Hello fellow NAM'ers!

Let me just say that I've been a huge fan of this site since I got my '03 MCS back in April but have not posted anything yet. So here's my first NAM post!


I absolutely love the car, but unfortunately it has been a royal pain from the start (due to electrical issues from a dealer washing the vehicle with the sunroof cracked open!#$%) but after that whole battle, they had agreed to replace most of the electrical system, so I thought I was good to go.

Wrong!

Shortly after getting it back from the shop for the 7th time, everything seemed to be running just fine, then WHAMO! I go and spin/grind/throw (take your pick) a rod bearing and it's down for the count.

Being mechanically inclined, I pulled the motor and stripped it down to the block. It looks like the only damage done is to the crank and rod for piston #1.

That being said, does it make sense for me to try and turn the crank down, maybe .010, and get over-sized bearings, or should I just cave in and buy a new crank? Or maybe even do a stroker kit? Keep in mind the current crank is not that damaged, just a little scratched.

I'm also considering doing a pretty sassy overhaul of the engine too (crank pulley, SC pulley, head, cam, headers, injectors, ect) since I've got it down this far, I have another car to use, and it snowed almost a foot here in Wisconsin just this week. So any suggestions are welcome!

Sorry if this is not posted in the right spot, or if I'm asking stupid questions, I just wanted to get the quality opinions of my fellow motor'ers before spending too much money on the wrong things.

Thanks in advance,
-KurTecH

 

Welcome! I am looking foward to see what you do with this engine. Sorry about the problems but this could turn out to be a blessing

 

Yeah, I’m not sweating it since I did get the car for a real nice price and I was a mechanic until I turned to IT. It gives me a good excuse to get dirty again too!

I'll post back what I think I'm going to do as far as mods after fixing the crank issue. I plan on calling the MINI dealer and checking on the price of a new crank.

Unless someone on here knows how much one is?

Let the adventures begin!

 

If you are refering the crankshaft pulley I called about one 2 months and they quoted me $400+. I opted for an aftermarket CSP with no damper. If you are NOT refering to that sry. I am new

 

I'm actually refering to the crankshaft itself. the rod bearing chewed it up a little, and i've been a fan of just replacing cranks instead of turning them.

 

Pelicanparts.com lists the crankshaft for about $800. Can probably get it cheaper from Morristown MINI or Classic MINI with the NAM discount.

Here's a trick you'll learn to love:

1) Parts catalog is at realoem.com. You can browse parts schematics and find parts you're looking for there, with the BMW part number.
2) Copy the part number, then go to pelicanparts.com and past the part number in the search field. This will show you somethat that's approximately list price for the part - at least to give you a ballpark of what you're looking at.
3) See how good a deal your local dealer will make. Ask them if they'll match pricing from other dealers. Classic and Morristown both offer VERY good pricing and will ship.

 

Perfect! I appreciate the advice; very useful.

 

Are there any knife-edged/drilled and lightened crankshafts out there? could reduce inertia!

 

Would love to hear about the stroker idea, as im in the process of buying new pistons, but i dont think anyone sells a stroker, as a kit???

 

Revolution mini works does...

 

Jan does not sell the stroker as a kit, he only sells it as a complete bottom end. You may want to call him about the crank and pistons as he has a lot of options for upgrading

 

actually even though its not a "kit" im sure he could sell him the parts, and him do the labor himself, making it a kit... Id love to see where this goes. since you've been browsing these forums for a while, id get in contact with jan, and see what you two can work out

 

Take the crank to your favorite machine shop and see what they have to say about turning it down. As long as the scratches come out with machining, I don't see any reason why you can't go that route as opposed to replacing the whole crank. From what I've read and heard, the MINI cranks are quite strong.

 

Yes they are. The Drag MINI uses the stock crank. It is the pistons that are weak on our cars

 

Or buy yourself a used crank from a recking yard...

 

I knew this would be the place to ask. Thanks for the input guys!

Honestly, I want to get the most bang for my buck out of this project so if it is similar in price to get an aftermarket performance crank (which I'm guessing it is not) then it would to get a new OEM crank, then I'd go performance!

I'll talk with Jan and others that have PMd me in regards to what the best solution would be and where to get the parts.

Now my next decision I have to make is do I bore it out or leave it stock?

The reason I ask this is because the engine shop I took the block too wants to know if I want it shot peened (to look brand new and ready to paint) or just high-temp pressure washed (which will leave some rust and blemishes on the block).

They tell me if I want it shot peened, they would have to bore it out at least .010 over since the peening does damage to the current cylinder walls.

Keep in mind, I was planning on replacing the pistons anyway.

Has anyone here bored their block? Any experiences/suggestions?

 

They tell me if I want it shot peened, they would have to bore it out at least .010 over since the peening does damage to the current cylinder walls.

What the ?????? If thats the case you now need to deck the block Line bore the block chase the oil ports and so on to repair it due to the shot peening. Does not seem right.... shot peen the rods paint the block!

 

Good point!

I'm going to the shop this weekend to discuss my options/cost and question the damage the shot peening would do. I can just imagine how messed up the block would be if it is indeed harsh enough to actually damage the piston walls.

I am still curious if it is worth boring the block or if will not bring much of a power increase.

Maybe this is a stupid question but is the drag mini block bored out any?

 

no, the orriginal dragster that was on pinks was the original 1.6L block. (im sure he had new everything else under the sun, but the block remained a 1.6L just to show what a mini could do.

 

Makes you wonder if it had any stroker modifications if it wasn't bored out? From what I've been reading, stroker kits aren't good for high-rpm engines. It gives more torque at the low end, since the piston has to travel faster to make the same rpms, but is not good for the pistons at higher rpms.
I suppose better pistons would resolve that issue though.
Hrmm, so many options...

 

I suppose any kind of stroker mod would have technically changed the displacement, so if it was 1.6L after all the mods, I would have to guess it didn't have one. Looks like I'll prob just get a new crank (or possibly get the current one machined) and just get new standard size pistons. save my money for the head!

 

get it shot pinned, when you replace the pistons your gonna wanna boer it .20 over anyway. Thats what Jan was telling me

 

If you've got the engine torn down to rebuild it, it doesn't make any sense not to machine the cylinder bores. You're going to want new pistons and rings, and in order for the rings to seal well to the cylinder wall, the walls need to be perfectly round with a well machined surface to seal to. .020 over is what I've been told is recommended, that is as long as the bores on your block will clean up at .020 over.

 

Sounds like .020 over it is. I think I am just going to have the shot peening done and get it bored. I've been looking up on the shot peening process and it technically should not do any damage, it's just a glorified media blast.

Sounds like I just need to get on the phone with or e-mail Jan and iron the details out, which I will probably do today or this weekend.

 

Does anyone know if I will need to change my injectors if I bore it out? Also, will I need to make any ECU changes? I know it's best to get it tuned, but I want to try and be able to run it with a stock ECU for now.