Hi everyone,


I had a 15% pulley installed on the mini about 6,000 miles ago. No issues. I stopped driving the Mini in the winter and was able to start driving it again in the spring with no issues. I have been driving it at least 2x per week in the past few months..then I stopped driving it for about 1.5 weeks. I started it up yesterday and found that it was making a scary noise that I had never heard before.


I opened up the hood and noticed that it was coming from under the intercooler. There is some shaking/rattling. I checked the tensioner but found that it was fine - the belt is fine too. I'm concerned that it might be the supercharger. The car is 2003 and has 90,000 miles.


I took some video.

 

bump

 

I think it would be prudent to check your SC for oil and see if the gears are stripped.

 

It sounds like the SC......what's it sound like when you rev it up a little?

Probably not a good idea to drive it much regardless......

 

Oooh, scary noise.... I'd follow up with what everyone else is saying, more than likely something with the supercharger.

Fun fact though, you can get a used SC for about $400 [or less, depending], OR a rebuild one for under a grand! Also, it's a pretty easy replacement but while you have everything apart, you could replace a lot more than just the SC.

 

Take a long prybar and carefully place it on (non moving) parts of the engine while it idles, and place your ear on the handle end. If the sound is loudest near the cylinder head on the passenger's side, you might have a bad tensioner. If it's loudest on the SC, break out your wallet.

Oh, and if you live very close to O'Hare, I'll be staying there tonight if you wanted it diagnosed. If you're not really close, I wouldn't drive the car too far.

 

So, the reason I sold my 300Z TT is because it was such a hassle to work on the engine. It looks like its the same with the Mini. You have to take everything apart to do anything and I bet you need a bunch of proprietary tools to get anywhere. Long story short I took it to a shop and in the interest in getting the thing back on the road I ended up paying an arm and a leg.

I thought I'd update in case anyone else has the same issue. It turns out the Alternator was seized and the tensioner on its way out. Had both replaced and now runs great. I never thought these things could cause such a noise.

 

That stinks that you had to resort to taking it to a shop. I've had my mini for several years now, and I've done lots of work to it....haven't found anything yet that can't be done with most standard tools that you would have in an average garage.

 

^ Good to know! Makes me more willing to work on it. Normally I tackle my own work as well but I just needed the car to be roadworthy asap.

 

I wish I could find it, but while looking through old threads yesterday I stumbled upon a similar one like this and the end resulted with a seized alternator too. Of course I can't find it now. Anyways, glad you got it fixed. Yes, typically if you have a good set of tools it is pretty easy to get around under the bonnet.

 

I was saying alternator after reading the vid - daughter-unit had the same thing happne. Nice thing is the only special tool you need is the belt tensioner tool, otherwise it's all basically 16's (Mini loves those) and 17's and 13's and 10's... then (3) 10's and (2) plugs. If you do it yourself it costs you a decent aftermarket alternator (about $2-300), but you also want to check all vacuum lines and, while you're there, likely change/check the supercharger oil, thermostat, waterpump, hoses and coolant, then you're good to go another 100k.

 

Guys: long-time lurker, first-time poster here. First off, thanks for all the info I've gotten from this site over the past year of R53 ownership.

I'm reviving this thread because I've got an '05 R53 with 115k miles that began making the rattle very suddenly the other day. I started to put it into front end service mode fully expecting this to be a supercharger/water pump issue (there a few other threads addressing this on NAM), but was surprised to see the harmonic balancer all torn up (see photo). The HB was replaced less than a year ago, and I replaced the serpentine belt about 350mi ago...no issue with the HB then.




harmonic balancer after < 4k miles

Now I'm seeing that sandplasma's issue was actually a seized alternator, which would make more sense to me seeing as how at least the alternator and HB are running off the same belt. Here's what I'm wondering:

-Do any of you have experience with an HB failing after so short a time? This isn't the rubber inside...it's the steel housing on the outside.

-Would you augment anything from my planned course of action?
1) Inspect/replace alternator
2) Replace HB
3) inspect/oil supercharger and water pump
...while I'm in there...
4) Replace idler pulley
5) replace coolant, change oil
6) toss on some new brake pads

Also, while I'm inspecting the SC & WP, what are some telltale signs of wear? It's my understanding that rebuilding an SC effectively requires a machine shop, not a dude with a garage and some hand tools.

Thanks for your help!

 

Lots of the stock harmonic balancers have fail...
Most/many have with her to the ATI/PRW aftermarket units... different desgin...
Why that one tore so fast...I'd look around ..
Usually a belt slips and fails if an item is seized .
To have the steel tear....that is a new one...

 

Like you said, I would inspect the alternator. Mine was completely seized; frozen. You should be able to rotate it freely. I also believe the SC oil is easy to change at this point. Also check the thermostat. I've seen a puddle under my car sometimes and I'm pretty sure its coming from the thermostat housing. I searched it up and it appears to be a common problem. Lastly, maybe replace the belt tensioner. They're cheap and tend to go out.

 

I would suggest a new thread....good pic to go with it.

 

Thanks for the tips, Zippy & sandplasma. Going to dig into it now and post in a new thread to see if anyone's had an issue like that.

Really appreciate the help!

 

Update: started a new thread here.

Alternator spins freely, onto the SC.