Hello fellow Mini drivers. I come here today to ask a question(s). We just bought a 2003 Cooper S. Previous owner took no care of it at all. We got it for a good price so we're fixing it.

I'd like to know how many hours a mechanic should charge me to have a belt tensioner and idler pulley installed? I'm being quoted $400+ for the repairs.

Thanks.

 

45 views, thanks guise, very helpful

 

IF that is parts and labor it is reasonable.

 

I concur. If that includes parts, it's not a bad price. If not including parts, you're looking at about another $140 for parts (if you buy online and supply yourself) or much more if they supply I'm sure.

But labor wise, it does take a little time, I've done both myself, but you will also need a belt tensioner tool if you decide to give it a go yourself.

 

Not sure if you can replace the tensioner without putting the vehicle into service mode: remove front bumper, front radiator support, etc. in order to access and remove the tensioner. The supercharger pulley can be removed by just jacking up the motor and using a puller tool but I'm not sure it's that easy for the tensioner... This could be why the labor is high. Remember too, most shops now charge over $100 an hour for labor. So based off that quote if its labor only, that'd be like 4 hour estimate to do the job which to me doesn't sound unreasonable if they have to remove the front assembly.


On second thought, if you haven't already bought a new tensioner, call ALTA performance parts. They have designed a new tensioner for the MINI because the O.E. is prone to failure. They don't have the tensioner on their website but there is a thread in the forums here where several members are testing the new unit for ALTA without issues. A few others have called recently and bought the new tensioner and have reported ALTA as saying it should be on their website soon.....and that was months ago :rolleyes

Anyways, not only will the folks at ALTA be able to help supply you with a tensioner if need be, but could also advise you on what to expect as far as replacing the tensioner.

 

$300-$400 sounds about right, but as others have said, you might be able to save some money if you purchase the parts yourself. The replacing the belt tensioner has been covered here if you're feeling ambitious: http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...eplacement.htm

-Jorge

 

You do not need to put the car into service mode to replace the tensioner. You can follow the guide for the supercharger pulley removal, hell in most guides you actually remove the tensioner anyways. After you remove the belt, the left side motor mount, lower mount and the hoses/connections and start to jack the passangers side of the motor up, the tensioner is held on by 4 bolts. You can usually get to the top 2 easy from the top and the others from the wheel well. Remove the tire, remove the wheel liner, and you'll have access.

To do the idler pulley, follow same process, but instead of jacking the motor up, lower it slightly and you will have access to the bolt that holds on the idler pulley. Just make sure you use the correct torque specs when reinstalling everything.

The Alta tensioner is still raising a great debate, Alta testers are having good results so far, but essentially what they are doing is replacing the actual tensioner arm on the belt tensioner (as you currently have to buy the entire assembly), but with a solid arm instead of a hydrolic dampener. People are questioning this somewhat because they don't know the long term effects of replacing the damper with a solid rod.

What you could look into is doing the supercharger pulley while you're in there (if you haven't already) and also getting some powerflex tensioner arm bushings, and a tensioner stop.

Where do you live? you should look around local for any Mini specialists that can do the smaller pulley swap, because by the time you replace the tensioner, the only additional step you would have to take is removing the stock supercharger pulley and putting new one on... it's literally right there.

 

I bought my tensioner assembly and idler pulley from Pelican, one of the best prices on an actual Litens tensioner and everything always ships quick and no problems!

 

Thanks for the kind words and for adding the idler pulley write-up

-Jorge

 

you definitely dont need to remove the whole front end to remove the belt tensioner. its done very easily and people on here are making it sound more complicated then it really is. its definitely something you can do yourself if youve got a jack and a set of wrenches.

all you really need to do is:

jack up the car
take off the passenger wheel
take off the plastic wheel well liner
remove the serpentine belt
remove the lower motor mount
hold the engine with a jack
remove the upper engine mount
lower the motor
remove all the bolts that hold the tensioner and arm
raise the engine to get the the very top bolt that covers over the superchager pully
install your new parts and do the process backwards
you dont need a torque wrench just make sure everything is tight

if you decide you want to install a smaller SC pulley at the same time
all you would need from there is a pulley removal tool and a smaller belt

 

Well, tomorrow it's going to the shop. Getting a clutch, idler pulley, tensioner, serp belt, throwout bearing, replaced tomorrow.
Hopefully something doesn't break soon afterwards. It's costing a fortune, but for what we paid for it, it seems worth it at this moment.

 

Did the quote change?

 

I would assume the quote went way up! That's a lot of work to shell out for... but on a used car, hey if that's all you need to bring it up to speed then that's not near as bad as some other peoples' horror stories of buying used cars that have needed tons of work.

 

Yes the price went up. About $1000 worth of labor. Bought all parts myself though. I think I bought the correct clutch, but not too sure.

Part number: 21217534151 - Luk OEM 215mm

Still needs a new amp from what I read. Harmon Kardon system, the speakers pop and hiss. How can I tell if it has Mini Connected? If it has that then I'd probably a new amp. If not then for the same price of a new amp I can get new speakers and a 4 channel as well as a headunit, as I have the monoblock and sub, 1/0 gauge already from previous car.

 

That should be the right clutch kit. It's coming up as a superseded number (new number: 21-20-7-551-383)

 

Mini connected? Not sure what you mean there? If your R53 has the h/k system then thats pretty much the only sterio option on these cars. Mini connected came quite a bit later I believe.

The h/k amps have had some reliability issues. There's plenty of good threads in the audio forum about upgrading speakers and installing new head units etc

 

Is there a replacement damper available other then the alta piece? Ive been looking with no success.

 

This is what I did: Got the Litens assembly from Pelican, took & replaced just the damper since the pulley on the tensioner was still good. 15min job w/o the need to undo the engine mounts for swapping the damper alone.
Even better, get powerflex or Way's Delrin damper bushings to swap w/ the rubber ones. Should keep it good for some time.
& oh, I have the Alta on standby for future testing.

 

Minsanity: did u change the bushing of you new dumper?

 

I just used the new damper & bushes that came w/ the new Litens tensioner assembly.

 

Having a bit of an issue still. Replaced the belt two times already for the same reason. The belt is wearing out extremely fast. There is black dust buildup all around the pulleys and all over the alternator housing from what I suspect is the belt deteriorating.

If I step on the gas I will start to smell burning rubber. Not just a faint smell but pretty overwhelming if the windows are down as I drive. The backside (smooth) of the belt is being eaten by something except for the very middle where there is that gap in the very center of the idler pulley. You can see scuffing on the smooth side of the belt as if it's slipping. In the middle of the idler pulley, the belt doesn't have that scuffing and now looks like a long single rib like the 6 rib side. What can be causing this problem? I replaced the idler pulley and tensioner already thinking that was the problem.

 

Your belt could be slipping from using the wrong size. Do you know if you have a smaller supercharger pulley or the stock one? This could be the problem.

 

Not sure, bought the car used. Can I take a tape measure with me outside to check? This is the belt that's being used. http://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2004-C...Belt/ES261048/

 

Look at the pulley and chances are if it has no bolts attaching it, it is stock. If it is has bolts attaching it, it is an aftermarket underdrive pulley. This helix is the aftermarket one.

This is the stock one.

 

All I seen was something that looked like this. I don't know where the location of the SC pulley is. It's the same hole/nut pattern but can't remember if it was aluminum color or black. I'm thinking black. It's raining outside and the car is parked in a tight area right now. I'll look again tomorrow. http://www.mini-madness.com/browsepr...er-pulley.HTML