1st Gen R53 Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: BREAKING News on ALTA Adjustable Tensioner Stop

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  1. cct1

    cct1 Well-Known Member
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    #5 cct1, Mar 26, 2014
    An italian wise man once said: "You buy ALTA, it's your faulta"
     
  2. Crashton

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    #3 Crashton, Mar 26, 2014
    Not good at all. 9 months isn't a very long life for a part.

    Go with the part Dave linked, it is the real deal & at a good price.
     
  3. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    #2 Dave.0, Mar 26, 2014
    Well like all things ALTA, it ALTA work but it don't. :devil:

    Use the old tried and true an only $80 bucks for the EXACT same part MINI sells for $200 +
    Amazon.com: Gates 38404 Belt Tensioner: Automotive

    Glad you are back on the road again and no real damage happened.
     
  4. minsanity

    minsanity Well-Known Member

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    #19 minsanity, Apr 13, 2014
    The F56 makes that side even brighter!:Thumbsup:
    Like you, Dave, can't see myself in any other MINI.:cornut:
     
  5. ZippyNH

    ZippyNH Well-Known Member

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    #8 ZippyNH, Mar 26, 2014
    Not brilliant....
    I drive a 90's Freightliner truck with 1.8 million miles.....(my "other" job...but an extra $25 an hour when they call to pull a trailer loaded with US MAIL....no complaints)...it has a solid tensioner JUST LIKE THE ALTA.....when the A/C compressors were removed and the belt rerouted....a solid ALTA looking one is used to tension the new shorter belt....
    Mechanics hate them as do the drivers....every few thousand miles...they need adjustment or they squeal and will burn the belt......they say they WISH the company had gotten dummy pullies...so they could have stayed with the longer belt....but it comes down to saving a couple $$.
    The alta part is a HUGE step back...adds extra work....and you can buy a NEW OEM one for $80.....so every 3 years...just change it!
     
  6. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    #9 Dave.0, Mar 26, 2014
    The ALTA one has no damper that why it shakes like Michael J Fox and Fails.

    It's a poorly made glorified adjustable end link with no damper.
     
  7. minsanity

    minsanity Well-Known Member

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    #17 minsanity, Apr 13, 2014
    It's not that I won't coz I already did & the car feels like new.:Thumbsup:
    I never expect lifetime items, certainly not from BMW.....but they should live up to the phrase- German Engineering. Obviously, this part was British.:biggrin5:
    I'm just magnifying the reason & wisdom why newer cars like those from Subaru, Ford & others have NO MORE belt tensioners but opted for Stretch-Fit belts. They saved, at the same time, removed a maintenance item. A stone for 2 birds! Ours aren't the simple sprung pulley tensioner. It works but has a weak damper that's not sold separately from the entire assembly. If MINI never made a 2nd or 3rd Gen, I'm certain that tensioner would've been updated & superseded. Sadly, we're all left to settle, concede & be satisfied w/ it. :nonod:
     
  8. Dave.0

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    #18 Dave.0, Apr 13, 2014
    Yeah it sucks in the end but look at the bright side, you have a Supercharged MINI.:ihih::Thumbsup:
     
  9. minsanity

    minsanity Well-Known Member

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    #4 minsanity, Mar 26, 2014
    In fairness to Alta, that was a brilliant damper replacement idea applied on a tensioner that wasn't designed to have constant unsprung/undampened resistance.
    Yeah, felt blessed to have discovered it before another long trip & to have no other damage done.
    Now, hope someone can come up w/ a better, longer lasting damper that will be sold separately for less than the $70 assembly!
     
  10. minsanity

    minsanity Well-Known Member

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    #6 minsanity, Mar 26, 2014
    Thought that product would give Alta some redemption....... Seems like I'm the 1st to break a tensioner & I don't even track.
     
  11. minsanity

    minsanity Well-Known Member

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    #7 minsanity, Mar 26, 2014
    Can anyone pont me a STRETCH-FIT Belt product code from Gates, Contitech or whoever that would replace our 6PK1388?
    Newer cars like Subaru have no more tensioners, only stretch belts..........
     
