Sunday hell need help/advice please. Forgive me if this is in the wrong forum place but the "how-to" section was very helpful on prepping the motor for this job. Of course the poster seems to have a very nice square removal tool which seems very smart to me since it uses the tool body against the motor block for leverage - the ALTA tool is rather standard.

I have the ALTA v2 15% pulley and the "rental" ALTA pulley tool. Everything is going fine until I get to removing the stock pulley. It isn't coming off. The pulley is still flush with the shaft end.

I do not have a torch (assuming some heat on that thing might help) and I am having trouble getting enough leverage between the removal tool flanges and the motor block. The pulley shaft wants to rotate happily. I am concerned that I will bend the pulley tool main screw because the thing is requiring so much torque and leverage.

I am not new to working on motors although I am a pure Mini newb. I am short on tools (sold those with my s30 datsun). My thinking is to stop, but everything back and take to someone who; knows better, and has all the right tools, etc. Any ideas for help before I put everything back together? Also ALTA sent me a Napa belt #060539 - can I use this if I leave the stock pulley on and bail from the project? Thanks BIGTIME and in advance.

 

That crows foot pully does not look square to the pulley. Fix that first. If you are all set up correctly with the jack screw in the center of the SC shaft, it shouldn't take much to pop it loose. I would recomend using a strap wrench or similar to stop the shaft from rotating rather than what you were doing with the pry bar.

 

Thanks. I adjusted that center and also closed the gap between the tool and the puller - still not moving. Tried a number of ideas from some PM's off-thread to include anti-seize/grease, squaring-up, closing the gap, etc. The center screw came with the tool and a bit of a bend cam with it; very slight. I do not think the crows foot puller can take the torque of an impact wrench. Doesn't that main screw look a little long to anyone?

Does anyone know what the thread pattern is/bolt size for the s/c shaft hole? I tried the grounding bolt and it is not the same on the '04 as it may be via another poster's good suggestion. Thanks again,

Steve

 

Thread pitch for the center hole is 8x1.25. Make sure the puller is snug up against the pulley removal tool. Use a crescent wrench on the square end of the puller to prevent it from moving... that's why its square. It will take a substantial amount of force to remove. Keep at it, twist harder. I would advise against an impact wrench on the puller screw.

 

Got it off. Thanks to Chris at Alta, Pharoah, K-Huevo, evilc66, and bizcat1.

The moral of this pulley story is;

1. check the main screw attachment for the crow's foot tool and make sure the diameter of that attachment is smaller that the stock pulley hole diameter or use no attachments

2. get the bolts as close together as possible and square (my eyes aren't so good anymore, borrowed my son's) between the crow's foot and the pulley clamp

3. Consider using a bolt in the shaft so you do not have issues like point 1

4. Have patience and ask for help

Thanks again. Now of course I am leaving on vacation and cannot get the car back together to have fun with the new reduction pulley before I leave! Too funny...

Stephen

 

^ I ran into the same problems as you when I did mine. Unfortunately it was on a Saturday so I had no body to call. I just kept at it using a breaker bar and lots of torque, like you, I eventually got it. I would say that Alta's pulley removal tool is lacking at best, any of the square ones are MUCH better. Good thing you didn't get the crows foot stuck between the pulley and the frame! I did!

 

How many pulley jobs have you done to make that claim? There are hundreds of people who have used the Alta tool with great success. Also, there are no fundamental differences between it and any of the square tools which would cause it to work any better or worse than anything else.

Getting the crows foot stuck would indicate to me that the engine was not raised high enough or that you had it in the wrong orientation when removing the pulley.

 

The square ones are much easier to stop against the block to stop the pulley from rotating. It makes much more sense. But you are right about not having the engine raised high enough. I wanted to raise it as little as necessary, it was fine to start, but after a lot of rocking while getting the pulley off the engine slipped a little to the back and in turn lowered, all the while I couldn't raise it back up since it would have scratched a lot of paint off my frame.

Yes it was my first time doing a pulley install, but this was a simple observation on my part which would have made the job much much easier.

 

That's why the crows foot puller has a large square protrusion on the "heel" of the foot - use a crescent wrench on this piece and your rotating problems will be gone. This is far more effective than trying to brace a square removal tool against the block - you have a much longer moment arm to resist the massive torque you must apply to remove the pulley.

 

What year is the MCS? I had my pulley installed by a reputable shop last week and he had some trouble getting mine off. He used a customized Alta tool that used a larger 1/2-20 thread for the center bolt. Even with this, the threads of the bolt stripped, resulting in the final little bit being done with an air chisel to get the stock pulley off. He said that the pulleys on early models are much harder to get off, probably due to heat cycling.

 

Kapps if ur asking me it's a 2004 with the newer passenger side motor mount bracket that year (I think that year had a production change and mine is after the change).

There was no "square" heel on the crows foot pulley I used from Alta (unless you mean the square-end?) that can be used to facilitate removal, and there was no way to get the crow's foot close enough to the block to use same as leverage for the tool anyway.

The square tool being referred to above I believe is the clamp end of the pulley tool. It sits right on the stock pulley and will stop dead when torqued whether you use a crows' foot or similar on the other end of the removal tool or not. That's why you see the break bar above being used in my photos.

I am not a mini expert on s/c removal but I would imagine for an in care removal that it would be best to use either that square clamp or the Alta v1 removal tool and an impact wrench or the Alta special tool. Otherwise you're screwing around with leverage via multiple points and if you have a stubborn pulley you will need tremendous strength and may even damage the car or yourself if not prepped for the situation.

BTW, the car pulls like a bandit - much more available power over the low, medium, and high RPM range. It is a mod that should be done IMO. The 15% s/c pulley and belt, one-ball mod, Alta CAI, and the new cold plugs are all worth the $$ and effort getting on DIY.

Steve