what i really want to do is order a oil catch can so i can then clean out my IC.

then i bet the seafoam will be more effective because it would get stuck and used up dissolving all the oil in the IC.

and yea i have never seen a con with running seafoam. like i said before the next couple oil changes im gonna do it again then the engine should get cleaner and cleaner. then ill only do it like once a year.

 

on all your ideas/theorys there... Been looking into oil catch cans also recently, but haven't sprung on one yet. Any ideas on one your most swayed towards yet?

 

the cheapest one i can find looks like mini madness is the cheapest, or do an ebay search . i want to make one but i just dont have the time right now full time school and full time job is tough.

i have seen plenty of diy's and my favorite one is getting the spun stainless steel soap dispensers from like a bed bath and beyond putting two brass nipples in it for the air lines and if you want weld in a couple of baffles to catch more of the oil vapor. and call it a day.

 

Your car must have an interesting history...

All S's were sold with 195/55r16 alloy rims stock, 17' with an upgrade to sport package....15" alloys rims on the just a cooper....steel rims were later an option that some dealers sold with winter tires as extra....
Maybe a used car dealer tossed a set of rims and hub caps on the car cause it had a bent rim....

 

well they are gonna turn into winter rims anyway. im gonna run these tires as far as possible and then get rims/summer tires then put winter tires on the steelies.

and it is possible or the rims just got stolen it did spend most of its life in NY,NY

 

Watch out using a whole can of Seafoam, half can or less will do the job just fine.

I would change out your ignition wires and get NGK spark plugs.

Add Power flex control arm bushings to the suspension list.

And I second the supercharger and waterpump notion. Expensive repair but my s/c was going out at 100k miles.

Check your engine mounts as they are probably failing at tht mileage.

Lots of regular maintenance on these little cars to check before doing mods.

 

yup thats what im doing now lots and lots of little things to make sure nothing major happens. and yes SC rebuild will happen just not now it will happen later spring/ summer so that i can use my other car while the mini is down.

 

If anything comes up, concerns/ questions etc, let us know. Most of us have gone through the same process and are happy to help.

 

+1
mini's have lots of quirks, especially when you matain/fix them, especially the earlier ones, but huge $$ can be saved turning a few wrenches.
i do most of the basic stuff, but drive a little over an hour to Greasysgarage over in worchester ma for stuff too complex, need special tools or knowledge for, or i'm not sure about. From your part of CT, the ride is similar, and i will attest to the fact i have learn as mych about my car there in tips and tricks than i ever dreamed possible, and his rates are pretty good...and he will do mods on cars when you carry in parts you had to order!! Big plus.

 

Another thing, way motor works has some good packages of parts that if I bought at once could have saved me a lot of money. Check on the site for those various R53 packages. I think the performance package is on the last page.

 

good to know, but i do all my own work even the tough stuff. im a big wrench monkey. i have rebuild engines, transmissions, diffs, power mods, tunning. you name it i have probably done it.

but i appreciate the support! i will be asking questions in the future though.

yup i was looking at the WMW packages too.

 

You'll be fine with the work, they aren't that complex once you get to know the cars. I have the Bentley service manual for the car and that has helped a lot.

 

first question! this morning when i was changing my oil i decided to test and see if my PS fan works... i turned on the car, and tried the ac, tired just heat, and just the fan, and the PS fan did not turn on. is it dead? what should i check before i buy a new fan. or does the fan only turn on when the pump gets hot or when the pump is actually in use. it also does not have a grill on it. also dont the early 1st gens have the fan riveted to the cage? mine has nuts and bolts, could have been replaced with a new one a while back?

i tired turning the fan by hand it it feels a little tight. i dont have anything to compare it to so i dont know what a good one would feel like.

 

PS fan should turn on together w/ the hi-speed of your rad fan. If it doesn't, check/replace your PS fan.
If you don't have a scangauge yet, it'll be good to have 1.

Low speed fan turns on at 221F or when A/C on (pressure of 116psi), turns off @ 214F. It's controlled by a built-in resistor that commonly dies prematurely. You could mod it to externally install a new resistor like the .33 ohm (PN:284-HS100-0.33) from mouser.com. Your fan might still have a lot of juice left.

