I'm a newbie to Mini's. I have an 06 Cooper S, and replaced the crankshaft pulley and harmonic balancer. Does the pulley need to be In a certain position for the sensor to read it, for timing purposes? From what i could see in the Chilton book it does, but on the you-tube videos it doesnt mention anything about it. I put it all back together, the car started, took it for a test drive, pulled back into the driveway, and was at idle, and it died. I tried to start it again, and no such luck. It will crank, but it won't start. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Nothing is read off the crank pulley, and you cannot set or adjust timing on these engines.

Bryan

 

Thanks for the reply on the crankshaft pulley, that is very good to know. Any suggestions on what could be keeping the engine from starting? I have no clue where to even start. The oil light was flashing on the test run, before it died so I checked the oil level and it was full. ??

 

I will say either no spark or no fuel....make sure the camshaft sensor plug has not fell off....look around and make sure no other sensor plugs are disconnected either....

Bryan

 

Do you have, or know someone who has, a code reader? It would be useful to see what, if anything, OBD might tell you.

 

OBD2 readout, then basics:

>fuel level low / empty (no shame, we've all done it)
>battery voltage (if it's cranking normally, suspect ok but should be 12.6V cold and 13.8-14.7 idling). Asking just in case there's a belt issue (is it the correct belt, is the belt installed correctly and was the pin removed from the tensioner after belt reinstallation / replacement? and the alternator isn't turning properly = not charging battery, creating all sorts of evil electronic gremlins possibly including false warning light indications
>ground strap removed / disconnected
>crankshaft position sensor bad or connector loose - this one's behind / underneath the supercharger so unless you went front end service mode and did some other work this one's unlikely but not impossible. They do fail.
Would next check compression, cranking spark and fuel pressure at the rail. But first:

Not something you want to see. Flashing light generally = emergent low to no pressure, stop engine immediately.

Hopefully that's not actually the case. Oil pressure sensors do go out (mine did, at around 60K, cheap, relatively easy fix. Or this is a false indication due to low system voltage. That this happened right after the crank pulley was replaced though, could be a bigger issue (somehow). Does the front crank seal look ok? Was it replaced in conjunction with the pulley (often recommended, I skipped it at 50K because mine was fine). Any signs of a major oil leak underneath - big stain on driveway, etc.

Can remove oil pressure sensor and replace with a mechanical gauge and see what the cranking pressure is. Others can hopefully weigh in at this point as I've never actually done that...

 

The car was worked on last at the Mini of Portland dealership. They replaced the crankshaft position sensor and the belt, so I would assume they are the right parts. When I was trying to get the old harmonic balancer off I might have accidentally drilled into the timing cover. Could this cause the oil pressure to have issues. I am getting ready to change the oil pressure sensor, and just need to know if I'm gonna have to change the timing cover. I do have a OBD reader, but it's not reading any codes.

 

Just out of curiosity here, why are you drilling into the timing cover to remove the crank pulley? The pulley comes off real easy with the correct tool

 

Depending where on the timing cover area you drilled into , then perhaps yes you could cause a pressure issue . I believe the oil pump assembly is built onto the cover area behind the crank pulley area, and if you drilled into that section It could definetely cause issues. Do u see oil spewing out from the hole you drilled into?

 

I had ordered a new crankshaft pulley and harmonic balancer. The harmonic balancer cover with the 3 screw holes broke off upon install, and my duck foot puller wouldn't work, and neither would my 3 claw tool. I drilled into the harmonic balancer to try to remove it. I fought with it for hours trying to remove it, and ended up grinding down the 3 claws to be able to fit behind the pulley.

 

no, I don't have any oil loss. Nothing on the ground, or around the area. The hole is to the lower right of where the crankshaft pulley attaches to.

 

oil light issue could be broken drain back valve in the filter housing. I don't know if our engines have a cut off switch in the ECM due to low oil pressure.

And if the light comes on, it's telling you that you have a los of pressure in the system, has nothing to do with the oil level in the engine, unless it's empty