My attempt at replacing the tensioner pulley bearing

When I took the gearbox out all those years ago, whilst I had the engine on the hoist I thought what else could I do?

The tensioner was squeaking a lot, so I thought I'd buy a bearing at the same shop as I got the ones for the gearbox and see if I could pop out the old one and refit the new one. Below are the photo's of the process in order.

Now I'll tell you now - THIS DID NOT COME OUT WELL AND I ADVISE YOU NOT TO DO THIS.

So the last image here is of me pressing in the new bearing with 2 sockets in a vice.

You'll notice the Damage to the plastic pulley as well. The bearing race would not come out and I really mangled it! After some careful thought I decided not to fit this pulley and went and bought a whole new tensioner assembly.

Since then it still squeaks and the best thing I've found to cure it: belt anti-slip spray!

So in conclusion the tensioner bearing is not serviceable and if you're belt is squeaking, try some anti-slip spray first, then if it persists, replace the whole tensioner.

FYI the tensioner on the R53/Cooper S is not the same as the R50/Cooper as it has to control the tension of the super charger pulley, just so you know.

Throw Back Tuesday - Gearbox removal and clutch change

So about 3 years ago I had a little issue with the gearbox. I have since learned that the Midalnds Gearbox in the mini's aren't the best and that a Getrag swap is a popular upgrade. I've seen some information on swapping to a 6-speed Getrag, which I think is the direction I want to go.

More on it here: https://web.archive.org/web/20150404150529/http://personal.stevens.edu/~jdunn/FixingtheWeakLink.pdf

Anyway heres the link to my other blog on removing the engine out and dismantling the gearbox:
Removing the engine & gearbox
Dismantling the gearbox, removing bearings & gears, re-assembling gearbox

Now I'm not a qualified mechanic, and yes this is a farm yard engineers way of doing things, but apart from the wrong bearing being changed, things went well and its still running now.

When Needs must or rather when you forget something!

So how did I fix it? Well I dropped the gearbox out again and sent it off to a gearbox specialist: Top Gear Transmissions. For about 220 quid they replaced all the bearings for me. Considerable less than if I'd not done the graft myself. Since then its not exhibited any more gearbox bearing issues, but now I believe the synchro between 1st and 2nd isn't very well. All the more reason to swap it over I guess.

The start of a new Blog

So a new blog

This time I thought I'd dedicate it to the ownership of my trusty and faithful R50 Mini Cooper and the trails and tribulations of its ownership.

About the car

The car, which I affectionately call Kinky (cos the last 3 letters on reg are: KNK) was first purchased as a family run about by my mother in law in September 2014 for about £2000.

She was then registered to me as I needed a second car to the land-rover, as it wasn't very reliable, economical or comfortable for the commute I was driving at the time.

After 2-3 years of faithful service and after I moved nearer to my then place of work, it was then registered to my brother-in-law who used it to get to work. During that time, she had a hard life, so still came back to me for repairs as I had the most knowledge of the machine!

Then my brother in law got a new vehicle, the landy was on its last legs, and so it returned to my possession, and there it resides.

What I like about it

When I first got it I wan't too sure about owning a mini. In my eyes at the time there was only one true mini - the one designed circa 1960. But after the first week of driving it I started to take a shine to it.

The main thing I like about it is the ride. Its planted and corners well. The 1.6i 4-cylinder petrol engine is peppy. The interior is actually quite sporty, the chairs are supportive and sports car like. The controls are easy to use and within reach. I like the toggle switches with their positive feel to them.

Changing gear is short and engages well, well it did at least...

Fuel economy is not the greatest, but isn't too bad. My Weekly fill up of £15 gets me about 100 miles.

What I don't like is the speedo in the centre console. Not a fan, which is why I now use a GPS speedo app on my phone on a phone stand near my steering wheel.

What I like the most is its build quality and how its assembled. Doing simple service and maintenance is exactly that - simple. Most tasks can be done using basic hand-tools without any stupid or daft tooling or procedures. Looking at the way things go together looks like they have been to embody the design of the mini. And that's a sensible reason. whereas looking at some designs, COUGH (VW), its just completely unapparent as why things are designed the way they are.

Going forward with this Blog

I'll be adding all of the work I've done past and present (and from my other Blog) along with any experiences. I really like this car and want to do more things with it in terms of mods, but I'll need to have a think about what and how.

cheers