I purchased a Litens brand drive belt tensioner a few months ago knowing the bearing on my old one was shot. I only just got around to replacing it due to more important problems, but when i went to take the old one off, i noticed it was also made by Litens. My Mini only has 83k miles on it and it seems this part has already been replaced twice. Is it normal for the OEM tensioner to fail before 70-80k miles and is the litens tensioner known to fail at the bearing? just curious, thanks!

 

I believe Litens IS the OEM manufacturer, so the one you're replacing is the original, thus it's the first failure, not the second.

 

Sweet good to know, I just saw that in pelican parts there was a genuine mini option. I sure hope it's the original.

 

I believe the only difference between the "Genuine MINI" tensioner and the much more inexpensive Litens tensioner is that the Litens will have the "MINI" marking and part number machined out.

 

And if you buy a Gates or ACDelco, it will also have the litens mark.

 

Correct. Litens is the OEM supplier. The term Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) refers to a company that has supplied some parts directly to MINI/BMW for the assembly of their cars. This manufacturer may not have been the Original Equipment Supplier (OES) for a particular part, but now offers an exact-fit replacement part. Genuine parts are parts that are acquired directly from the factory (directly from MINI/BMW), and actually come delivered in a BMW/MINI box. These parts are the exact same ones that you would get if you went to your local MINI dealer and ordered the part over the counter. These parts are typically much more expensive than their OEM counterparts because you are paying for the MINI name and their associated two-year warranty. These parts are also sometimes referred to as OE (Original Equipment). Let me know if you have any questions.

 

Thanks for the clarification on that then!

 

You're very welcome! Any questions you have in the future please don't hesitate to let me know.

 

Yes, on this one Litens. But sometimes MINI will switch supplier and they will come from someone else (usually another top teir supplier ), bought many parts in the past for all my MINIs . I have seen it a couple times. And its usually with a part number update. So, some inside info there. Been doing MINI since 2002/ BMW parts since 1998~ oh the BMW days.


11287509476


https://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/11287509476/

Our Genuine MINI parts are all the same from the dealership dirrect from MINI. You have to watch cause some sites state OES and OEM and what you get in the mail is another company that reboxed it and its not from the dealer. We state on our site most brand specifics under brand.

 

Yes, Litens in the original manufacturer for the belt tensioner, and AFAIK, the only one. AC Delco or Gates simply buys the part directly from Litens and puts it in their own service part box to sell. Can still get the AC Delco part on Amazon for about $90.