My daughter was driving her 2002 MCS home from work and she got a check engine light and the engine died when revved over 4000 rpm. She limped home and I see a P1688 Electronic Throttle Control Monitor code, but that doesn’t match with the noises I hear from the engine bay. You can hear the noise with this linked clip, particularly right at the end. I can smell burning rubber, which might be a belt, but I’m not sure what the clicking noise is at the end.
Thanks for any suggestions.

 

 

 

Thanks for the quick help. Is the crank pulley what realoem calls the vibration damper?

 

 

 

 

For sure it is time for a new crank pulley as the burning rubber smell is always the tell.
Go for the ATI damper as it is by far the best in quality, fit, and how well it balances as you will notice the car run smoother with it. We have used the PRW one and offer them but the quality isn't as good as the ATI and we have had issues at time with them fitting.
https://www.waymotorworks.com/super-...ulley-r53.html

We keep them in stock so it can ship Monday morning to get to you fast too.

 

Thanks for all the help. I pulled the damper and it fell apart during removal, so I guess its time to order an ATI damper.

 

Anything else I should look at "while I'm in there"? We picked this car up last summer, and it has 90,000 miles and appears to have been neglected as far as maintenance. With the crank pulley off its fairly straightforward to replace the leaking front main seal, and the tensioner appears original and may or may not be working, so I think I'll replace it now. How about the other pulley, do they go bad or can I leave it? Anything else?

Also, is the 2% pulley option for the ATI damper a reliable upgrade? I know its not a ton of difference, but my daughter plans to autocross the car and it might be fun to bump the power a bit. However, it is a used car with unknown maintenance. Do mods like pulley upgrades increase the wear on an old supercharger to the point that it might affect reliability?

 

With an unknown maintenance history, it sounds like it's time to baseline the level of reliability. There's a pretty standard list of known components needing attention on a regular basis. At nearly 100K, I'd bet there are a few on your daughter's MCS's hit list of things to check. The 'Your ULTIMATE R53 Newbie...' was super helpful for me and my kid when we first dove in to MINI ownership. We experienced many of the repairs and now the car is reliable. You may not need to do all on that list at once, but at least you'll know what else there's lurking around the corner of old car ownership.

To answer your question, yes, replace the pulley, tensioner, idler pulley and belt. Check for leaks coming from the time case cover and address if necessary.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm actually a returning r53 owner; in 2002 we bought an MCS identical to this current car, only to have it totaled by a rampant minivan in 2009. My wife replaced that car with Clubman, so its been awhile since I delved back into the world of r53 peculiarities. I've already changed the clutch, all fluids and a fair bit of rubber bushings. I hope the clutch job on this car is not an omen, because our previous MCS was totaled 2 weeks after I did the clutch on it!

 

 

Huge thanks to Way Motor Works for help sorting through replacement parts options, and phenomenal shipping response. What a terrific vendor.