Engine Drivetrain 1st Gen Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: P1688 Fun - Or - Yep, Nate broke it again...

Umm. Now you are making me wonder if I jotted it down wrong in my notes.

 

Daily Update...

This is funny...

While pulling off the Crank Pulley the Pulley Puller broke.

A new one has been ordered for overnight delivery..

I could be screaming, instead I am laughing...

 

Daily update...

The Pulley Puller did not show, seems that MINI doesn't have one at any parts depot in the entire US.

They offered me a loaner, came and picked me up. I'm now driving a 2011 Clubman BRG/Black

Someone told me there is an article in Issue 30 of MC2 that has a full write up of how to do the pulley swap and use an ATI one to replace the OEM. I found a copy of the magazine in their showroom, opened it to the article and gave it to the SA. It details what tools are needed, this special MINI tool is not one of them.

I'll follow up with the Service Manager there on Monday, suffice to say this is now a comedy of epic proportions.

 

First off...I changed the thread title to show the correct code. It was P1688 not P1668, I typoed it in the iPhone notes app.

I have my car back again and I made it all the way home with out drama. When I arrived I did pop the hood and make sure there the belt looked fine, like no strands starting to come off it. I was and well still am a little worried the pulleys are not perfectly aligned. I'll be keeping an eye on it and won't be venturing far from home for a bit till I feel better about all this.

All in all the dealership was great to work worth. I have to give them credit for working with my "slightly modded" R53, a car like mine is not something they often. In some areas they went above and beyond, like in providing me a loaner, not once, but twice. They also let me supply them with parts, some of them being aftermarket as well. Labor wise, they were more than fair and adjusted the book rates to reflect the real time. There were a few things we didn't agree upon but discussion led to compromise on both our parts.

That all being said I will still be looking for a local shop that is little more mod friendly, meaning they have a better idea on the things to look for when one goes outside the MINI box like I have. I'll still use the dealer for some things, but not all.

One thing that I think made all this work was that I kept a good sense of humor throughout this whole adventure. I know they were a little surprised I was able to laugh all this even when there things beyond the control of either of us that made some of this a comedy of errors.