I recently purchased this '94 Rover SPi RHD Japanese import. The car is in good condition with very little rust. The 1275 purrs like a kitten (most of the time) and the A/C is cold! The engine burns a little oil and it leaks a little more through a blown shifter oil seal.


I still consider myself a newbie to NAM and I try to search all of the forums for solutions before asking a question that's already been answered several times. Could you fellow classic owners please help me with the following questions I have about my new classic?

1. Tires - The car had almost new rubber all the way around when I bought it 3 months ago. I was washing the car a few days ago and noticed that the left front tire is severely worn on the inner edge to the point where the steel belt is clearly visible. There is some wear on the outer edge as well, but it isn't nearly as bad as the inner wear. The right front tire has some minor wear on the inner and outer edges. Is this just an alignment issue or do I have a possible suspension problem? I've only driven the car ~900km since I bought it. The car is currently fitted with 12" wheels and 145/70R12 tires (Tires in the picture above have already been rotated until the replacement tire comes in)


2. Should I be worried about rust in the fuel filler neck? I can't tell how bad the rust is in the actual tank. I experienced my first case of "rough engine" this past Saturday when I left a restaurant after lunch. The car wouldn't idle by itself and the charge light stayed lit unless I kept my foot on the gas. The problem went away after I drove about a mile. Could this have been caused by rust in the fuel line?



3. Window spots from hell. The windscreen and all of the other windows are covered with them and I can't seem to find anything that will remove them. I've tried 100% vinegar, a clay bar and even some ceramic stovetop cleaner (on a small spot) without any results. It almost appears that the glass has been etched. I haven't tried the 0000 steel wool yet or Bon Ami powder cleanser. Any ideas on how I can get rid of these stubborn spots? It took me forever to get a halfway decent picture of them.


Sorry about the long post! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

Underinflation can cause tires to wear more on the outside than the inside. And misalignment of the wheels causes either the inside or the outside to wear unevenly. Your fronts are doing most of the work so they get most of the wear, when was your tire pressure checked last? Mabey the previous owner had a really poor tire shop!

 

Nice mini. Sorry i can't help you much with your problems but I'm going to watch this thread because I have the same problem with the charge light on.

 

1. Take it and have it aligned. Only toe is adjustable unless someone has installed aftermarket adjustable suspension components. You should check for wear on suspension parts. [Most shops won't know what to look for.] Tell them to look at the lower arm bushings and tie rod bushings for failure as they would effect both camber & caster..Mini "tie rods" run from the front of the lower arms forward to the subframe. To Americans, tie rods are located at the end of the steering rack. These should be checked too.
2. Install a small plastic inline fuel filter to catch any debris, if there isn't one. There may be a filter already on an SPI, if so replace it. This may/may not be the problem. SPI's have sensors which control the injectors. You may have something acting up.
3. check with an auto glass company to see if there is a polish for scratches you can buy, or whether they can help. Yes, it looks etched - Acid Rain?

 

front susp: check your bearings....jack up the front and take off the wheels. Grab the disk top and bottom and try to 'wobble' it. If you can wobble it, you need bearings. As stated, only the toe is adjustable in a stock suspension. (been there, done that) Bad bearing can allow the wheel to angle so that it rides the inside edge....bad thing as this then compounds the wear etc etc.... if you need to replace put in tapered bearings....

charging system - nothing special here, take it to any AutoZone or the like and they can check the output of the alternator for free, battery condition too. One common problem is poor grounds. Check all the battery connections, in the boot, at the starter relay and the engine ground straps. They need to be tight and clean. If the alt' is putting out and the bat' is good then there is a high probability this is your problem (been there, done that, chased a problem for first 6 months that ended up being a loose bolt on the end of the engine ground strap which is also the upper stabilizer bolt....)

gas tank - I have similar surface rust in the neck and don't feel it warrants pulling the tank unless there is reason to believe the tank itself is rusted. In line filter is a good idea, but concur that it is likely an SPI Rover already has this (Haynes says it does, under the rear of the car....note your system is pressurized because of the SPI so you need to release this pres' b4 you mess with the filter else you are gonna spray gas all over the place..... Haynes for 69 to 2001 Mini, page 1.21 - there's a picture of what u r looking for) Are you running premium?

