I was loosing boost and had a terrible noise . I tightened my alta tensioner and the car now makes more boost than it ever has, it went from 11psi to 15psi. But I hear a rattle kinda noise at idle and when I shift gears and the rpms drop. You can hear it as the engine shuts off clearly in the video I uploaded . I also looked at the crank and as you see in the pic it has that gap where it looks like its worn on the inside around the bolt i could also wiggle it alittle and there was some play in it which I assume isn't normal would I be correct in assuming I need a new crank pulley/dampener ?

 

 

 

For sure replace that crank pulley. Just looking at the picture the rubber and outer ring there is a big gap between the two. On a normal stock pulley that rubber is flat and very tight against the metal without a gap. But then you seen whatever is going on behind that crank bolt like i'ts cracked or something. Don't bother anymore, just replace it.

Go with the ATI damper as it is better than stock, and more reliable. I have them in stock so if you order ASAP I can get it shipped today to get you back on the road asap.
https://www.waymotorworks.com/super-...ulley-r53.html

 

ATI FTW all day every day twice on Sunday

 

Dang, 350$$$. I was going to buy that used one that came up for sale just to have it but missed it by 5min..ugh,my luck..
well, at 350$ Its gonna have to be saved for and I better get a new belt to to make sure I have the correct length and the one I have isn't ruined from slipping for so long and I'm gonna need the belt tool so hopefully I have this done in a month...gggggrrrrrrr but thank God its nothing more serious and it's something that seems in my ability to do my self. The money is just a big issue rite now . I guess it's just going to be parked and as of rite now my savings start towards it.
do you suggest a 2% dampener, wouldn't then it be like I'm running a 17% pulley since I already have a 15% ?? Or is the 2% more expensive?
also should i avoid the " light weight cranks " like alta and some other one I seen on Ebay that's solid but I still dont think it has a built in dampener.?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-Cooper-Crank-Pulley-Lightweight-R52-R53-Cooper-S-Upgrade/322990368622?hash=item4b33b9e76e:g:CbMAAOSwEW9aVUF l

 

Yes the ATI isn't cheap, but it's the best and why it's the only one I use in my shop and on my personal cars.

I would go with the standard ATI, if you want a 17% pulley I would change the supercharger to a 17%. Doing a 15 and 2 doesn't equal 17 as it will be less than 17 total, also the belts don't work as well or last as long with the 15 and 2.

Those Lightweight pulleys you see that are much cheaper as just solid aluminum and are NOT dampened so we do NOT recommend them EVER. They will ruin the engine bearings, can damage oil pump gears, and effect the tuning. So no upside besides cost.

 

Well. As much as I hate to do it I will be getting non oem parts and non performance 😪 to do this fix.. I mean , bigdeal i can't have my performance crank...my idler pulley too is bad and making a grinding noise so that's needs to be replaced too. So im probably gonna get some amazon specials .
I'm going to be ordering a new : crank/dampener , crank bolt, serpentine belt , idler pulley , cam seal , serpentine belt tool with lock pin and anything else I should address while I'm in that area ??? I will rent the puller tool from auto zone.
I'm scared now it's my main bearings but I dont see how those could just all a sudden go bad the day my pulley fails. It was mentioned to me in another post . So I'm going to drain some oil today and inspect it and if theres no metal I think I'm safe in saying it's more likely just the pulley. My pulley does wobble alittle when I pull on it so I don't think that's normal and I see the gaps around the retaining bolt which dont look good. I'm just scared somehow my crank is broke and the new pulley isn't going to fix it. But looking at the pic and the videos , you guys think it's just my pulley ?

 

100% toast. When you pull it you'll find that it neatly separates into two halves, like an English muffin.
The good news is you'll only have to do it once and never think about it again. Be careful ordering - believe both PRW and ATI offer standard and oversized crank pulley options.
Belt tensioner if it's bad, at least the strut if the bushings are looking sketchy or rotting out. Front crank seal if it's leaking. Some people replace it even if it isn't. Mod MINI changes it in the same video.

 

I have an alta adjustable strut on my tensioner so I think that will be fine for now. I also am 95% sure it's the crank pulley now. I tightened the tensioner last night and stopped the belt slip and made full boost but had a horrible noise still and now after inspecting it the wear around the bolt is obviously the problem. I dropped some oil and inspected it and other than needing a change I didn't see 1 particulate of anything .
I added a pic of my alta 15% pulley , is that a quick change pulley ?? If so I'm going to move to a 17% then soon.
lol I've watched that video like 3x and have it saved for when I do the job, hopefully I can get my buddy with an r56 to help me since I just helped him..

When i 1st seen it yesterday

After tightening the belt and inspecting the pulley again today

My oil

The alta pulley

 

Could the crank snount be bad? It sure looks like it .
I'm going to autozone soon and renting the belt puller and pulley puller so that's gonna help save a few $$$..

