I just got a quote of ~$675 for a supercharger pulley install - 7.5hrs labour

I know this is too much but I'm looking for some comparable estimates on how long this takes a professional garage. I saw a quote from Helix in Philly for $200 on a thread from earlier in the year. Any others for comparison?

 

Wow, that's a lo of money.
I think thatHelix charges around 340 or so and that's with the pulley included.

 

It's a 2 to 3 hours job, there should be a good Indy shop in Houston that will give you a better price

 

Thanks. That's about what I figured. This shop is trying to get into the MINI market I guess (and do market themselves as such) but I'm not sure how many they get coming through. I'm guessing they assumed that the pulley requires supercharger removal (even then 7.5hrs is a bit much...)

 

I was quoted 3 however, my buddy says if you've done it before and have the proper tools it only takes about 1 hour.

 

A pro can do one VERY fast if they have done a few (mine was done in a bit less at the shop that did it!!)...About an hour..sometimes less...it is tighter on an auto...
One tip...
Pullers are usually made for the stock S pulley....
So if you have a JCW, the shop will often quote the price of CUTTING off the pulley since JCW pullers are rare.....
Since many shops have never done one...and a puller is kinda specialized, a shop charging 2X the time it takes to do the job IMO is just to cover the cost of the puller and learning how to do it...less than ideal...

 

Thanks all - this is useful to know and in line with my expectations. My S is manual and non-JCW, should be a bog-standard job. They said they were quoting based on book time - I assume that means they aren't aware of using a puller and were planning to get the SC out.

The shop in question says they are looking to get a bigger presence in installing aftermarket parts for MINIs, and I'm happy to be a guinea pig, but not at additional cost to me...

 

Not a pro here and I can do it in 1.5 hours. Maybe faster with a bit more practice.

 

i did mine in about 3 hours... but that included crank pulley, new tensioner, idler pulley, engine mounts and doing spark plugs too lol

 

I did mine on Friday and I just had a hard time with the transmission mount when putting it back together. Detroit Tuned rents the puller for 20.00 bucks very quick shipping.
It took me about 2.5 hours ( I talk a lot) but one of the spark plugs gave me a hard time so that took some extra time.

I would ask the shop what kind puller are they planning to use, like Zippy said it has to be an specific puller for this pulley in particular not a regular 3 arm puller. They could try to cut it but there is a risk of messing up, the one that used I think that it's a Craven speed one and it worked flawlessly.
This is a video that I found on how NOT to do it Good luck

 

ouch - painful to watch :(

TBH - I'd like to try it myself, but for the one time cost of the puller and tensioner (and the fear factor of me being a rank amateur and royally ****ing up) it's making sense to have a pro do it at reasonable cost.

 

350 including the pulley itself is an okay price. The work takes about 1.5-2.0 hours do not go to a shop that has never done it before. Would you rather go to a pro or someone who wants to be a pro?

Sorry but unless you have utmost confidence and/or can afford the downtime it doesn't seem worth it to let someone practice on your car.

Good luck

 

im having a new belt tensioner installed with new belt, crank pulley, and supercharger pulley for 200 plus 65 for coolent flush and 50 for brake flush...not so bad after looking at some of the other quotes.

 

We charge less than $400 including the pulley and belt.

We can send you the parts and there has got to be other places that can do it cheaper. I may be able to put you in contact with someone local as we have several customers in Houston.

 

It shouldn't take a MINI shop ( not the dealer, but a private shop ) more than an hour to do it.

IMO do SC pulley and an ATI/FLUID Dampener at the same time and save your self a tow bill and please don't do a solid or light weight crank dampener- it will slowly kill your mini internally.

 

I'm sure WayMotorWorks will back me up on this.

 

that sounds about right. And correct mods at the same time. I didn't do my tensioner replacement as my shop had the bushings replaced so it's just like new.

what brake fluid you moving too??

 

i just decided to get the Motul 600 for now nothing crazy dont need it for my street car lol

 

i decided to go with the 16% M7 pulley with 2% M7 crank pulley and got an OEM belt tensioner my Mini has 114k on it i baby my car and like to occasionally aka once in a blue moon take it up to 5500 rpms lol i really dont beat it on i just wanted it to accelerate a little faster off the line...i think its all about how you drive it and how you take care of it.
i guess once i kill the Mini ill send it to RMW and just have it built up, just another reason to do another mod :-)

 

Do not do the 2% m7 crank pulley. its going to kill your oil pump. do a fluid harmonic dampener.

it won't matter if you only baby your car. it will slowly eat its self.

 

allready got the parts and having them installed on Friday...did you run the 2% crank pulley from M7 on your Mini?
Im gonna try it out on my Mini and see how i like it...everyone ive talked to about it said ill like it and notice a huge improvement in performance even my Mini mechanic whos a certified Mini mechanic told me it would be fine just to change out my belt tensioner while im changing all the pulleys and belt because of the miles...ive never heard of any complaints with the m7 crank pulley... pretty set on doing this mod.
i was planning on getting the ATI fluid dampener when i do my rebuild...which im planning on doing around the 150k mark also planning on getting the Sprintex at that time...have a lot of plans for the car...i think with the current M7 stuff i should be able to get another 40 k out of the car.

im just curious on why your so set against the M7 crank pulley...?

Anyone else ever run the M7 crank pulley with the 16% supercharger pulley and had any issues?

 

He isn't against the M7 one as much as he is against using a pulley that isn't dampened. Although I have yet to really hear about a horror story having one, it is possible for the vibrations to wear your engine internals faster. The one that many recommend is the ATI because it is dampened.

 

IMO, Call way, Jan from RMW, or any other reputable builder supplier. they are going to tell you the same thing.

There is a reason that BMW chose to put a dampened unit on there to begin with. Will you notice it over night, nope. Will it eventually kill your engine, yes.

As for my car, its sitting at just shy of 260WHP. I've been up and down that road.

BUild your car right the first time, why put an inferior part on now and then the correct one on your rebuild? spend the cash once, not twice.

For the record, I'm not against m7, alta, kaavs, etc. I'm against putting poorly planned mods on a car that are potentially fatal to your engine.

 

If all these guys in here say don't do it, don't do it. These forum guys know their ****, and that's why you come here to ask questions. Don't ignore the answers, this is engine failure not cosmetic opinions.

 

irkath...

lets say i order the ATI 2% reduction crank pulley and do that would that be a better way to go...also could i run the belt from M7 with the 2% ATI crank and 16% supercharger pulley...?

your right about doing it right the first time i just wish i would have been told this before ordering all the parts lol...