ok so here is the problem. About 3 weeks ago my r53 just died on me in the middle of the street. The gauges went all crazy and then my EML light came on and then pretty much any light you can think of came on. My car died and completely lost power to everything and wouldn't start back up. My immediate thought was my altenator. I took it out and got it tested and nothing was wrong with it.
I later diagnosed my crank pulley had failed. I took that off and found out that that was indeed the source of the problem. So i ordered an alta 2% crank pulley as replacement. I installed it and everything was working great for about 3 weeks!
.........Untill
Yesterday my car died on me AGAIN, except this time was a little different. My power steering went out first, and then my lights, and then the WHOLE gauge thing again, so i thought maybe i installed it wrong or something. when i parked the car and looked at the belt and everything, it all seemed to be spinning fine, but about 5 minutes later my car lost power and died. I had a friend jump start it and it turned on and actually stayed on ONLY when it was being driven, it would die whenever it was idling. When i tried to just get it to my house (about 1 mile away), My whole coolant/radiator fluid reservoir tank EXPLODED. and i am not exaggerating when i say explode. The damn thing split into two pieces. Now i am completely stumped on what the heck is the problem. just took off my serpentine belt to check out the pulleys and what not. All of them seem to be in working order (i think?).
Is there anyone who has any idea of what could be the issue or maybe has had something similar happen to them?????

Also i have a kind of NOOB question. Is my supercharger pulley supposed to have a lot of resistance on it when i try to turn it with my hands, or should it spin rather easily like some of my other pulleys? probably a stupid question, but i might as well ask.

 

I know this may be a stupid reply but is the center bolt torqued to spec? My Mini kinda had similar problems but I have the ATI 2% pulley with the damper and my bolt backed out a bit which threw my belt off and made me lose all power. Not sure about the radiator tank, I've replaced one of those too! They are pretty common for splitting I'm half.

 

PS pump is designed to stop running when it senses the alternator is not putting out power....so the suggestion to check how the crank pulley is mounted is a good one IMO. Heck..if it was slipping...that means the alternator would not charge, the sc would not be spiing as much as it should, and thus the water pump would not be spinning enough...leading to a overheat!

 

Thanks for the info guys. I thought that i tightened my center bolt to the right torque, but come to think about it, i used an extension on my toque wrench and didn't realize that i had to calculate the length of the extension to get the right torque. Im going to double check on that. I'll keep you posted on how that works out for me. I really hope it is something as simple as that!
...In the mean time i need to get a new tank!

 

Adding an extension on your torque wrench would actually create more torque not less no? Also...did you reuse the bolt? I don't think you are supposed to do that...so if you did...go get a new bolt as well.

 

And add a dab of locktite to the threads....
Most pulleys require a bit of heat...
The ati needs to be heated a bit...the mouting hole is tapered a bit to help you get it on...but it explictly states it must be heated a bit....when it cools...it contracts....gripping the shaft.
The mini does not use a key/keyway to lock it in place, but uses friction...so having it clean is important too!!

 

ok so i heated up the pulley and reinstalled it. Hopefully this works! One more question though. It has been bugging me for a while. I was looking at my supercharger pulley (which i did not install), and noticed that the pulley itself was not flush/snug against the supercharger. It almost seemed like it was sticking out a bit. This could be perfectly normal, but i just want to make sure because i was thinking that could be a reason for throwing my belt off. I will attach a picture of it so you can get a better idea of what i am talking about. You can barely see the edge of the black pulley toward the right of the photo, the silver metal part is the part the pulley fits onto. Also is it normal for a supercharger pulley to maybe slip out over time?

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...p/photo/110125

 

OK, i reinstalled everything! jumped the car, and took it around the block. Everything was running just fine, with no check lights or weird gauges. What DID go wrong, is my car overheated. I don't think my water pump is cooling down my engine or something.
I am stumped....AGAIN
I am thinking it might be my supercharger pulley not being on tight enough (not lined up with the other pulleys, which is causing my belt to slip on the stationary pulley and NOT turn the alternator like it should.
Will someone please take a look at the picture ^^ i posted to see if it looks like there is too much of a gap from the pulley and the supercharger??

 

Hey..my pulley is not stock..but it doesn't touch. Look at your serpentine belt is it completely level? Not twisted? Here is a picture..not easy to shoot a picture of...but here you go.

Bleed your cooling system again...check the thermostat and housing.:.

 

Also check that your radiator fans are coming on..check the fuse...it it's blown also check your power steering fan that its not all locked up.

 

Thanks for the picture. My pulley isn't stock either so i think its okay. My next step is going to be checking the thermostat and housing. I'm hoping i won't have to replace my water pump

 

Another thought...when did you replace your belt? And what size did you replace it with?

 

A 535 length belt is usually good for a 15% or 17% pulley...but if you have a oversized crank pulley, not sure....
Is the coolant level ok....a bubble can get in it...and the car will overheat....if you had the overflow tank blowup and had to add coolant, bleed it.
any odd sounds? The water pump is run off a set of gears under the sc....can be an issue sometimes.

 

i just replaced it at the same time i replaced my crank pulley so it is brand new. and i got the size recommended by alta for my sized pulleys so i think it is ok.

 

i havn't been hearing any odd sounds. Ill try bleeding it and see what happens.

 

Any updates on this? Very curious to see if you were able to resolve the issues?

Btw I needed a Gates K06535 to get the right tension on mine. Initially I had a stock belt (long story) was having really poor AC performance. Custom mini shop took one look at it and recommended a much shorter belt...so not sure what length you used...give it a try for $19?

Let us know.

 

thermostat seems like a good thought. is it completely overheating? Does the temp fluctuate? hot to cooler then back to hot?

 

As what was advised earlier, check your low speed fan, too. My stock damper disintegrated on me a few weeks back. Just lost cold A/C & had intermittent batt light on. Waterpump couldn't spin & my low-speed was long dead. I usually use my A/C to kick in the hi-speed. Since I lost A/C too, my temp went high enough to trigger the hi-speed. Coolant level rose higher than normal, of course, but I kept an eye on my scangauge to make sure I never overheated. Followed everyone's sound advice & got me an ATI, new OEM bolt. Installation required heating & was a breeze. I'd advise you to get a new OEM crank bolt, if you haven't yet. It's got loctite on it from the factory.