Two of them! The other day the poor Mini started making a classic 'bearings dying' noise, and on getting the wheel arch cover taken off, I can feel grit and hear clicking in both the idler and the tensioner pulley.

1. I'm planning on taking off the upper engine mounts and going in from the top, as I've seen a few people recommend. Has anyone done it that way? Anything to watch out for? Is the space between the engine and the frame large enough to get a breaker bar into, or should I invest in some long-handled wrenches?
2. It occurred to me just now that I have the bad tensioner held in compressed state with a jeweler's screwdriver that I'll want back, so presumably I'll need to remove the screwdriver before I remove the tensioner from the car. Now that the belt's off, can I just release the tension and let the pulley hang on the spring, or should I re-compress it with something I'm okay with scrapping?

Thanks.

 

1) Use one of the videos you can find on Youtube or use a guide > https://www.pelicanparts.com/techart...eplacement.htm
2) I used an old long nail which I bended before putting it in

 

I'm trying to avoid having to jack the engine up—I've seen a few guides that work it that way, contra Pelican's.

 

Why? I also used the jack the engine up method. Just choose 1 method and go for it, you know there is another method waiting for you

 

The tensioner can be replaced thru the passenger-side wheel well. Before you buy a new tensioner check the hydraulic rod that's part of the tensioner. The bushings dry out, crack and fall out causing a rattling against the holding bolts. That could be the sum total of your problem. The hydraulic rod can be replaced for around $16 without replacing the entire tensioner.

 

Also change out the idler pulley as well, its only 1 bolt and you are already working in that area

 

It should be fine to release the tensioner after the belt is off and remove your screwdriver.

It wasn't the easiest way, I don't think, but I ended up putting my car in front end service mode to get the tensioner out and the new one in. I spent hours trying to avoid it, but finally just gave in and it was a piece of cake.

If you're planning on replacing the crank pulley soon, doing it at the same time as the tensioner is definitely the way to go, then all you have to remove is the fender liner.

 

Just finished up this work (crank pulley & timing cover gasket as well), pull the wheel liner, support the engine, remove the upper engine mount and you will have full access to remove it from above. Your going to need a jack under the block to pull the engine mount, which means your going to have to lift the motor some to get it off the mount. I believe the '03 mount is different than the 05 I have so to be clear, all I had to do was remove the bracket from the mount to the engine block and I had enough clearance to remove it. It was also suggested to back out the upper tensioner bolt to reduce the risk of slipage on the belt removal tool. I did not do that an choose to risk slipage. Which by the way proved to be a bad choice as I did end up with the tensioner & my hand fighting back with a whack in the face.

"If your not drawing blood every time you work on your car, your not bonding with it"

 

Hahaha, you shouldve listened, but sometimes its better to experience it yourself

Without slacking the bolt, I was unable to get good grip.

 

Agreed... even after the whack in the face I still did not loosen it lol did not learn!

 

Perfect, that's just what I wanted to know.

I guess I've been lucky with the tensioner tool—it's never given me much trouble once I get it properly seated, although I've definitely bashed myself on the chin once or twice anyway.

Hmm. I wasn't strictly planning on it, but maybe now's not a bad time. (The last time I tried to put my car in front-end service mode, I didn't have an impact wrench to get the subframe bolts off, so it didn't go well. Maybe I'd have more luck this time...)

I'll have to look again and compare to a known good/bad picture, but I think I might need a new upper/hydraulic motor mount too, and I'm going to be right there, as you say.

Anyone have a recommendation for a motor mount that doesn't fail every xx,000 miles?

I only just learned that this could be a problem a few days ago, and I'm pretty sure I've been hearing it for tens of thousands of miles now. (A rhythmic clicking sound starting at about 3000 rpm, which is loudest when driving past a barrier with the passenger window down.) Alas, the pulley is also clicking/grinding pretty badly when I turn it by hand, so I ordered the full assembly.

Yup! The idler is also clicking/grinding when turning with my fingers, so that's in the parts order.

Thanks for all the tips, guys—been very helpful so far.

 

TSW mount will vibrate more but should last quite a bit longer than stock. About $150 for that and around $100 for a good OEM type mount. I recently did a regular style mount because I needed it that day. What a difference compared to my old mount though. My vibration and noise when engaging the clutch off idle is so much quieter.

 

On a second look, I think my stock mount is doing okay, so I'll save that job for some later date.

Also on the second look, though, I think I'm going to do the crank pulley at the same time—I saw someone describe the symptoms of a crank pulley on the way out (sudden limp mode that goes away on restart, which I saw once last year and once a week or two ago; burning rubber smell after putting your foot into it, which I see whenever I put my foot into it), which suggest that's an actual repair and not a prophylaxis. I guess that moots the need to take the motor mount off, at least!

 

Crank pulley can be done without removing any of the engine mounts Its advisable to replace the crank pulley around 100k, which I surpassed not to long ago. I didnt take any chances and went ahead with the ATI 2% Super Damper. Expensive but worth it!

I documented everything here: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ml#post4559185

 

Did the ATI damper require a longer serpentine belt?

 

I used the same belt I used on my JCW, which has the 11% pulley.

1376mm / partnr: 1987947573

 

The die is cast!




