thank you for purchasing the ALTA Performance lightened crank pulley. Please read through all the instructions before performing the installation. Persons experienced in the proper operation of MINI engine systems and components should only perform this installation.

NOTE: THE LARGER SIZE PULLEYS ARE DESIGNED FOR “OFF-ROAD” USE ONLY! CHECK WITH FEDERAL AND LOCAL AUTHORITIES PRIOR TO INSTALLATION. ALTA PERFORMANCE IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR REPAIRS NECESSARY AS A RESULT OF MIS-INSTALLATION OR DAMAGE OF SUPERCHARGER OR ENGINE.





The bolt should be tightened to the torque specification for your specific vehicle. This varies based on model year, A/T vs/ 6-spd etc. It is best to contact the local dealer for the most up to date torque specifications.


Bomboasy

PS. Still not sure what torque to use. I will probably go with 85 ft. lbs.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I tried yesterday night but found out that it is impossible to do without the belt tensioner tool. I rented the 3 legged crow harmonic balancer removal tool from advance auto parts. I just ordered the belt tensioner tool from outmotoring. So when I get the tool in wish me luck.

 

Look at the matrix from Alta for belt size cross referenced with Supercharger pulley size and Crank pulley size. This matrix is part of the installation instructions in my last post. But, I could not post it as it was. Had to make into a separate JPG.

Bomboasy

 

I bought my 3 legged removal tool at Pep Shop Boys for $14. The rental was like $28 !! They sold it cheaper than the rent. I already have the OEM tensioner tool.

Bomboasy

 

-I used the same torque ~85ft. lbs
-also used a little red locktite
-also heated in oven 300f for about 10 min....slid right on all the way..then torqued while still hot.
- I used a craftsman universal harmonic balancer puller... (either 14.99 or 19.99 I do not have the reciept handy) a two legged only version would not center correctly over the center of the crank and prob not be as easy.... the craftsman has both (ie 4 forks)

I would grab some of the metric bolts (online vendors will have them, home depot probably not) it was listed in the how to by randy... 6mm x 1.0 by ??(~3inch) that and get the longer 12mm for the crank as well. The 6mm bolts I had were not long enough (car apart now...doh) so I ran a 6mm tap over a couple of 1/4 bolts.... the threads where fine for the first 3/4 inch or so and they do not thread that far into the oem harmonic balancer anyhow..... slow and easy on the puller. It will slowly slide right off. If I could only get one tool it would be the belt tensioner tool. I tried a self made tool from home depot that had to much lateral movement and allowed the pins to pull out of the holes on the tensioner when really pulling on it. And the alta sheet showed that if using a 2% crank and oem supercharger pulley then the oem belt is fine. Now logically you will need more belt than you did for disasembly... so when using the tensioner tool and putting a pin into the tensioner "lock" use the second hole... the first will not give you enough slack in the belt. If you do not you will be using that tensioner tool again....I assume that using a smaller supercharger pulley it is not as much a issue....but please note the assume part....
Its a very reasonable install go slow and good luck.

 

I found the craftsman puller at sears.com- it's 19.99. Help me visualize this- the bolts (6mm) you mention go in the 4 forks and corrospond with bolt holes in the stock balancer? Then you got a "longer 12 mm bold for the crank". Where does this go? In place of the bolt that holds the stock balancer in place? Is its purpose to give you more "threads" to work with when racheting the "puller" bolt on the removal tool?

 

The 6mm bolts are to bolt the puller to the harmonic balancer (or crankshaft pulley) in fact if you have your alta handy it also has the three holes in it for the "puller bolts" the reason you need the 6mm bolts is that the puller does not have metric bolts.

Assuming you already have the tensioner locked and the belt off the crank pulley.
-remove the crankshaft bolt (6th gear, clutch out, "partner in mod" holding the brakes on)
-Thread the "replacement" 12mm bolt into the crank leaving ~1 inch or so from holding crank pulley in place (ie room for pulley to back out) the point behind this bolt is to save your threads in the crank... if you tried to do this putting all that torque on the first couple of threads in your crank...well lets just say a crank with a stripped thread would not be a fix of choice...
-now use the 3 6mm bolts (and prob a pair of fender washers on each bolt to hold the puller forks..the 6mm bolt heads are small and would pop right through the puller tongs) and bolt them through the three tongs on the puller.
-center the large black bolt of the puller onto the crank bolt and snug it down (make sure you still have the ~1 inch of clearance between crank bolt and the oem crank pulley)
-slowly beging turning the large black bolt to beging pulling the old pulley off...It should start moving after applying a bit of torque. I have a 06 w/3k on it... The bolts I used to attach the puller to the crank pulley bent a little and deformed the washers and then it started to pull off... its slow
-there is a lot of power in a puller if you are unsure take it off and verify everything. I have used a pulley puller in the past so had a rough idea how it would feel.

_disclaimer I am not a mechanic, but I have been turning wrenches on cars for over 20 years and think this is very "do-able" but if you are unsure seek out proffessional assistance. I make no claims that this will not hurt your car

 

Now I get it. Thanks! Does anyone know the thread pitch for the crank bolt?

 

never mind


Bomboasy

 

I think I found the answer to my question. I'll assume the 6mm bolts are M6x1, and according to realoem.com, the 12mm bolt is M12x1.75.

 

yeah don't do it . i've posted on m2 about this and was beat down by all kinds of people with horror stories about crank pulleys .

 

I just read that thread. Actually, what you had there was a very unhappy poster who had a particularly loud typing voice, and another who was denied a warranty claim on a broken camshaft because of other mods.

http://www.mini2.com/forum/engine-dr...t=crank+pulley

I ran a thread recently asking about any horror stories from NAM members- I think I got one. He lost his crank pulley on the track, but admits that he didn't torque it to specs.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=73963

I now think that this may be a safe mod, given the miles that people have put on these things. That, and Oxfordmotorsports blowout goin' outta business sale of $99 for a 0% pully convinced me to pull the trigger.

 

How do you stop the crank pulley from spinning with an automatic? I think I have tried everything I can think of but it still spins. Thanks- JAmes

 

By "spins" do you mean the crank pulley is rotating when you are attempting to remove the mounting bolt, while you are attempting to pull it off, when you are attempting to install the new pulley?

I used the OEM tools when I did my install and one of the tools is a brace that is fastened onto the face of the pulley that is used to prevent it from rotating. For a pre '05 the brace PN is: 90880118460 and you can get it from Classic

Here is a shot of the tools:

 

Hello All,
I just tried to remove the stock pulley by using the 6th gear & hold on to brake method and it does not work. The pulley still moves and there is not too much room to use a ratchet or a braker bar. So had to put every thing back together could any one tell me why it moves or I just need to use a impact gun to remove.

 

I thought I was going to have to do the same,(Quit) but instead I went and bought a longer extension for my half in. drive ratchet, enuff to get outside the fender. Then I used a 4 ft. breaker bar (piece of pipe) had my boy stand on the brakes in gear and presto it worked. That bolt is on there good but it is just a bolt and will backout. It has locktite on it from the factory so it does require some serious torque to get off but you CAN do it. pm me if you have anyother questions I'd be glad to share my experiences.