1st Gen R53 Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: Belt Bypass the Supercharger?

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!!

 

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

Thanks!

 

I agree!

 

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!


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

 

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.

 

Thanks so much!! This will be a HUGE help!!

 

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:

 

I am beginning to think that the belt just failed. It is the original one and the car has 49,000 miles on it.

I called the local MINI parts desk and they will not sell me a tensioner tool. And they did not know where to find one.

Where do you guys get your tensioner tool?

Thanks!

BTW, the wheels on the Tahoe are Enki brand. Not sure of the model. They were on there when I bought it. I have not seen anyone else with them.

 

I am between Houston and Galveston and I was hoping to drive the MINI back to Dallas this Saturday. I appreciate the offer to loan the tool.

 

I am going to try this. Thanks!!!