Hi. My wife and I bought an 02 mini Cooper s a couple years ago. It was a great car when we bought it, but as of lately it's joy of ownership has been degrading. My latest and greatest problem... Blown out spark plug. What a bummer. Pretty unsure of what my limitations are going to be fixing this car. Hopefully this forum will share some insite with me and make me aprreciate this tiny car again.

 

after market head or mini dealership....

 

Get a Helicoil, spark plug repair kit. They replace the damaged threads, stronger than ever. They are available at good auto parts stores, just follow the printed instructions.

Hint: Get the cylinder to top dead center, and fill the combustion space with foamy shaving cream. It'll prevent the drill chips from falling into the cylinder. When you are done, suck the shaving cream out with a vacuum cleaner. Any soap residue will go harmlessly out the tailpipe.

Dave

 

or, fill the cylinder with a nylon panty hose. The shavings will stick to it like glue. Then vacuum out any leftovers.

 

Maybe you should fix the spark plug problem, if you are really worried about the future in your MINI, might be time to buy a later model, '02 starting to get of the age of problems large and small.