Hi speed turns on in 2 ways- when it reaches 234F or when A/C pressure reaches 261psi. It reverts back to lo-speed when coolant temp/AC pressure drops to lo-speed levels.

 

The ps fan is just a pretty cheap dc motor ...
if tge bearings are good, you will feel the poles of tge magnets when you spin it by hand...just tge poles, but will stay smooth....
fans were rivited to brwcket till 2005...then bolted/screwed....so likly a newer fana good odb2 tool can turn on the fans seperately, but if you just add 12v to the plug you can functioly test the motor...

Resistor quoted above on the lowspeed fan is just on the ciricurit to the fan on the lowspeed side....ir drops the voltage before it gets to the fan to create a lower speed fan, rather than just one speed...

The ps fan if i remember right turns on when the high speed fan is commanded on by temp (might have a 30 second delay) or "when needed"...so assume the ecu has some parameters...


Fans have 2 different wiring setups....older way on unmodified pre2005 cars is wired in with the radiator fan (pretty sure it shares the relay power fromthe same fuse for the relay that turns on the rad fan)...issue..fan gets stuck blows fuse for the ps fan and radiator fan relay...so no psor radiator fan...car overheats.....modified cars and post 2005 were wired from a fuse in the car that also powered the optional backup semsor...forget the fuse #, but it is a 5 amp.
many cars that went to delers regularly were modified under a service campain...mine was a 2004 production, 2005 model year....changes on most mini's were always phased inover a few months.

 

interesting... i guess i just didnt turn the ac on for long enough. i just assumed that turning it on would force the PS fan on too. i guess i have some more poking around to do. if i dont fix this before the winter. will winter weather will be enough to cool the pump? i dont think it gets past 40F even on the warmest days, once winter sets in.

 

As long as the car is kept moving, i think it will be fine...it is when there is no airmovement i would woeey..the ps pump is jammed down in a pretty hot spot...so prolonged traffic, or idling to run a big radio maybe....about the only time i have heard my hi speed fan come on, or i think i may have heard/felt the ps fan run....not much.
next oil change, just unplug the fan and jumper 12v to it...if it spins, and fuses are good no worries. Sure, i do take it for granted if the compotents work, the system activing them work fine unless i have a reason to believe it has failed.

 

Next mod for me is DIY oil catch can!

found this one and i like it so im gonna copy it and change it up i tiny bit. all ready bought the necessary hardware

http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=199513

 

Damn dude, cool.. have fun with that! for me!! But Let us see it when you get it all done and in your MINI.... Would be cool to see...

 

What's the point of the stainless steel inside the OCC in that DIY ?

If pieces break off and get sucked into the engine, well that can't be good.

 

its to provide a surface area for the oil vapor to land on, so it can slowly drain to the bottom of the bottle. its just like adding baffles in a OCC does the same thing. i dont even know if the OCC's sold by companys have baffles or if they are just empty container.

and i have used these scrubbys my whole life vigorously scrubbing pots pans trays of stuck on crud. and i have never seen it brake apart(they stretch). i highly doubt it siting idly there will cause it to brake apart.

 

so i spent the the last few hours making my OCC. looking good so far! im not done with it yet...... didnt like clean up though it took to long :( anyway picture time.

I still need to make a viewing pipe to se how full it is. and a few other things. almost done!

so i took the stand off and cut the tip off so its just a tube and drilled holes in it.


exploded view


Drilled a hole in the bottle cap, then screwed in the adapter, then filled it with JB weld same with the pipe after i inserted it in.


close up of holes


air out hole ( yes i know the hole is not a nice circle)




oil drain hole ( i did cut down the threaded side and notched it in a few areas so that oil could drain all the way down.




the filter media!



how it goes on.


and what it will kinda look like. and yes my garage is carpeted

 

Damn man, wish I had the time to do all that. I have none it seems after looking at the OCC that your creating out of nothing basically. Lookin good though. Hope it all works out the way it should in the end. Thanks for posting all the pics though. Much appreciated! Keep it going.

 

put the OCC in now only time will tell if it will acually work lol.

i also need to figure out a better mounting situation....

 

It seems like the same size so I would think a water bottle holder for the down tube of a bicycle would be able to screw to the firewall and you could slide that can right into it and out of it at will like a rider could on his bicycle.