Hi bijas, thanks for the PM and sorry to hear about your problems. I'm checking to see if we have the parts readily in stock.

Believe it or not, I drove from Colorado Springs to Salt Lake City in a 1971 240Z in April one year when moving to Silicon Valley. Weather was great, until I got to the mountains, a blizzerd hit, and total white out conditions. If a semi hadn't come by to follow they probably would have found me at the bottom of a mountain pass!

Hope you get rolling again soon!

Drive Hard. Drive Safe. Keep Grinning.

 

We have a timing chain replacement kit in stock should you need it.

Basic Kit includes:
[ ] Timing Chain
[ ] Guide Rail
[ ] Tensioner Rail
[ ] Tensioner Plunger


Part No: NMK9600
SALE Price $177.50
Was: $188.80
You save: $11.30

Drive Hard. Drive Safe. Keep Grinning.

 

Thanks everyone for the replies. I finally got a U-Haul truck and trailer Monday afternoon, so I took off for Salt Lake City. I had talked to an independent mechanic there who was going to try to take a look at it. I wasn't going to get there before he closed, and he said it could take 1 to 2 days to evaluate and make repairs. As such, I made the decision just to trailer it to my home in Colorado. In addition to spending a money I had not planned on, I am not making money because I am missing work. Once I get home I can take my time to figure this out and fix it or find a someone who can. And without paying an outlandish price for parts. The mini dealer in Salt Lake wanted $288 plus expedited shipping just for a timing chain tensioner.

On a different note, does anybody know who the guy on the Mod MINI any channel is? Is he a member of this site?

Thanks again for all the assistance and information. I will keep you guys updated as things progress.

 

Glad your moving again, let us know the ending of your saga please.

 

You made the right decision. Keep in mind that the chain tensioner could go out on any of our MINIs at any time. It was just your time. If you decide to do the job yourself, obtain a tensioner, get the right front up on a jackstand, remove the wheel well liner to gain access to the tensioner. It's not a terribly involved job. If it's more than the tensioner, you'll know after starting it up and letting the tensioner fill with oil.

 

Getting ready to hit the road again; I should be home late this afternoon. Probably won't be able to do anything to the car till this weekend, family is missing me right now. Everyone, thanks again for all the support!

 

Glad you're on the road again! $177.50 for the kit whether you do it yourself or have someone do it for you. It's not that difficult of a job, just a matter of it's worth your time or not!

Drive Hard. Drive Safe. Keep Grinning.

 

The car and I are home in Colorado. I hope to work on it this weekend. Thanks for all the assistance and support. I will provide updates as thing progress.

 

Thanks for the update and welcome, glad you made it home. It's nerve racking to be so far away with a down vehicle.

 

Great! Let us know how it goes and if you need any help installing the timing chain kit!

Drive Hard. Drive Safe. Keep Grinning.

 

Thanks, I will.

 

You called it first!

I got my timing chain tensioner and Bently manual today. Went to the DMV to get temp tags because I bought the car in another state and have to get a VIN verification before I can register it officially. By the time I got home the sun was down so l grabbed a flashlight and some tools. (Yes, my Mini is an outdoor Mini!.) Fifteen minutes later my car was back to her old self.

I would like to once again thank everyone for their assistance and support.

 

Glad everything worked out! Simple fix once you got back home, but you got a good adventure out of it!

 

Glad it worked out and we were able to get it to you on time. Thanks for the order!

Drive Hard. Drive Safe. Keep Grinning.

 

Did you call back the previous owner to investigate and get some honest answers?

 

A tensioner can go out just like that. Previous owner wouldn't have had a clue.

 

Awesome, now go drive the hell out of it!

 

I have had a few fun drives since I got it fixed!

 

One you've got to do is the Durango to Montrose road, 550, the million dollar highway. Then 50 from Montrose back to Salida is a beautiful drive. I'm sure you've been on them but not in a MINI. Whole different world.

 

It is been a quite few years, but those are great drives. I would also like to do Independence Pass. However, I've heard a couple stories about people having problems at that altitude. Do you currently live in Colorado?

 

Glad it all worked out in the end. Thanks for keeping us updated.

Cheers.

 

In mid-March many years ago, my wife and I got caught in a blizzard on Independence Pass. Could barely see the road. Followed a VW bug with big round taillights at a crawl, trusting that the driver could see where he was going and made it out alive!

 

No, just a bit East of there. We've done MITM and went thru the back twisty way on our big West coast tour last year. BTW, if you ever get up towards Grand Junction, the Columbine motel is a fine overnighter prior to driving the Colorado National Monument, a definite bucket list destination.

 

We did that trip about 5 years ago, but we stayed at a B&B in Palisade and did not have a Mini.