If it was just one person, then that wouldn't really hold as much weight.
But I'm not going to argue with you. I have my trusted vendors I use. Period.
Happy holidays.
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Hmmm. Someone should come out w/ a "lifetime" tensioner damper, then!
Old school engines have been running undampened tensioners for ages w/ no issues other than the occasional/periodic manual tightening. Using the Alta eliminates the need for a tensioner tool & stop; avoids all that collateral damage when belt snaps; renders the spring useless & you won't need bushing replacement. ON PAPER, that's a lifetime part.
I know our stock tensioners compensate for belt slacking-tightening in real world engine conditions & that's great in absorbing potential stresses! Good intentions, just lousy execution. We need some aircraft-grade 'lifetime' strut dampers!-
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BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIsLifetime Supporter
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Way and I don't agree on everything, but we agree on this... That belt does need a damped tensioner. Otherwise BMW would have saved the money. If you've ever watched it bouncing when the damper is bad, even at idle, you should understand why. The belt and belt-driven accessories are a VERY dynamic system. Load and drive torque changes constantly. The belt can't absorb all that... At least not for long.
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AliceCooper Club Coordinator
Well the way I see it the Alta item gets rid of the need for the safety feature which is a plus and the bushings that go bad another plus, but I am with Way on its function, I dont think its a good idea.
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BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIsLifetime Supporter
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AliceCooper Club Coordinator
While we are on the subject of belt tensioner, I found this on Amazon with FREE shipping nice little deal, might just pick one up for the hell of it.
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Gates-38404-Belt-Tensioner/dp/B001KQJRDO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355633578&sr=8-1&keywords=mini+cooper+belt+tensioner"]Gates 38404 Belt Tensioner : Amazon.com : Automotive@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31nd-uIROyL.@@AMEPARAM@@31nd-uIROyL[/ame]-
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This is one of those parts that MINI rapes it's customers with on the price of the part. :banghead:-
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Crashton Club Coordinator
How many miles on your MINI? Glad you solved your issue.
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ScottinBend Space CowboySupporting Member
Mine went dead after only about 25K.
Seriously looking at the Alta damper replacement part next time this fails. -
Are you talking about the belt tensioner or the crank pulley?
Just bought an aftermarket fluid damper (crank pulley) myself. This one is a much needed improvement from the stock one, and will not need replacing.
Will have that put in after the holidays. It hasn't failed, but it's a known point of failure and I'm a believer in upgrading before something fails and takes out other things
I would think modding and doing a reduction pulley would decrease the life of the damper. -
No, not the harmonic damper. I replaced my failed one w/ ATI recently. It's the stock strut of the belt tensioner assembly. Im @ <46k now & the reason I changed coz it had chatter due to lost rear bushing. Post extraction inspection showed it was soft w/o resistance. Now, there's no more noise + the bonus of super smooth engine & shifts. Amazing what that lil part does!
It just doesn't seem to last.I was thinking of maybe experimenting w/ the Alta undampened adjustable tensioner when this new OEM 1 should fail again. After feeling the unexpected results, I'm not so sure anymore. That strut has a designed function that a fixed 1 might not do. Wish they were more durable & could be bought separately from the tensioner assembly.
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ScottinBend Space CowboySupporting Member
So tell us why....you must have all sorts of personal experience with it.
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BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIsLifetime Supporter
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Minsanity - what part specifically are you referring to? The only related Alta part I'm aware of is a tensioner stop, not a replacement tensioner... Am I missing something?
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Hi, Paul. Alta came out w/ a few test units of these sometime back. It's now out in the market. A turnbuckle in place of that strut damper on the tensioner.
Link:
Alta Adjustable Tensioner Stop MINI Cooper Belt Tensioner Stop -
Way Motor Works New Member
FYI we now have our own WMW belt damper bushings made of delrin so they won't break or wear out.
As for the alta tensioner bar it does not work correctly. Since it is fixed in length the belt tension will not change at different loads like the tensioner is designed to work. depending on load the belt will be either under tensioned or over tensioned based on how tight the rod is. Not a good design in my opinion. -
ScottinBend Space CowboySupporting Member
The bushings don't help with the damper life. I could see a benefit to a damper system on a more serpentine belt, but our belt doesn't run a lot of pulleys.
As to the whole Alta hate going around, unless you have personal experience, don't propagate the hate.
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