  12. minsanity

    minsanity Well-Known Member

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    #10 minsanity, Apr 5, 2014
    Finally found time to put my long-stored new Litens tensioner in w/ my old slotted plate tensioner stop. Just removed the passenger engine mount bracket w/o lifting the engine to let assembly out the top. Don't get why other HOW-TOs require lifting engine like you would in changing an SC pulley. Car drives like it just came off the showroom.:smile5: Wish the strut would last.:fingerscrossed:
     
  13. Kellen@Craven

    Kellen@Craven New Member
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    #11 Kellen@Craven, Apr 8, 2014
    :postcount
     
  14. minsanity

    minsanity Well-Known Member

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    #12 minsanity, Apr 12, 2014
    Kellen, perhaps you could help source some Stretch-Fit belts for R53s, stock & reduced pulley. Thanks.
     
  15. Dave.0

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    #13 Dave.0, Apr 12, 2014
    Why people do not want to use the correct belt and replace the $80.00 tensioner is just mind blowing.

    Yes the tensioner wears out just like brake pads, tires and belts. It's not really a big deal if you stay on top of it.
     
  16. ZippyNH

    ZippyNH Well-Known Member

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    #14 ZippyNH, Apr 12, 2014
    Think you could be the experimenter here.....just reinvent the wheel.... Put in a dummpy pulley ...the measure the distance.... Then order the right length belt...then test it...might take you 5 or 6 tries...may be a few dyno runs ...even few stuck or overheated cars and 6 months of testing.....then you could make the $2 per belt on the conversion kit till somebody starts to find it on Amazon... Bet you could make $20 bucks....might get sued for $2000 if one fails....but still...you might make $20!!!!!!!!!!
    Heck.....I would brand the conversion kit with a snappy name...and sell them as a kit to Alta....:idea:
    I have been called a cynic....but sometimes reality is worse than the cynic in me!!
    Your idea is not half bad...but it is a $$ higher risk option that has a minimal payoff since the OEM damper is a $80 item that lasts 4 years or so....and most every car sold for a 20 year period uses a similar devise.... Sure the "newer" products have some drawbacks too.....
    Not making fun of you or the idea...just trying to figure the business case for it....cause if you can make a GOOD ONE somebody might try it.....
     
  17. minsanity

    minsanity Well-Known Member

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    #15 minsanity, Apr 12, 2014
    Hehe. It's not about business, risk/reward, viability & all that stuff. Satisfaction from a successful experiment, however insignificant, is priceless. Many of our MINI's mods are products of quest for improvement in reliability, power, handling, etc. Relative to other makes, our tensioner is among those parts that fail prematurely. No arguing its an affordable part & relatively easy to swap.....but, if we just concede, we'll never find out about that better option. All in the spirit of experimentation, guys. All part of the fun of MINI (or should I say Gen1) ownership.
    Without curiosity, we won't be where we are today.:wink:
     
  18. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    #16 Dave.0, Apr 12, 2014
    I hear what you are saying but in the end all belts stretch and all dampers / tensioners fail over time. It's not a MINI lifetime part after all. :lol:

    Just buy another one for 70-80 bucks from Amazon and call it a day.
     
  19. minsanity

    minsanity Well-Known Member

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    #20 minsanity, Sep 11, 2016
    Resurrecting the call for Stretch Belts....
    My stock Stabilus damper is limp after just a lil over 5k mi....It's getting a bit tiring.
    P_20160909_130445_zpssaayfjwt.jpg
    If anyone has a lead to 6PK1375-1388mm equivalent StretchFit Belt sizes from Contitech, Gates or whomever, please do share...Thanks!
     
  20. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    #21 Dave.0, Sep 11, 2016
    Just buy a new tensioner from Amazon. All those tensioner stops are crap and the ALTA one is just an adjustable end link.

    See post #2

    Tensioners wear out and do not last for ever just like belts, tire's and brake pads.
     
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