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I just recently purchased a 2009 Mini Cooper S, and know absolutely nothing about it. I bought it in non-running condition and am currently seeing what it is going to take to put it back on the road.
The body and interior is in excellent condition and the PO said it was running great right up to when the starter went out. He attempted to replace the starter himself, and now it will turn but not fire. Also he reported that there were several other electrical 'gremlins' happening, so his thought was the computer was affected.
Hi and welcome to NAM!
It is tough getting up to speed on this kind of issue, Go to the gen 2 area and ask people in the know, what you should be checking into!
And, we do like pics!
I had bought the non running Mini, and took it to a small shop I trust in my small home town. I've had cars worked on by him before, and he agreed to take it on as a 'project', and work on it when he had some openings in his schedule, and in turn keep the costs down.
We were able to chase down the cause of the non running condition, it turns out that the timing chain failed, resulting in bent valves. Luckily there was no apparent damage to the pistons or cylinder walls, so we sent the heads off to be rebuilt with new valves and seals to fix that problem.
There were multiple electrical issues that had to be addressed, from various warning lights and tones, to wipers that wouldn't turn off. The rear hatch latching mechanism sounded like the gears were stripped out and it wouldn't open.
The interior of the Mini, while intact and in good shape, was absolutely filthy.
So after about 3 months of on again, off again work, it finally ran. Still had a few electrical things to get fixed but finally, this week it was ready to drive. I picked it up Thursday afternoon and drove it down to the gas station and filled up the tank with premium (do they all click off about 15 times in the process of filling the tank?) and headed out. I got it out on the highway and opened it up a bit, was really pleased with the acceleration and the way it drove. After about 4 miles of highway driving, I passed through a small town and turned to head back. At a stop light I noticed there was a 'tapping' coming from the engine. Hmmm, that doesn't sound right.
As I drove back towards home, the tapping seemed to become a little more pronounced. I dropped the car off at the detail shop to get the interior cleaned and the paint polished up that night. Picked the car up today (Friday), and the interior and paint looked exceptional, but the owner asked me about the engine. I had already called the maintenance shop and told them I was bringing it back, so I got in and drove it back (less than 1 mile) and it was clattering like crazy.
Owner of the shop pulled it in his shop, and low and behold it's thrown a rod through the block.
So, my ownership of Mini's comes to an abrupt halt. 4 Months, less than 12 miles and it's dead.
Wow...in my 5 years of flipping minis, never had one with a thrown rod. Did someone replace the hearings? Do you have pix of the aftermath?
I have very little good information about this car prior to my ownership. The guy I bought it from was not entirely forthcoming about it's history, it appears. I knew it had been in an accident and carried a 'rebuilt' title. Initial information was that it was enough to total it, but not structural or engine related. As we dug into it, we found indications that there had been a fair bit of poking and prodding having been done on it previously, and part of of the time spent was straightening out some of those misdeeds.
No pictures yet, this is all fresh news. I will try and get some documentation on it in the near future. Right now I just need to recover from the gut punch I just received. I had bought this Mini knowing it was a gamble, and this time it looks like I've come up with snake eyes.
If the damage is in the short block, there is one listed on ebay for 600 bidding. It comes without pistons though. Just take a deep breath and this time go over everything with fine comb. Which part of the country are you in?
There are used engines to be had out there! Don't give up!
When it skipped the timing, the rods and pistons were in trouble, from hitting the valves. It is a great looking car and should be resurrected!
The maddening part is having spent the money to get the car detailed, but it did come out nice. I don't have a great picture of the exterior, but the interior is 'like new' now.
The paint polished up very nice It even has that 'new car smell'
True, i guess i should of read your post in order geeez, sorry about the snake eyes as you mentioned! Do you have any updates on that or are you going to fix it? there is always options out there for engines but its always at a cost or a gamble with the unknown used engine world.
