1st Gen R53 Cooper S Belt Bypass the Supercharger?

Discussion in '1st Generation: 2002–06 R50, R53 & 2004–08 R52' started by matchframe, May 8, 2012.

  1. matchframe

    matchframe Member

    Aug 3, 2009
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    My son has a 2006 Mini Cooper S. He lives in Dallas right now and I am near Galveston, about 4.5 hours away. He does not know his way around engines, but I have a lot of experience with engines. If interested, here is a link to my car projects website: www.bigdoggarage.com

    With that as a background, here is his situation: He lost the belt on the Mini so I had him go to a local Firestone to have someone check it out. That way I could have a good idea of what is going on. I talked with the mechanic at Firestone and he told me the supercharger has gone bad and that is why it threw the belt. He wanted $2,700 just for the replacement supercharger not counting the labor, ... etc. I am always skeptical until I can see the the bad parts in person. I paid him for the time he spent on it and had my son drive the Mini back to his apartment just a few miles away.

    I will be driving to Dallas tomorrow to determine that the charger is in fact bad and go from there. I may trailer the Mini back to my house near Galveston to fix it.

    Here is my question, if I put a smaller belt that by passes the supercharger, first will it run and will it run well enough for daily driving? If so, do I buy a belt for a non-supercharged Mini?

    Second question where can I buy a supercharger for less than what the Mini dealer wants? I don't mind rebuilt ones as long as they are done right.

    Thanks!!:Thumbsup:
     
  2. jeffster06

    jeffster06 Active Member

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    You can't bypass the supercharger the car will over heat not to mention throw boost loss codes and stay in limp mode. The water pump is driven by the supercharger so if you bypassed it the water pump wont turn anymore.
     
  3. Nathan

    Nathan Founder

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    #3 Nathan, May 8, 2012
    Last edited: May 8, 2012
    On the back of the supercharger is the water pump. If you remove the S/C from spinning you will not have a water pump.

    Check with the Motoring Alliance vendors, you can find a rebuilt S/C for less.

    Part number for a reman S/C 11-65-7-540-124
     
  4. Minidave

    Minidave Well-Known Member
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    I don't know if I'd take it all the way back to Galveston, it could be just the tensioner wheel bearing has failed - I'd bet on that before I'd bet on a bad supercharger. It could be an easy fix.

    It could also be just the water pump has failed causing the belt to shred, but I'd bet on the tensioner first.

    Don't drive it even a few miles without the belt or you'll kill it.
     
  5. Msfitoy

    Msfitoy Member

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    I'd take the 4.5 hour drive and see it for yourself...
     
  6. matchframe

    matchframe Member

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    Ok, thanks for the replies!! I did not know the water pump was driven by the SC. I plan to drive there tomorrow to check it out. I will definitely check the idler first however.

    I will let you know how this turns out.

    Thanks again!! :Thumbsup:
     
  7. matchframe

    matchframe Member

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    I will definitely check on the vendors here if I do need to replace the SC.

    Thanks!
     
  8. Metalman

    Metalman Well-Known Member
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    I'm betting a 2006 doesn't have anything wrong with the supercharger. What's probably wrong is the Firestone business.
     
  9. matchframe

    matchframe Member

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    I agree!
     
  10. matchframe

    matchframe Member

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    I drove to Dallas yesterday and trailered my son's Mini home with me. We left him my wife's van to drive for the time being. When I first got there I looked the engine over and I could freely spin the Super Charger. So when Firestone told me that the SC was seized, apparently they were lying. I plan to check out the engine more closely in the next few days and will let you all know what I find out.

    Thanks for all the info so far, this has been a good help!
    MINI-3.jpg MINI3-1.jpg

    I even used the tie down hook to safety chain the MINI to the trailer:

    MINI2-2.jpg
     
  11. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    Check the crank pulley. Good chance that it is failing. Common problem with 2006's around now, and that will cause it to throw the belt. Not the only thing it could be, but definitely one thing it could be.

    If that's the problem, you'll be able to either turn or wobble the crank pulley by hand. To access it, you remove the passenger side front wheel and the screws and plastic expanding clips holding the wheel well liner, then remove the liner.

    If it has failed, you have to pull it and replace with either a new OEM pulley (which will also fail eventually) or an aftermarket pulley like ATI or a fluid-damped one.
     
  12. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    My money is on the tensioner.

    The Detroit Tuned tensioner stop would have save it from tossing the belt and chewing it up if the OEM tensioner failed.
     
  13. AliceCooper

    AliceCooper Club Coordinator

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    I'm leaning toward what Blimey said, could very well be the crank pulley as well.
     
  14. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    Tensioner is also a good guess. I've had both fail...
     
  15. matchframe

    matchframe Member

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    Today is the first day I will have a chance to look into what the issue is. I will let you know what I find. Thanks for all the ideas of what to look for!! That is going to be a huge help when I start looking. :Thumbsup:
     
  16. agranger

    agranger MINI of the Month June 2009
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    I'm guessing bad tensioner or the crank pulley has separated. It could also be that the belt just died... after 6-7 years, that sucker may just get brittle and let go.

    When my crank pulley went, I could spin it by hand when the car was in gear... the stock piece is a 2-piece dampened unit and the rubber in the middle gave way.

    Just in case you haven't found these links:

    How to replace the belt: Replacing the Serpentine Belt on an R53 MCS - Library

    How to replace the idler pulley: Idler Pulley ("Adjusting Pulley") Replacement DIY - Library

    How to replace the crank pulley: Replacing the Crank Pulley - Library

    How to change the supercharger oil (not really what you are doing, but there are lots of good pics in there where you can see the supercharger and how the waterpump takes power off of the back side. If your waterpump is shot, it will take you through the waterpump replacement): Supercharger Oil Service + oil pan gasket - Library
     
  17. matchframe

    matchframe Member

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    Thanks so much!! This will be a HUGE help!! :Thumbsup:
     
  18. agranger

    agranger MINI of the Month June 2009
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    Sorry that I was off in Scotland when your question was first posed... I coulda helped with the belt tensioner tool while here in Dallas or maybe helped with the first look.

    Keep asking your questions here as you take the car apart. There are lots of helpful people here (and atleast 1 or 2 of 'em actually know what they are talking about! :D )
     
  19. matchframe

    matchframe Member

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    I got a pretty good look at the pulleys and nothing really seems out of the ordinary. The crank pulley is pretty solid and does not move at all. The idler pulley and tensioner pulley both turn pretty freely and smooth, no rough spots or drag of any kind. The SC pulley has some drag to it, but to me feels like it probably should.

    Where can I get a tensioner tool? Would the MINI part dept. have them?

    Here are a couple of pics I took this afternoon:




    Mini10.jpg Mini11.jpg Mini12.jpg
     
  20. iwashmycar

    iwashmycar Active Member

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    Maybe it just needs a new belt? Is it impossible for them to not skip a belt with nothing blatantly wrong? (I have not owned a first gen)

    ps i dig the wheels on the Chebby
     

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