Did a search here for replacement.Could not find anything.

Anyone change it them selves?
Any tips?

2018 Cooper S

 

See if the attached helps ....

 

 

Thank you .
Going to wait a little bit as the belt has no cracks.

 

Thanks for sharing this Information,

Wife's 2019, F60 has reached 52.000 MLS so time for Serpentine belt replacement.

Belt is in good shape, but preventive maintenance of 30$ cost.

Thanks once again to all.

 

how often would you figure before changin' ? as far as milage & age/years ?

 

So that acoustic cover in post upstream -- my 2017 F56S doesn't have one. Looks from all I can gather online like they vanished it at some point and/or it's specific to the S (maybe JCW too) -- there is basically no room for that cover anyway, so guessing it's due to the bigger engine.

Re interval, I'm trying to figure that out too, as my F56S is now at 96K miles. I suspect a 100K to 120K interval is fine, but I am leaning towards inspecting at 50K or 60K. And if you see any cracks whatsoever, change it, period.

One thing I'm interested in: interval for replacing the tensioner assembly, interval for replacing the idler pulley.

 

are Mini engines "interference" engines ? if you throw a timing belt will the valves hit the pistons ? idler pulley & tensioner would be nice to know too. BRAVO !

 

I'm sure the original serpentine belt has a lot of miles still ahead to go,

but as i said, for 30$ and like 2 hours of my time for replacing it, worth the mess in case the old belt breaks and now you have no auxiliaries systems running, and you will have overheating engine, no AC and is not going to be pleasurable if happens not close to your home.

So for me 50.000 to 60.000 it's the right range for replacing it, and of course spark plugs, just hesitating about the Ignition coils.

 

AT $40 each for Bosch coils, I would do it while they're out.

 

No timing belt. It's a chain.

 

cjv2 are you telling me that my 2015 2.0 L MCS F-56 signature is CHAIN NOT BELT ? GOD ! would that be great or what !

 

Correct, it's a timing chain. Not a timing belt. In fact, I don't believe any of the "New" (meaning any and all R-series and F-series) MINIs use a belt.

 

I lost my mind, but only for a minute. the DOHCs are definitely chain-driven. What all is driven by the serpentine belt ? crank, tensioner, alternator, water pump, a.c. comp. & ? Thanks my '15 F-56 just turned manuf. 8, & my milage just turned 44K so I got time.

 

Belt wraps around 6 things. See 29 December 2021 post above in this thread by @Sansho for visual reference.

1. Harmonic balancer (big giant pulley, bottom left)
2. AC compressor (slightly less big pulley, bottom right)
3. Coolant pump (about dead center of all that winding around)
4. Idler pulley (just to upper left of coolant pump pulley)
5. Tensioner pulley (top left)
6. Alternator (top right)

Since you have an S, you have the 4-cylinder and I'm going to guess it's laid out the same way as my 2017 S. What all this means for you is:

1. I don't think the cover shown in the post is on your car (it isn't on mine).
   • This makes sense. If you pop your hood and look down the front of your engine, there isn't really room for a cover.
   • There isn't room for a standard breaker bar or ratchet or wrench or whatever either, which takes you to the whole business of needing a special tool to de-tension the belt.
2. See 29 December 2021 post above in this thread by @TVPostSound for Haynes video that will lay out the de-tensioning business. The visual will make it pretty clear what is going on.
   • The gotcha is that that vid is on a 3-cyl, and they CAN get a ratchet in there (you, having a 4 cyl, CAN'T).
   • There is a point in the video where they lock the tensioner in place with a "4mm pin" (rod, whatever). You'll wonder where to get that thing.
   • I found a YouTube vid where a shop used a 9/64" drill bit instead of that "4mm pin." You get the idea.
3. For de-tensioning the belt you need: [EDIT 24 December 2022 the for-the-MINI tool for detensioning the belt. The approach I tried with a generic serpentine belt tool and a 19mm crows foot wrench did NOT work, I did get a grip with it but not enough of a grip to move the tensioner with any stability.]
   
   So you MUST get, barring serious creativity -- > the for-the-MINI tool, which will set you back anywhere from $50 to $100 depending on who you get it from.

Hope this helps!

