This is the 2nd time I change the belt tensioner on my 05 Mini CS within 1 year. Can anyone tell me what's the main cause of this? did it happen to you?

My car has only 35000 Kms.

Thank you

i've got 26k on a car that sees 8k rpm on the track regularly. no tensioner replacement. same for the other MINI track fanatics w/ which i run. no one in SSM (florida statewide club) has had to replace twice. something is out of line in my opinion.....are you still under warranty? i have a great relationship w/ my dealer and techs. i'll ask what they think.

Thanks Beaner. My car isn't under warranty as it's modified. Do you think the pulley can cause this? as I've Alta pulley on my car. My car is highly modified. It's 210 WHP (dyno)

the pulley, by itself, is not causing this problem. if not installed correctly, the alta pulley or any other will cause a problem. misalignment will cause belt failure which can (and probably will) cause tensioner failure and crank pulley damage. did your belts fail when your tensioner failed? or was the tensioner just making some noise? if the former, you need one of these: http://www.detroittuned.com/products...20070112214410. this will prevent damage to the crank pulley and tensioner in the event of belt failure. pretty simple and inexpensive, but it works.

It started making noise (rattling)

i talked to my MINI tech buddy before and after your post. he states that the "rattling" is most likely due to a little metal tab that isn't bent over far enough and doesn't compromise performance of the tensioner. he sometimes replaces these and other times can just bend the tab a bit to stop the rattling. a tension-stop mechanism is still a good idea. you may not have had a "failure" of either of the previous tensioners. just an annoying rattle that could be easily resolved. i was going to post a real.oem pic of the part/tab in question, but it didn't show it. if you cannot find it, post again, or pm me. it doesn't sound like a big problem. greg

You are 100% right, I asked the mechanic to band the tab & it worked..Thanks alot for your hep

glad to help. isn't that what these forums are for? i still highly recommend the previously posted tension stop device. without it, a belt failure will cause damage to the crank pulley (a $600+ repair). i have seen it happen too many times and always at a bad time (usually half-way through a track weekend or race). for under $30, it should be on all MINI's.

hi beaner, or any 1 elsei just recenly 02 mini c s and i have a rattle coming from right side.sounds like its coming from belt.yhe rattle is only noticable when the windows down ,and when cars under pressure /acceleration .could this be the tab that u posted below ,can you please help

the tab is likely the cause of the rattle. healy67 (see recent posts) is the tech who told me about this problem. hopefully he will chime in.

ok thanks mate hope he do

It could possibly be that same tab. Have you popped the hood and actually looked at the tensioner? There is a Spring on the tensioner, in the middle of that spring there is a metal band that is supposed to hold the tensioner up in the event of a broken belt. Well it doesnt always work that way, and the end of that band breaks off. Sometimes it begins rattle soon after that. Or sometimes it just rattles period. Hope that helps a little.

ok thank 4 replying ill have a look at that 2day the rattle is getting worse its doing it a little bit wen the car is on the spot and a lot wen it hits 3000 revs and on ...iv been told this could b the crank pulley vibration damper or the supersharger its really getting 2 me now my mini as done 60000 HELP HELP PLZ

well yes the supercharger can make noise like that too.. would have to really hear it to help more, but when the crank pulley comes apart you would have more problems than a rattling noise. When the crank pulley comes apart, you loose boost and the battery light normally comes on with a check engine light.

Could you describe the metal tab please? I think this is source of the rattling noise in my mini cooper s.

Thanks a lot

euding@lifesymphony.com