The Tensioner by itself is not bad - having to do guides is more work. If it is the tensioner, do it before it makes a mess of the guides. Ok?

130k is not a lot of miles, all things being equal.

if you like the car make it like new and drive it for another 10 years or more. Less expensive then starting over imo

I agree, In this day and age, 130k is still low. My problem is that this is my daily driver and can't afford to be without it for long. Have a little rust around the rear passenger taillight and a couple of small spot (controlled) around the rear hatch handle. Challenge is that many pieces in this area are original; alternator, super charger, water pump, A/C so up for replacement sooner than later. MY wife is going to be after me if this turns into a money pit <grin>. I do love to drive it though. It would be different if this was in the realm of my doing it myself. To be honest, I would love to do it. Just don't have the garage to handle this type of project.

Ian

I fianlly got a chance to do some diagnostic work. I was sort of driven there because it was starting to make much more noise (marble bouncing around). removed the serpentine belt and it is purring like a kitten. I think the issue is the alternator as I can't spin it by hand. I don't think it is the super charger. Still have a little more troubleshooting to do and if it is the alternator, find instruction on getting a new one in.

<EDIT> Well I can turn the alternator by hand but I think I hear some rubbing. Based on where the sound is coming from, I would guess the alternator and not the supercharger. I don't have any indication that the alternator is not charging the battery. Is there a way I can easily confirm?

Check the idler pulley and tensioner pulley before committing to an alternator. They can be noisy and are much cheaper.

Yeap. That would be the place to start. When I first noticed the noise before Christmas, I thought it might be the idler pulley or tensioner pulley. Replaced those and a new belt but it didn't impact the noise. Over the past few weeks, the noise has gotten quite bad. Tonight I ran without the serpentine belt. No Noise whatsoever. I would swear the noise is coming from the Alternator but can't discount the super charger. Interestingly, I haven't noticed any drop in powerwhen quickly accelerating (SC ok?) and the battery charging light is not on.
Literally it sounds like marbles bouncing around. I will try to upload a recording but too dark out to get the belt back on so it will be tomorrow night before I can do that.

Sorry about that. Given the choices, I hope for you that it's the alternator. Maybe you could rig something with a hand drill to drive the alternator fast enough to hear if it's the culprit.

You have made sure it wasn't a bad idler pulley ? You can remove it since it's in with one bolt and spin it between your fingers and feel if it's that..
or while your engine is running and serpentine on, take a water bottle and spray each individual pulley , the one you spray that makes it reduce or stop the noise that'd be it.

I replaced the idler pulley and belt tensioner before christmas and didn't notice any change in the noise level. Since then it has gotten progressively worse. I will get the belt back on tonight when I get home and will try spraying the bearings one at a time to see if that make a difference. Thanks for the suggestion. Really hope it isn't the supercharger.

OK. Put the belt back in. Noise is as bad as it has ever been. Attached a video with an audio recording. I am pretty sure it is the supercharger since listening to the sound from the wheel well, it seems to be coming from up towards the supercharger It doesn't seem to be coming from the alternator or A/C compressor. Putting screwdriver on the tensioner belt cover coveys the same vibrations as the noise.

If it is the supercharger, what would be the best option for getting back up and running? Is it worth it? Used supercharger? Should I use the dealer or local car shop? I am in Atlanta so I should have some good options but open to any suggestions.
Ian

When you grabbed the SC pulley by hand and rolled it back and forth did you you feel a bunch of backlash? Or any backlash for that matter? Any expensive clunking noises? Does not sound like a typical alternator to me.

I could move the SC pulley by hand but not easily. I wasn't sure if it was supposed to spin freely when no load. It is is supposed to spin freely then that is definately the problem. The alternator spun ok. No obvious binding. It felt like it was rubbing a bit but nothing extreme

my sc did that and had NO snout coupler and was running on the prongs alone inside, lol..it would make a rattle on startup and shut down but didn't cause any belt squeaks or anything. Lol you will see NO internal coupler. It Disintegrated inside and became part of the oil. I didn't find it until I threw a belt from a bad tensioner and took out my snout seal.