The local AutoZone didn't have a pulley puller to borrow, so I had to buy one, and I had to get the M6 bolts off of Amazon because none of the local hardware stores had them long enough. With all that done, and a bolt cut down so that I could actually get the puller on, it wasn't too hard to get the pulley off.

Tomorrow, I'll do the tensioner and idler pulley. The new crank pulley/damper doesn't get here until Tuesday, though.

 

Holy *****, your engine is quite dirty. Compare it to my picture from not too long ago. Good luck with the rest of the remaining jobs!

 

Yup, I'm pretty sure that's from the crank seal.

I had a bit of an adventure getting the old tensioner off—I tried to take it off the rear bolt with a socket, and by the time I realized I didn't have enough clearance, I wasn't able to swap the ratchet back to turning right because it was touching the frame rail. (It was one of my beaters with a back plate that turns to set direction, rather than a lever). I ended up having to cut into it with a dremel until the ratcheting mechanism failed, so I could turn the socket with pliers to put the nut back in. I did end up having to take the motor mount brace off to get the top 10mm nut out—I couldn't get at it from below because the spring was in the way, and since I don't have ratcheting wrenches, it wasn't really feasible to get from the top.

At some point before I resorted to cutting the socket, I think I slightly bent the bolt—it didn't want to go in cleanly, so I set it aside and will try with a good bolt on Tuesday (when the shipment arrives; metric bolts are like hen's teeth around here). Hopefully I didn't damage the threads in the block, but even if I did, it feels like I have more than enough to get a shorter bolt or a bolt with some washers in.

 

Well, everything's back on, the car runs, the pulleys I removed were clearly going bad, and... the noise is still there. I know it's not the A/C compressor pulley, because that spun very easily by hand. Even with a screwdriver on the other two candidates (supercharger and alternator), I still can't tell which one it is, although based on how well I can hear it from different places I think it's probably the alternator.

Either way, it's a task for my local professional mechanic.

 

I was hearing some increased noise from my 04 JCW that sounded like the Super Charger, but read that it could be a number of things being telegraphed through the engine block. Then on a trip up to KC the belt tensioner broke in half, the belt became a bird's nest, and the damper shell was trashed by the broken tensioner parts rubbing it. I had to trailer it back home and I've replaced the tensioner and had the ATI Super Damper rebuilt and it is back together. I hoped that the tensioner was the cause of the noise, but there is still a noise that sounds even louder than before the tensioner broke. (or maybe I am more paranoid about it now). I had hand turned the fixed idler pulley, AC compressor, and alternator and all felt smooth and turned OK before the other parts were replaced, and now listening with a mechanic's stethoscope the idler pulley and alternator body sound OK and the loudest sound is at the pivot end of the belt tensioner and at the super charger body just below it. I also noted that the bolt in the center of the damper seemed to be turning slightly off center when I started it to check the tracking of the new belt, and it was as if the Damper was "shaking" a bit. I took a video which I will try to upload here that is not in good enough focus to show the off center turning, but does have the audio that I am hearing. I am now wondering if the tensioner breaking was the result of something else rather than the cause. Any suggestions on what I should check next?

BTW, if you order a Gates belt tensioner you will get a Litens unit in a Gates box (the same brand unit that broke) and to torque the M10 bolts on the tensioner it helps to have a flare type crows foot for your torque wrench because a socket, even a short one, will not fit.

BTW 2, I bought my Mini in 2017 with 180K miles on it from a BMW nut who had recently rebuilt it with New Clutch, Pressure Plate and Flywheel, New Struts, springs, shocks and ball joints, New Radiator Support All new engine gaskets, New Battery, New belts and hoses, New Belt Tensioner, New plugs and wires, New Supercharger and Water Pump, New Motor Mounts, New Starter, New front axles, New Windshield, New Clutch slave cylinder, New Hood Struts, New Brake Calipers, Alta 17% Undersized Supercharger Pulley, ATA 2% Oversized Super Damper, Alta Intercooler gaskets, M7 Speed Cold Air Intake, Adjustable Short Shifter, Konig Wheels (215/45R17). I've driven it just 5727 miles, mostly to local car shows and on British Car Club drives.

The videos don't seem to upload so here are some photos





Converted my mov files to MP3 sop you can hear the audio. Guess the site will not take mp4 videos and the mov files are too big to upload.

 

Stick the video on Youtube/Vimeo/Dropbox, maybe? I'm curious if we have the same sound.

 

I just added an audio file converted to MP3 from the video; it started at the damper and then moved up to the top of the engine where the sound was even a bit louder. I'll see about uploading the ones I converted to MP4 somewhere. I wanted to send one to the guy who built her to see what he thought, but my email provider won't send even a 25 MB file.

 

I uploaded damper video 2.MP4 to you tube. Not sure how to make it available immediately as today's date was rejected.

Video scheduled

Your video will be set to public on November 13, 2020 at 7:00 AM

[img]file:///C:\Users\Phil\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_ image001.gif[/img]


1:23
Damper video 2Uploaded Nov 12, 2020
Video link

 

So, is the sound in the video similar to yours? I can take a Db reading if that would help, but It sounds pretty loud to me.