My 05 mini is at 116k miles. 15% pulley , rmw cam, header, 450 injectors, rmw tune. - 212 hp at wheels. Car was running great for years. This week started to run very rough for about 10-15 seconds after starting.

Got check engine light- code shows misfire on #4. So i pulled the plugs. Cylinder #4 has a little blue mini coolant down in there! No coolant mixed with oil. But i figure either blown head gasket or cracked/ warped head.

So i tore into the car yesterday. Removed the head. Job took about 5 hrs including stopping to cool off and do some research online.

I was able to get the head off without removing the front of the car. I changed the cam myself 30k miles ago and was able to do it without the cam removal tool. I am hoping to do the same this time. I marked the timing chain and the sprocket, and i'm using a bungee cord to pull up un the timing chain and keep tension on it, so it won't slip on the crank gear. Has anyone done it this way?
I'm guessing if i let the chain drop it will skip a tooth on the crank gear, or is there something like a guide down there that would keep it from skipping?

I see no obvious damage to the head, it really looks good for 10 yrs. i will check the head and block for flatness. The gasket pretty much came apart when i pulled the head, so i can't really check it for damage.

Plan is to clean it all up, new head gasket, 10 new bolts, new exhaust and intake gaskets, new cam bolt, new chain tensioner, change the oil and fire it up.

 

Unless you overheated the engine, I'll bet it's the gasket. Of course now that you have it apart, checking the head and block for warping is easy to do and I'd recommend that before re-assembling.

 

Update. My car is up and running.

Details. Took about 5 hrs to get the head off last week. The local mini dealer wanted $430 for parts. Ouch. I ordered the parts from ECS tuning. They didn't have all the parts in stock so it took 5 days. Total cost for parts was $127.91. I used a mini oem head gasket, and victor reinz intake and exhaust gaskets. I also used victor reinz head bolts. Assembly time was 6.5 hrs.

This job was done with front bumper on ( i see no reason at all to remove bumper for this job). Also i did not have the mini cam removal tool. I put the car in gear and held the brakes while loosening\ tightening the cam bolt. I marked the chain and gear so i could put it back in the same place. I didn't rotate the engine while the cam gear was off. I held the chain up with a bungee cord to make sure it wouldn't fall down in the engine, or slip on the crank gear- though according to the manual, it cannot jump a tooth on the crank gear while the timing cover/ oil pump is installed.

I also changed my timing chain tensioner because it was starting to rattle a bit on a cold start. I also changed my thermostat and housing ( i had these parts on hand already- so these are not included in the price). I also had a gallon on 50/50 mix mini coolant which was just enough to fill it up and bleed it. I left my oil filter on because it had only 3k miles, but i put 4 qts of cheap synthetic oil in. I will change my filter and oil again in the next few days.

 

That's awesome. Only $127.

Hopefully you're good for another 100k miles now

 

Hopefully all is well with your repair, I would have sent the head out to be magnafluxed to check for cracks, and while it was there have it decked. The block itself won't warp as easily as the aluminum head will, as it has a larger surface area to dissipate heat.

Have you done a cylinder leak down/compression test since getting the car back together? Would be good to know what your compression numbers are, as well as what the leak down % is across the board.

Nick
Detroit Tuned

 

"I ordered the parts from ECS tuning. "

Thanks

Looks like you got things up and running. How is it doing so far, update ?

 

I haven't done a leakdown test. I don't have the tool. The car is running great. 4000 miles since i replaced the gasket. Lots of power. Getting 30 mpg. All is good. If ECS or Detroit tuned wants to send me some parts i will gladly put them in my car and review them 😁