Glad I could help some. I drove mine today and it also felt like my MINI had a little more kick to it. Almost like it was eager to get on it!

-Cody

 

Cody....
Eager to get it on?....

I have had to tie mine down in the garage since this morning....It Keeps making these growling sounds and the garage door keeps going up...had to hide the opener!

Your instructions/photos were fantastic and I am usually "afraid" to mess with the Mini....Just jumped right into this one!

Wonder how many Hundred the dealer would charge or if they have ever even serviced one as we have just done! Min they get is $135 per hour...

You should package a video and some "custom" cleaner ("Cody's Combustion Chamber Cleaner"...." specially formulated to cleanout IC's!..... and sell it!

 

Yea, too bad I don't know the first thing about marketing something, let alone making it!

Thanks for your kind words! I'm glad I can give back a little bit to the MINI community, because they have offered me so much. And honestly, without NAM I doubt I would have a MINI today. It pushed me that extra little bit to get one and man am I glad I did.

Happy motoring!
-Cody

 

Pleasure. Just going by common sense, as i've seen oil deposited on both IC boots, which means some of the oil suspension is making it past the IC and into the Intake Manifold....

 

Based on your common sense, I ordered a OCC to see if it could help at all in reducing the pinging I've been getting. Thanks again!

 

First definitive evidence I've ever seen. Good job Polizei

50K miles ... hmm.

 

Now you tell me, You know some things seen, can't be unseen

 

Everyone quick, go order a quality OCC! And then send $5 to me for unleashing this awesome evidence.

-Cody

 

No prob I doubt it will completely stop the pinging, but hey, if you catch the oil before it goes into the IC, at least you'll be eliminating one possible cause of the pinging. Make sure you clean your IC thoroughly before installing the OCC though.

Can you elaborate on the pinging you get? I hear you guys in the US get crappy fuel. Most likely it is due to crappy fuel. Try getting some sort of octane booster and see if that helps....

By the way, to get the ultimate in oil catching, it's adviseable to put another OCC on the other PCV line. The PCV line that most put OCCs on is on the left (crankcase to SC), and there is another line (crankcase to intake hose) that some people install another OCC onto. However, most just stick with the one, but if you're still seeing gunk/oil in the IC or around the boots/horns/etc, I'd recommend installing a second OCC. For now though, just try the one, drive around for 10k, and have a look, if there's nothing, keep going, and check every 10k.

 

Are you in the UK? The Octane we use over here (93) I believe is equivilent to you're 97 or 98.

Just thought I'd share. Could be wrong.

-Cody

 

I'm not sure how long it would take for the solvent to evaporate. I do know that the oil will slow the evaporation significantly, and you'd probably have to boil off the solvent to really know for sure that actual volume of oil.

But the important thing is that it only takes a thin film of oil inside the intercooler to affect the efficiency of the system. I'd guess that there might be no more than a couple teaspoons of oil, but that is still significant.

My plan now is to clean the intercooler at least every other oil change. I'll be curious to see what it looks like after only 10k miles or so.. . .

 

Definitely - I'm putting the OCC on when I install the DFIC. When I removed the IC to install the JCW injectors, there was definitely a good amount of oil coating the IC boots, but I didn't clean the IC at that time (at 8500 miles).

There have been several threads where those of us in CA bemoaned the poor 91 octane fuel available to us, and the consequent timing retard/pinging. The consensus is that octane boosters aren't price-performance economical. However, those of us who have tried 100 octane racing petrol are convinced that we need at least 93 octane in California.

Thanks for the advice! I thought about going with two catch cans, but refrained due to budgetary constraints.

 

oh ok, you guys only get 91. That would probably explain the pinging.

I'd only go with a second catch can if there is any oil in/on your IC/boots after installing the first OCC.

Polizei, i live in Australia. I think your 93 is the equivalent of our (and the UK's) 97/98.

 

91 octane is that pee pee gas they have to use in California

The rest of us get 93 octane

 

And if you live in some of the "western" states: here in New Mexico (still part of the USofA) we only get 91. There's a place in Alb that sells 101, so some of us mix it with the super swill to get better ooomph. It works. I ran an altitude adjusted 14.7sec 1/4 mile on 101 octane a couple of months ago!

cheers,

 

oh ok....poor California ppl...

 

We don't want your pity - just your good petrol!

 

i'd gladly swap our good petrol availability for your good tuner/vendor availability. Do you know how many tuners there are that know MINIs in Oz? One, and his shop is about a 10 hour drive.....just shipping springs from M7 to Aus is USD150 !! Count your blessings!