This is my daily driver. Other than the noise, is there any downside to using the car? Looking at the video you attached, what causes the marbles type noise, the clash of the gears?

No green thing.

Having troubles posting images tonight. 'Little help with the coupling pics please fellas?

Took my coop to a local mini/bmw shop. That confirm what I already knew; i.e that the super charger was bad. They were reluctant to recommend repair as they were concerned that aluminum filings from the super charger made it to the engine.. This this might be the end of the road for my trusted Cooper S. It has been my daily driver for over 10 years. Hard to let it go. Am I missing something else I should consider
Ian

Really sorry to hear that. If aluminum filings from the supercharger are making it to the engine, shouldn't you be able to see evidence of that if you pull the plugs and put a scope in? It seems a shame to throw in the towel when if there is no damage to the engine, you can get a rebuilt supercharger for $1000.

He offered to scope the cylinders to look for damage but wasn't confident that he would see anything obvious even if there where aluminum shavings in engine He was concerned about this turning into a +++ type project. While in there, given the age of the Coop, at a minimum we would also do the waterpump, some sensors etc (possibly alternator). If he installed a rebuilt supercharger ($1200 + $150 shipping) , $700 labor plus water pump and sensors, we are getting up close to $3k

Compression test is free, oil labs maybe $30. If those check out, the job can be done easy over a weekend. Only special tool needed is a tensioner tool. My 16yo daughter did it with guidance.

It appears that the bearing on the supercharger has failed so that the vanes on the super charger are clashing hence the thought that there might be aluminum going to the Engine. The car runs but the supercharger really makes steady noise. I am still struggling with a getting to a go/no go decision. Compression test is an obvious check I need to do. An oil lab or boroscope would be more info. Figureing that this will be ~$3000+/- is this worth the risk?

Whether it's worth the risk is a difficult question to answer. I would say, however, that I think the $3000 figure is a bit suspect. For example, I don't think it makes sense to replace the alternator unless there's evidence that it's bad. It's easy to replace later without touching anything significant done during the supercharger replacement. So doing it now doesn't save you much at all. I don't know what they are quoting for the alternator but they aren't cheap -- should be a good savings. Water pumps are cheap and they really shouldn't charge you extra labor for replacing it -- it will take them an extra 5 minutes. Not sure what sensors they want to replace but again, if the car is running well (aside from the supercharger eating itself) why replace them now?

My mini has 130k miles. Could drop the alternator. THat was one I added as it is original and probably doesn't have much life but you are correct, It can be dealt separately. I think they were trying to get the items that would make sense given that you are opening up the front end. I think the concern with this shop is that this is only the second time they have dealt with a super charger in this state so the risk seems larger to them that maybe it actually is.

Lets say compression comes back ok. I have them pull the supercharger. Send it to Steigmeirer to be rebuilt. Get it back to the shop and installed. It will still be $2000-$2500. I am trying to get my head around the tough question, is the cost/risk worth it?

First off - I'm sorry and disappointed to hear that it wasn't a simpler ($$) problem.
Like yourself; My MIni is my only car and daily driver. I can totally empathize with you.
Is there possibly an alternative - for example, replacing it with a good used (salvage?), unit?... Just for the time being??
In my position, I don't have any experience to evaluate or rebuild a SC. It might take a fair amount of digging to find a good (local) mechanic that is conversant in determining the condition of a used/salvaged SC.
Super Chargers at my local salvage yards go for $90. The caveat is; By the time the R53s' hit the yard - the SC is usually the first thing missing.

I am in the same boat. A SC that has been "looked over" cost about 400$ but don't know what "looked At" actually means. Normally I have done all of the work on my car but this would be the most complicated project I would have attempted and can't afford to be without the car for that long.

I really appreciate everyones thoughts. There is no risk free solution. If I decide to go though with this and and doesn't work I will definitely hear it from my wife < grin>