Hey guys,

i recently inherited a R53 mini. its had a hard life.


this was my step mothers. she recently died of cancer and before she died she told me to take her car because "i would give it a good home". i drove it from washington state to my home in greensboro, NC. i made some required sight seeing stops on the way (pikes peak and tail of the dragon) and besides the CEL coming on at the top of pikes peak for a lean code (i know right who would have thought) it made it no issues.

im a mechanic. ive had experience with all types of go fast cars. ive raced autox, rallyx, and improved touring. ive participated in SCCA and USCA events. ive owned mostly japanese cars up to this point. 3 miatas, 5 rwd corollas, a s30, a couple civics and a scion tc... i know that last one gets harder and harder to admit. while im not huge on BMW's i worked with horsepowerfreaks up until the time they closed their doors back in like 2008 or however many life times ago it is. so i have some M power experience and a lot of turbo stuff experience. i have also worked with arrington performance engines up until they sold off to detroit or whatever. right now im just a random wrench for firestone.

my biggest question coming in is that this thing has 161k on it. its already burned me a couple times since getting it home. oxygen sensor went out for no reason. i can accept this. the heater core started leaking and i was pleasantly surprised when it was super easy to swap out. the trunk leaked, filled up the battery bucket with water and destroyed the fuse block in there... i was able to get a new one relatively cheap (this is how i found allmag for all my used oem parts needs) and i think im on the back side of this with no other random shorted out bits. before that the windows and door locks have been acting funny... its a liveable thing but slightly annoying. if this was a miata, civic, or corolla i would have zero hesitation about adding go fast bits and letting it eat. but i dont know how well these hold up. compression is good on it. any thing i should be worried about?

thanks in advance

 

Hi and welcome to the NAM family, downhillspec!
What year is your R53, as there are differences in the later years.
About the battery box: there is a drain under the battery, which clogs all the time. Clean it out and you will not need to replace the central fuse again.
BMW designed the electrical system to run at 14.2 volts. Anything below, when it is running, will start to throw random codes, so make sure to use a premium battery and test the Voltage while car is running.
Often, when the battery and charging system are not working well, it will start messing with you! Including windows and door locks. There is a central ground area by the passengers side under the hood a bunch of brown wires. remove the bolt and clean off the body and central terminal area, it ensure a good ground. There is also one under the front carpet next to the tunnel. If they car has not gone swimming, this one maybe ok.
These "s" engines are pretty strong and can handle power upgrades. Bring all the maintenance up, before working on more power. Only use full synthetic oil and change the filter every time. You will need a 36/37 six point short socket to remove the oil filter.
Make sure to only use premium fuel, as regular is not advised!
Good luck with it! Look in the gen 1 area, to get a ton of information on your R53!
These things handle like a street legal go-Kart in the twisties and will reward you, if the suspension is up to par!
Congrats and hope you enjoy the good and the misery of owning a BMW derived car!

 

thanks i appreciate the feedback. it is a 2004. my parents owned it since 2006 i believe. i already went through and did a ton of work and it still has a bunch of oil leaks and what not. like i said its had a hard life. im just glad to hear that im not entering into a disaster at that mileage. my friends seem under the impression that since its european, over 100k and has a CEL its a lost cause.

 

Welcome to MINIs. They're a bit like Harleys, they mark their spot. With that many miles, if you haven't already replaced it, the crankshaft position sensor o-ring is notorious for leaking oil. Ditto the front seal behind the crank pulley. Both are relatively easy to replace so you should probably start there. My 2004 is running 192hp and is a blast to drive. With additional will and $$$ you can bounce up to 250 reliable horsepower for an even better driving experience. You'll never challenge Corvettes but a MINI is all about the handling anyway. Good luck.

 

Welcome as that is a good story and glad you're giving it a good home.

With 161k I would plan on doing a timing chain kit and check over anything else for leaks and maint items like bushings and such. Also since you're in NC your always welcome to bring it to our shop in Atlanta as it wouldn't be too far, but we love doing these kinda restorations to the R53.

 

Your friends must not have owned any Euro cars, as they last way longer than domestic autos! WE have seen R53 with over 650K miles and still running! It is common to see ones with 300+K miles on them! I would never want a domestic car with those miles, even though many pickups will get there!

 

@downhillspec I found myself in a similar boat. I bought my '03 a few years ago and didn't have a space to do my own work. I went insane paying my local shop to replace parts: Clutch, brakes, 02 sensors, 2 Superchargers (funny story), motor mounts, etc. I could never realize a true performance mini because I was spending so much in labor just trying to maintain the damn thing. I would NEVER recommend an R53 to any of my friends unless they were independently wealthy or willing to do their own wrenching.

That being said, I finally have my own work space, and I'm finding my R53 to be a joy to work on. Those little Tritec motors are pretty bulletproof for the most part. Just invest in some new seals in all the usual spots (Crank sensor, crank pulley, valve cover), hose that puppy down afterward and see if you find any other leaks. My engine is sitting at 124k miles and still pulling like a beast, as is my wife's '04. I'm not in any way concerned that they won't last twice that, even after I drop in some stupid power upgrades. Just gotta be willing to look at its guts once in a while, and you don't seem to be in any way squeamish in that regard.

The electrics are always gonna be funny. When my battery gets below 13.4V, I get all kinds of random "ghost in the machine" behaviors, like the tire pressure sensor going off, or the DSC light kicking on. I take it as just a "quirk" of my car.

 

thanks to all of you for the reassurance and the encouragement. i think im gonna keep the little bugger. im probably going to throw stupid go fast bits at it also... i managed to get a new headlight already... im not nearly as annoyed with it now that the headlights both work. i have a buddy (does details for a living) coming to get it tomorrow and hes gonna try and clean the old girl up and i guess go from there... holy cow i was not prepared for how heavy the "s-lite" wheel is... i think thats probably the first thing to go. cheers!

 

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Yes the S-"lite" wheels are heavy. I have a 2006 R53 JCW but also owned a 2004 S that I passed onto my son after getting the local mechanic to replace the clutch (Never again as the clutch alone cost as much as I thought the clutch plus labor would be). Next time I will source the parts and do the labor myself even if means being of the road for a month or two.

Fix oil leaks, check all the random rubber bushings and mounts that have deteriorated from the exposure to the oil leaks. Give the supercharger a service and while you are at it replace the water pump and perhaps look at swapping to a reduced sized pully (plenty of threads about this). Oh and check your oil regularly. No oil leaks on mine but it still uses a bit every month.

The R53's are so much fun to drive. Spooling up the supercharger while throwing it around curves is intoxicating.