so, according to my local mechanic, my harmonic balancer broke

From what i can see on realoem that is the vibration damper and I guess the crank pulley. the dealership wants $420. is there anywhere you guys can recomend online for me to order one for less, i dont care if its not oem as long as its good

steve

 

Save your money. Alta pulley

 

so is the link for an r50?

i had just come across it online and wasnt sure that was what i needed

 

Nope that was for the R53. I don't know of any pulleys other than stock for the R50. That means it's gonna cost you unless you can find one at a scrap yard or MINI shop depending on where you are. Found two a bit cheaper than the dealer.
http://new.minimania.com/web/Item/NME7647/InvDetail.cfm
http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/...FILTER_TOOL=ON

 

LOL did I just chat with ya? Hope all works out!

 

thanks, and if anyone else has input please share. I spoke direct with Alta. they said its the same pulley, however a few early R50s had a shaft that was a bit stout right at the end. So, the pulley will either fit or not go on. No way of knowing. I ordered one from their garage sale for $50 since it had a slight scratch on it. Might as well try right? If mine is the lucky one with the thicker end, its off to the dealership who then apparently needs to contact Mini and get one shipped since they only have one part number in the book

 

I have a R53 and replaced my crank pully with an Alta. Works great lasts long time. The lower weight is a benifit as well. You will increase horse power by lowering rotating mass. Here is a picture of the crank pully i put on my 02 Cooper S Electric Blue R53. Good Luck.

Need To Motor

 

Here is the picture of the crank pully. The arrow points to the pully.

 

What year and how many miles are on your MINI if you don't mind me asking? It seems like a lot of MINI's are prone to crank pulley failures. We just had one in our local club a couple months back.

 

2003 with 87k

 

can I assume even though this seems to be a common issue, Mini is not doing anything for us? I have never heard of this part going in other cars, but seems pretty frequent in coopers....has anyone worked Mini and gotten them to deal with this even out of warranty?

 

mine is a 2002 with over 100k

 

The Crank pully is a two piece unit, one part is the harmonic balancer and the other is the crank pully. They are joined together by rubber. Over time the rubber flexes and eventually breaks. It gets brittle from the heat and lack of moisture. The warrenty has long since expiered. I can't speak for newer models, perhapse Mini has addressed this problem with design changes .

 

Your MINI has alot of mileage on it...I would not put a cheap aftermarket pulley on their unless you want to damage your engine....

It's called a damper because it lessens the vibrations to your crank.....the Alta one does not do this and is fine for a kid not keeping his car down the road or for one added to a car Daddy paid for. And it's also fine for anyone who tracks their car and then later sells it to some suka later on......

Best off getting a crank pulley from an 05 or 06. It's made by MINI and is lighter than your old one by 3-4 lbs for more power yet still works as it was designed.

 

I have had both the Alta Lightned CS pulley and the OEM. Oem ftw! The piece of mind is worth the extra cash for sure.

 

FTW?

and, are you selling one? lol, why do you have both...........decisions decisions.....

 

Don't take the gamble with the solid pulley. Get an OEM one or one of the new ATI dampers.

 

lol, sorry. ftw=For the win.

No, I am not selling one and I am not an expert but I would go with the OEM. I know it is expensive and that is why I went with the lightned one at the time.

 

so, at this point, I am in for $50 for an Alta crank pulley. My local guy tried installing it, even heated it up per instructions (to make it expand a bit and make it slide on easier) and he can only get it on 1/2 way or so. He is going to give it one more try before throwing in the towel. Any suggestions? I may have to but an OEM one from the dealership. Perhaps someone knows where to get one less than full price which my dealer in Hartford CT wants ($420). And, if I do buy and OEM one do you see any reason why my guy cant install it? I cant even think about having it towed to the dealer 40 miles away, way too much $$$$$. Id even sell the car and get another but Id have to fix it first anyways.

 

all is set, brand new OEM part on and works great. Unfortunately the Alta one did not fit, and New Country Mini in Hartford did right by me for the price

 

 

so what was the final price man? (installed?)

 

dealer took off $65 from list, but I had a local guy do the install and some other work too so cant really tell you what the labor just for that was