Got a Haynes? get one ..... because your car is 'grey' you will have problems finding a savy and equipped mechanic (probably) .... you r gonna need to start learning and Haynes is where to start - other than here

Eastwood sells various glass polishing compounds and tools. They r not for the faint of heart tho .... easy to screw things up including breaking the glass.... http://eastwood.resultspage.com/sear...w=glass+repair I've been working on some deep scratches for about 6 months.....when I need to twiddle my thumbs out comes the glass polishing pads....

 

Yeah, I got the Haynes manual three weeks before the car arrived.

Tires: I keep my tire pressure around 28-30 LBS all the way around. Hopefully I'll have some time this weekend to jack the car up and remove the front wheels to check the bearings and tie rods.

Engine/Gas: I've been using premium gas since I got the car. I also changed the oil from 10W-40 that the previous owner had in it to Castrol high-mileage 20W-50. That seemed to make a big impact on the oil burnoff.

Last Saturday was the first time the engine wouldn't idle on its own until it warmed up. The battery is new but the alternator looks like it has seen better days. I'll get it tested.

Cooling System: I forgot to mention this on my first post. Sometimes after long drives I can hear the coolant boiling over into the nearly impossible to reach reservoir located in the left fender. One day the reservoir overflowed onto the parking lot and left a ugly yellow/brown rust spot.
I flushed the entire cooling system and filled it with a 70/30 H20 to anti-freeze mix. The temperature gauge never goes above normal and the aux electric fan never turns on. I made sure the fan works by crossing the leads on the radiator temp sensor. Maybe a bad radiator cap? Hmmmm..

Glass: I've moved it to the bottom of my to do list. <sigh>

I really appreciate all of the advice!!

 

When I got mine the thermostat was sticking

A hard "whack" freed mine, but replacement is the normal course

 

a water vinegar mix usually takes off water spots, but yours may be more caked on. if the mixture drips on your paint, it will remove wax, so you will need to re-wax after doing the windows.

 

Great looking Mini. Like the mirros and WISH I had the AC!! However, I have the Webasto top and typically run with that and all windows open!

Recently saw replacement glass at a reasonable price at GBcarparts.com.

Others have answered your other issues-which, I too, have learned from.

Thanks

 

IGN Light seems to have been on only in relation to a poor idle condition. While its ok to check the alternator, its not the problem. An issue you will face is diagnosing a Mini with a computer when there is no one with the right equipment to do so.

Check the temp of your coolant with a thermometer to verify the guage & sending unit are functioning ok. Minis run N or N+ on hot days. Caps do go bad. Luckily you can match one at any parts store.

Gas - I always use premium. Avoid preignition caused by some of the cheap stuff.

Oil - Look for oils which have ZDDP in them. This has been removed from most oils now as it harms catalytic converters. It is an additive which helps protect engines that have solid lifters. I quit using Castrol GTX and switched to Valvoline R (racing) 20W50 (the weight the Mini should always have).

 

DO YOU KNOW ANY ADDRESS WHERE YO FIND THE AIR CONDITIONING?
THANK YOU
Mario Galvao
Rio de Janeiro
galvaorj@iis.com.br

 

I think I may have a more serious issue going on. I drove the car to work this morning without any problems. On the way home the engine began to misfire and wouldn't idle on its own. I had to crank it over several times at a traffic light to get it running again (after driving 10 miles on the highway.) Smoke billowed from the tailpipe when the engine finally came back to life.

Makes me wish I had a carbureted engine so I could fix everything myself! Damn ECU's.

 

Check www.minifinity.com or www.theminiforum.co.uk - both are UK forums and they have Mechanical Trouble departments on both. I seem to recall that ECU cars often have this issue. More often than not IIRC it's a vacuum line or hose that's slipped off. Please don't quote me on that though - I just know I've seen quite a lot of injected questions over there and they seem to often be tracable to something simple like that.

Wish I could help more but good luck figuring it out!

 

Hmmm... It does have the symptoms of a vacuum line problem. The problem is that it isn't consistent. I'm beginning to wonder if I have a bad O2 sensor.

I'll check those sites out. The previous owner ditched the stock air cleaner/filter assembly and replaced it with a PiperCross foam filter assembly. Do you think I'd be better off going back to the stock filter or a K&N?

I pulled one of the spark plugs last night. It showed signs of carbon deposits and high temp damage.

 

The A/C is great as long as you're driving on the highway. It draws too much power from the engine when you try to pull off from dead stop or drive up a large hill. I also noticed that it makes the engine run hotter since the engine has to work harder and the hot air from the condenser is blown directly into the small engine compartment.