Mini One r56 1.4 petrol - Alternator belt tensioner?!

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Mon 4 Jul 2022 12:00
Mini One r56 1.4 petrol - Alternator belt tensioner?! - stuartl

My sons mini has a broken alternator belt. It doesn't have aircon and the belt just goes round two pulleys. Normally there is a tensioner at the top of the engine but there is simply nothing there and no visible means of tensioning the belt. I have only found one vague reference to a similar car but no solution was posted. PLEASE HELP!!!

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Mon 4 Jul 2022 12:15
Mini One r56 1.4 petrol - Alternator belt tensioner?! - Gibbo_Wirral

Can you get a Haynes manual for it?

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Mon 4 Jul 2022 12:41
Mini One r56 1.4 petrol - Alternator belt tensioner?! - elekie&a/c doctor
Perhaps that’s why the belt has come off . The tensioner pulley has become detached from the spring loaded arm .
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Mon 4 Jul 2022 12:47
Mini One r56 1.4 petrol - Alternator belt tensioner?! - stuartl

There's no arm, no tensioner at all!

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Mon 4 Jul 2022 13:09
Mini One r56 1.4 petrol - Alternator belt tensioner?! - sammy1

Try looking on you tube .all how to do on there

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Mon 4 Jul 2022 13:32
Mini One r56 1.4 petrol - Alternator belt tensioner?! - elekie&a/c doctor
If there’s no arm or tensioner , it must be a stretch belt , similar to what is found on some Ford models
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Mon 4 Jul 2022 13:44
Mini One r56 1.4 petrol - Alternator belt tensioner?! - stuartl

According to bmw its not a stretch belt!

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Mon 4 Jul 2022 13:44
Mini One r56 1.4 petrol - Alternator belt tensioner?! - stuartl

No there's nothing on YouTube for cars without aircon

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Mon 4 Jul 2022 14:28
Mini One r56 1.4 petrol - Alternator belt tensioner?! - elekie&a/c doctor
Very strange. Can you post up the last 7 digits of the Vin number ?
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Mon 4 Jul 2022 14:45
Mini One r56 1.4 petrol - Alternator belt tensioner?! - stuartl

TM43216 Many Thanks

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Mon 4 Jul 2022 15:02
Mini One r56 1.4 petrol - Alternator belt tensioner?! - elekie&a/c doctor
Parts catalogue shows tensioner and friction drive for the water pump . Don’t understand what yours has got . Have a look at a Peugeot diagram, same engine.

Edited by elekie&a/c doctor on 04/07/2022 at 15:03

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Mon 4 Jul 2022 15:45
Mini One r56 1.4 petrol - Alternator belt tensioner?! - stuartl

Which Peugeot engine is it please? Thanks for your help

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Mon 4 Jul 2022 15:55
Mini One r56 1.4 petrol - Alternator belt tensioner?! - stuartl

I think tomorrow I'll remove crash panel, headlights and offside top engine mount to see what's lurking underneath but I certainly can't see anything!

Edited by stuartl on 04/07/2022 at 15:56

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Mon 4 Jul 2022 18:05
Mini One r56 1.4 petrol - Alternator belt tensioner?! - elekie&a/c doctor
It’s the Peugeot prince engine that is found in most Peugeot models of that era . Petrol variety.
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Mon 4 Jul 2022 21:12
Mini One r56 1.4 petrol - Alternator belt tensioner?! - Adampr

Not sure how useful this is, but at least you can see what it looks like without extracting the whole lot yourself.

youtu.be/ziJZsD36rrY

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Tue 5 Jul 2022 13:42
Mini One r56 1.4 petrol - Alternator belt tensioner?! - stuartl

How can I add pictures? Definitely no tensioner there!

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Tue 5 Jul 2022 13:53
Mini One r56 1.4 petrol - Alternator belt tensioner?! - stuartl

linksharing.samsungcloud.com/brSWzzvXhp0g

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Tue 5 Jul 2022 14:09
Mini One r56 1.4 petrol - Alternator belt tensioner?! - Adampr

Looks like it should be on an arm mounted directly above the alternator

images.app.goo.gl/bLixu5uyABDJeAUU7

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Tue 5 Jul 2022 14:13
Mini One r56 1.4 petrol - Alternator belt tensioner?! - stuartl

Yes but nothing has fallen off or he'd have heard it as it would be a pretty big clock. It's a total mystery.

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Tue 5 Jul 2022 14:21
Mini One r56 1.4 petrol - Alternator belt tensioner?! - Adampr

Have a look at this video. I think the tensioner isn't on an arm in this particular one and that it has fallen off the bottom. Your photo looks like there's a kind of flat circle between the alternator and the pulley. I think that's where the tensioner used to be.

youtu.be/JZ7P-ShFqR8

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Tue 5 Jul 2022 15:01
Mini One r56 1.4 petrol - Alternator belt tensioner?! - stuartl

My sons car just has two pulleys as it has no aircon so the tensioner shown there wouldn't work. I'm just at a loss!!!.

Edited by stuartl on 05/07/2022 at 15:01

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Tue 5 Jul 2022 16:21
Mini One r56 1.4 petrol - Alternator belt tensioner?! - Adampr

No idea! With more digging, everything suggests that there should be a tensioner arm that bolts through the two holes at the top of the alternator. There are different variations for aircon and climate control, but the arm seems universal.

I suppose it's possible that the alternator was replaced once before and someone decided to just put a stretch belt on there. It does look a bit like one of the bolts at the top of the alternator has a spacer added.

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Tue 5 Jul 2022 16:29
Mini One r56 1.4 petrol - Alternator belt tensioner?! - stuartl

Update!!!!

Yesterday, the local BMW Main Dealer parts depth assured me that BMW did not use stretch belts. I called GSF this afternoon and he said that models with no aircon DID use stretch belts so thanks to BMW not knowing what they are talking about I have been pulling my hair out. I will update tomorrow after hopefully fitting it and grateful thanks for all advice so far ??????

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Tue 5 Jul 2022 17:12
Mini One r56 1.4 petrol - Alternator belt tensioner?! - elekie&a/c doctor
You are very likely to need a fitting tool to get that belt over the pulleys . Sometimes it is supplied with the new belt .
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Tue 5 Jul 2022 16:52
Mini One r56 1.4 petrol - Alternator belt tensioner?! - stuartl

Update!!!!

Yesterday, the local BMW Main Dealer parts depth assured me that BMW did not use stretch belts. I called GSF this afternoon and he said that models with no aircon DID use stretch belts so thanks to BMW not knowing what they are talking about I have been pulling my hair out. I will update tomorrow after hopefully fitting it and grateful thanks for all advice so far ??????

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