So I recently bought a mini Cooper S. I am doing some maintenance on it and replaced the belt tensioner. Now I’m trying to replace the serpentine belt and unable to do so. The belt will not fit on the car. I have the belt tensioner set on the second hole. I bought two different belts, one continental part number PK1388. And the gates belt part number PK1389. I tried both belts and can’t get it to fit. Everything is stocked, no upgraded supercharger pulley.

I am in desperate need of some help. Any guidance would be great.

 

When you have a min, look on the belts and tell me what "country" they are made in. It should indicate in same area as part no stamping...

 

 

The Continental # checks out for a non-JCW S, but the Gates number doesn't seem to match up.

Outside chance you could be running an oversized crank pulley. (?) If it's still the factory one on the car this would be a good time to replace it preemptively, you know - "while you're in there."

That said try putting the belt over all the pulleys, saving the idler for last. You may need to use the tool to relieve a little more tension than the 2nd hole provides. Easier if you have a buddy but not impossible alone.

 

I have a 17% undersize pulley and for 15 yrs always use the NAPA belts...w/o any issues.

Just replaced the belt last week....NAPA belt same as the one coming off....IT wouldnt go on....had to be "walked" on by rotating the crank pulley...When matched up against the one that came off, it was a bit shorter, a bit wider, and the ribs were different. Also noticed the one which wasn't fitting was not made in the USA like all the others, it was made in Mexico....

 

the Continental belt says “made in Germany”
the Gates says “made in USA”

correction to belt numbers:
gates belt: 6pk1389 or K060547

 

so I bought the car a few months ago. The previous owner says it’s stock. I reached out and verified it was stock.

I got the gates belt from Oreilly. Triple checked it with the rep.

 

That's the correct one for a stock S. If you had a JCW it would be a K0605339. Not sure which you'd run for something even more undersized (17%) but in that case the stock belt would likely be too big, not too small.

Try threading your K060547 belt around everything saving the idler for last. Install and pull back the tool a little as you feed the belt over the idler pulley edge and it should slide into place.

Diagram here if it comes in handy.

 

So I tried with all my might to get the belt to fit. Tried using a screw driver to pull it over idler pulley.

I have the belt tensioner on the second hole. And it won’t go past that second hole. It’s pushed as far as it can go.

question: I’m not sure my crank pulley is “oversized” or not. Can anyone tell me?

and thanks all for your help so far

 

One thought that comes to mind is that someone replaced the idler pulley and put it back in the wrong hole....see this https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/r...covers/AvlxUaK. Often times bolt #11 is missing and the idler pulley can be installed in this hole...causing the belt to seem too short. Easy enough to take the idler off and check it's position...should be in the empty hole and not where bolt #11 goes. Worth a check.

 

060547 is too small... ?.
Who the hell is numbering / stamping these things ?

I just went thru this last week.....took two techs to put on a belt which I replaced last time in my garage all by myself. Would have done it this time but other services were required.

When I matched up both belts of "same size/manuctuer" The new one was obviously was NOT the same....ribs, rubber, length and width was visually not the same....

 

That's a factory pulley, standard size. So scratch that possibility.

Something else to try: take a look at, and possibly remove, temporarily, the belt tensioner damper (looks like a MINIature shock absorber, because it is) from the belt tensioner. If it's stuck or jamming, possibly due to age/corrosion, or it's one of those adjustable Alta jobs that someone hyper-extended, this might explain why you're not able to budge the tensioner much past the second hole.

If you have small enough hands and slender arms (or access to someone else's) you can reach down and underneath from the back of the passenger side of the motor to reach it. Believe it's a 10mm socket. You should just need to unbolt one end (presumably the rear one, most easily in reach).

 

Tensioners, new / old worn or otherwise will physcally ONLY compress so far due to laws of physics.........
They can and will all only compress to about 1/8th of an inch PAST the second hole.
The second hole is where one inserts the tool to keep the tensioner compressed for belt installation.....
A bad tensioner would just fall apart or not provide any tension outwardly.

 

The tensioner is brand new. Just bought it. Thought it was a genuine one, but it’s an aftermarket one. I’ve taken it out at least three times to verify fitment. So the pulley on it and the dampener are brand new.

My only other thought is it’s the belt tensioner. Maybe I need to get a different one. I have two different belts and have attempted to put them both on. Still having the same issues with both belts.

To my understanding I should be struggling with this correct? Shouldn’t be this hard to put this on? I took the oil pan off and the AC compressor off with less problems than this belt.

 

When you use the tool to compress the tensioner....it will ONLY retract so far.

With 3 men and an elephant standing on the end of the tool it will only go a smidge beyond the 2nd hole.
That is the way its designed, so I dont see how a new tensioner will help.

Have you stretched out the old belt along side the new belt(s) to see how much diff there is in length ?

We ended up attaching the last part of the belt at the crank pulley....socket wrench on the nut rotating it slowly "walking" the belt onto crank pulley.....

I usually replace the belt every 20-30K miles....They're cheap and easy to do....at 234K miles this is the First time ever having to deal with a shrinking belt issue.....

 

Found the Solution. Was able to find an old thread with a posting with exact issues as mine. Had to buy an Autozone belt 550k6. Just a bit larger. Didn't fit initially. But I took of the idler pulley, placed it inside the belt. THen tightened idler pulley down and TAAAADAAAA! Fixed

THanks everyone for all the suggestions.