Alright folks,


Bottom Line Up Front : what additional upgrades, pure replacement for peace of mind reliability short of replacement of engine/trans, do you all recommend while I've got this front end off replacing crank pulley? i.e. tensioner bushing to poly/delrin etc. It has 107k mileage

I think I've read all sticky's/search function utilization and have been sufficiently flamed with mommy issues in the 80's so no need to respond if its negative.


Just bought my wife a used 2006 Mini S - 6sp Auto last month - Yep got it (auto) i know...i've been warned. It came with a 12 month shop warranty from the seller as he was done after a $3500 bill for tranny rebuild.

It appears I had a crank pulley/harmonic dampener failure yesterday. belt shavings and burnt smell. Of course followed by generic limp mode code and operation. Currently looking to upgrading the pulley/harmonic balancer with an ATI unit. I'm an avid car enthusiast and am still shocked at how such critical parts were sourced for these cars with **** quality. Shame.

Dan

I fully anticipated this before buying a Mini...and its still worth it!

 

while your in there replacing that crank pulley, I would most likely change out the belt tensioner if its old. Check the engine mounts. the lower mount isn't as easily known failure, but the passenger side mount has an obvious failure. when fluid is on the crash tube or seeping out of the unit itself.

 

+1 for the Engine Mounts and Belt Tensioner

Since the seller did the trans service that didn't make my list.

Motor on!

 

OH YEA...That passenger side mount has leaked! That'll be on the parts list.

I'm going to take a closer look at thermostat housing as well. These issues seem to seriously affect resale obviously - to my benefit.... with a little forum support and tools!

I actually love the 1st Gen looks better than the newer body style so I was more than prepped for all this AND negotiated appropriately...reminds me of E-Type Jag gremlins...heck and look at their values now, one can only fathom how you kept those on the road without the internet support!?

Thanks for the heads up guys. I prefer not not be disassembling/re-asembling this plastic fantastic that often - hopefully.

 

I agree with the others....I'd just replace the whole tensioner while your at it. There's an ac delco version available on amazon that is widely used and known to be a decent replacement.

Do you know the service history on the car other than the tranny rebuild? We're the plugs replaced in the past? Iirc the interval on those is 60k miles...so either they were done or they are way overdue.

Something to consider....if you plan to upgrade the supercharger pulley, now would probably be the time to do it since you'll be in there and you would need a new/different belt afterwards anyway. If you needed new plugs, a pulley "package" sold by several of the vendors would include all three of those items and you would be set.

I wouldn't feel so bad about your auto transmission. If it was rebuilt properly, you should be in pretty good shape. The Aisin auto in the Cooper-s is pretty solid. The cvt in the non-s is the one that is pretty problematic.

Good luck.

 

If you don't have a supercharger pulley yet I'd grad one of those too.

 

Thanks for all the help guys... I'd like to keep it reliable as possible seeing as my wife drives it mostly, so i've got a good little parts list (to include a new set of plugs and fluid check/change).

As for the pulley upgrade i'd be concerned with the trade-off of heat generation vs. over boost of the pump's efficiency--more research to be done in "mods" forum. It's always hard to tell if the engineers spec it out and then the bean counters//warranty overlords then dial it back or not...

I have a 2% overdrive ATI damper on its way so only a mild pulley upgrade would be considered. We drive it mostly within a 10 mile radius here in Tampa at 50mph and below.

 

Good thing is you only need to take the pass wheel well off to do the crank pulley and not the whole front end.
The ATI Damper is by far the best so no going wrong there.

Our Delrin WMW tensioner bushings are a great upgrade for the tensioner at the same time.
But if you want performance our Pulley kit would be the best bang for the buck. Since you're doing the 2% damper I would suggest a 15% pulley in the kit.

 

I'd suggest replacing the crank seal while the crank is off.

 

Parts List:

ATI Damper + crank bolt + crank seal + Ti bolts (because its like window sticker Hp)
New tensioner assembly (gates manuf.) + poly bushing
Upper hydr. motor mount
15% pulley package + belt + plugs

BIG question on tools ! I see some trick designed tensioner installation bars...has anyone gotten away with normal pry bars or anything else? I'm good on pulley pullers.

I don't want to get into the repair on this forum just asking about the parts/tools recommendations.

I see the low speed fan item has crept into discussion continuously.....any long term resolution or just replace with some old poorly engineered set-up?

 

Get the Mini belt tool. I did it once with a crow bar and it's a 2 person PITA job. With the real tool it took no time at all and was easy for one person to do - well worth the $60, honestly.

I got a resistor replacement from Way and soldered it in myself. $50 and it all works again, but it took a little while to get it all done. A new fan is not a bad option here in terms of simplicity.