 

I changed my plugs at 83k miles (I am the 2nd owner, don't know when/whether they were replaced prior, and mfg replacement interval is 60k). Did not replace the coils. Car runs great. Personally, I'm not sure about replacing coils on a timer (unless they are WAY up there). But I am not experienced enough with coil tactical to claim a well-informed read on how to choose an interval/condition other than "if broke or being weird then replace," so happy to be shot down by someone who knows more than me

 

Hey @Stu-mon I edited my post above about what it takes to de-tension the serpentine belt. The for-the-MINI tool is a must. The alternative I tried does not work because even though a crows foot wrench can get the edges of the bolt head, the crows foot is too big to really get into the pulley and on the bolt head firmly. I was able to get the tensioner to move with some effort, but it took a LOT of effort and then it slid off (like a 12-point socket will slide off a hex bolt with a rounded head). You definitely need the specialty tool, procurable from various MINI-stuff vendors.

 

Don't know the official MINI position on serpentine belt replacement but with another brand of car tiny cracks across the serpentine belt ribs were ok. Any missing sections of the ribs was a sign the serpentine belt needed replacement. I replaced the serpentine belt several times -- IIRC the replacement interval was 60K miles -- and there were cracks across the ribs but no missing section of any ribs.

Might mention that I replaced the serpentine belt once. Some time later had the belt off to diagnose a noise. Water pump based on the fact it had some bearing play while none of the other accessory drives had any bearing play. One thing I noticed was the inside edge of the serpentine belt was sharp. It had been rubbing. I checked the old belt and both edges were dull.

Just something to check for "while you are there".

 

Hey @cjv2 did you purchase the official tool to do the belt change then? If so where did you get it, and how hard was it? Did you access the tensioner from the bottom or top? I pulled apart the fender guard to do the belt change and found out, like you did, there is little to no room there for standard tools to move the tensioner. I was able to inspect the belt and looked fine but would still like to replace it next oil change (F55, 110K). So was looking to gain some info on how you ended up going about it.

Thanks!

 

Hey there @Yeaham , I haven't done the belt change yet due to chasing other issues around first, but I did pick up this tool by way of FCP Euro. It's sold in a few different places, but this was the best pricing I could find for sure, and access (such that I tested, at least) is from the top.

The Haynes video for the 2014-2018 Mini One mostly applies other than the clearance issues. I note this because of the business of inserting a pin into a specific place on the tensioner to lock it in a release-tension position. I have never figured out where to get that pin, but I saw a DIY video out there where someone used a 9/16" drill bit (IIRC) instead and it looks to work. The catch is if you are working alone, you have to brace the tool from above and then get into the wheel well to place the pin. A little tricky, but doable -- even with a prior tool that didn't work, I got close once.

Hope this helps.

 

Awesome @cjv2 ! Thanks for the quick reply and further info. I figured I had to order the tool either way so this is helpful. Yeah it does look like a trick shot getting a pin into place for that tensioner. Was planning to use an appropriated sized allen wrench for the pin. Either way, despite the ease of it just being a belt change, most of the effort seems to be gaining and getting access.

 

The allen wrench seems like a good idea. Yeah, once you have the tool and pop the fender liner you're mostly good. I think the tool is solid and heavy enough that it can be pretty easily braced/wedged into place -- or at least enough to get that pin into place. That was my observation at the time, at least, hoping it will hold true (no pun intended) when I finally get around to changing the belt.

 

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-cta-tool...l/cta3884~cta/

Solid Bar with no rubber grip ^^, just make sure you wear some gloves so it will not slip off and hurt you hand.

 

Attempting to come in with some serious creativity:

I'm working on just making a 3D printed wrench or adapter or something to make up the distance and get this job done without any $50 tools.
This tool looks like it would sit flat on a table. Is the only "irregular" shape is the bend at the end allowing it to get around the spring body? It looks rather shallow and I think I can account for that too. I have a replacement tensioner that I got anyway for preventative maintenance (recently passed 100k miles) so I've got the design of the bolt down already. Any sort of advice or info might be helpful, I haven't been underneath the car just yet.

 

Yeah, it's *really* shallow, and the only "irregular" shape is indeed the bend at the end.