 

Got my belt off by just loosening my alta strut tensioner and was able to slip the belt off. Derderder ,that made that easy enough

 

Is the size for the crank bolt a 5/8 .. it's the closest fit I find but has very minor play . Just making sure as i dont wanna eat the bolt with the impact . And i need to buy an impact socket then too and need correct size

 

From those pics it clearly looks like it's getting worse by the crank bolt. Likely the 3 welds that weld the center to the metal the rubber is bonded to is likely coming apart. For sure want to replace ASAP or stop driving cause it will leave you stranded or worse shred the belt and damage an alternator or axle boot.
If you are going to go with an OEM pulley make sure you get it from someone that will honor the warranty, we have found the new OEM ones just don't last as we have had customers only get 6 months out of them before they came apart too. So we will no longer install an OEM in the shop will will ONLY do the ATI or not do the job.

We have the belt tool and all the other stuff like crank seal and that you will want.

 

thank you but a friend of a friend has a unused pulley for me..and nonono it's not getting driven..its up on jacks and I'm doing little by little . I just ordered a new crank bolt and crank seal . Idk if I need a belt. Mine looks pretty new and I will grab a pic for parts # reference to check the correct length. Though I'm sure my alta tensioner can correct for it if its stock.
I'm pretty sure I read it takes a 15mm socket or is it 5/8th for it ?

 

Great we'll send the seal and bolt out today as we always have them on the shelf.
If the belt isn't cracked or burnt up it should be ok.
But again you need to ditch that Alta tensioner as it is NOT working right as the design will not allow it to move correctly. Just put a new stock shock on it and you won't have to worry about the alta part again.
https://www.waymotorworks.com/superc...k-r52-r53.html

 

If you need a stock tensioner pm me mate!

 

if I end up needing one I will hyu..thx again bud..I'm hoping it's just the crank..I'm gonna grab it on Monday or Tuesday as I'm very busy so I'm just doing little by little day by day.( and my 10yr daughters been a helping hand with school out and community distancing) lol she honestly can do and knows more than most 16yr old boys.
Tomorrow I will be removing the bolt as I got my hands on a compressor n airtools !!! So it will be her 1at lesson with those , lol i hope she can handle the torque gun.
I know alta is junk. But it does have 1 big benefit for me rite now. It allows me to adjust the amount of tension on the belt so I can remove and install it and IF the belt is incorrect length or worn I can adjust the tensioner to pick up the slack. Also I'm sure it will be fine as I did drive the car abit before I confirmed it was my crank pulley and after tightening it I for the 1st time of owning this car saw correct boost reading and didnt hear what I always assumed was my sc screaming but it was my belt squealing at high rpms . It was hard to identify and single out with my stupid loud exhaust and never owning one of these cars before.
once I get it all back together I know all what to look for now and may need a new tensioner and belt possibly . I'm hoping not. My car honestly felt better than its EVER have once I tightened the tensioner, even with the shot crankpulley though the crankpulley sure was making a nasty noise . I was not smart taking it for the test drive but I was not aware it was the crank . At that point I thought it was just belt slip but obv found out it was the crank.
lol unfortunately the p.o musta thought alta was great because my car I now found has an alta strut tensioner , pulley and intercooler boots.. I wonder if he had bought it all as a package or something .

 

Success. Got the old one off easily with an air impact gun . I also went to home depot and found a little longer bolt to be able to pull the new pulley on. Im going to pick it up monday.
I will heat up the pulley too before I attempt to press it on.
lol I even rented a pulley puller but didn't even need it as I seen pulling the pulley off is the hardest part . Mine literally just slid rite off thx to it being all cracked and broke where it attaches to the snout .
Then me n my buddy got done and went and inspected his timing chain and put a new valve cover gasket on.
I included a pic of the bolt # I'm using encase anyone refers to this for advice

 

Problem fixed , very easy job .
omg...its been bad from the day I got the car. Theres no belt squeal now that I thought was the sc BUT now that I'm making 16lb not 11lb and it makes boost sooner and holds the boost properly so its all around better driving but no exaggeration it's like 40-50hp stronger . I literally cannot hold the car strait with a 1st gear launch now and that sc scream with my exhaust is just great sounding . I absolutely love it and I'm soooooooo glad that it broke because it's running better than ever and I'm finally actually satisfied with how fast it is.

 

sorry to thread jack , but i have the same situation and i found a motor with a ati damper with it, but it looks damaged , are these dampers still good to use with slight damages on it? Or do i need to rebuild

 

is that what happens to the crank pulley when the tensioner fails ?
I would highly suggest to not even try the damaged pulley .
I seen a few pop up on here for sale cheap enough or amazon has one I was looking at for like 90$ only...I have a non oem on my car rite now .

 

The dents are fairly even, wouldn't be surprised if someone used a chain type pulley holder on it.

 

Since that has damage to the grooves you can send it into the ATI and they will rebuild it with a new shell for less than a new one so it's a good deal for you and one of the nice things about the ATI.