Here’s the spacer removed and the whole thing filled with Smooth-On ReoFlex 30 (30 durometer urethane). Hope to install it soon. The lower oil chamber is drained and filled with 70 durometer urethane too.

 

BMW X1s have the same mount and same issues!!

 

SO, which mount do I order??
2017 F56S
22118835566??

Or try the
22118835574

 

I bought the second one. I’ve only had it in for a couple of months so it’s far too soon to show any difference in durability. But I put it in without doing anything like replacing the oil with polyeurethane. But, given that the known failure mode is in the rubber, not plastic (original) or aluminum (newer) lower section, I doubt it will last longer than usual.

I did put in the Powerflex inserts. If there’s any change in vibration or noise I can’t feel or hear it.

 

I got this installed and am very happy with it! The nasty vibrations the WindoWeld gave are gone and the “engine flop” is still gone too. Gonna give it more
time and take an under hood video. I will provide an update eventually.

The urethane won’t adhere to the rubber, but the big orange casting should stay in place, which is the goal. Similar to the Powerflex inserts and their flanges.

If I find the time I’ll reinstall my old transmission mount that I just filled with ReoFlex 30. Might be a good combo. All 3 stock mounts, filled with ReoFlex 30. One $40 trial-size package of it should be enough for all 3 mounts.

or, also buy some 60-80 durometer for the lower torque mount and main engine mount oil chamber.

 

Got some Powerflex inserts to test out. Haven’t installed yet.

 

Also very interested in any hands-on experience running with those Powerflex inserts. Just found out my F56S has the same shot motor mount, good amount of fluid gone, you get the idea. If the inserts are good would rather just get 'em and install 'em along with whichever of the two OEM mounts.

@AutoCoarsen any updates?

Any new feedback on whether that aluminum bottom-section part is worth "upgrading" to, since I have to pick one or the other?

 

So far everything is good with my Urethane filled mount. Still running that for now. Haven’t installed the one with the Powerflex inserts yet.

I guess I’d try to get the newest one possible. Still not sure what they updated other than the aluminum lower, but it can’t hurt. I’d like to think there’s also stronger rubber somewhere so they’re less likely to tear 🤔

 

Appreciate the update. I did pick up the updated mount with the aluminum lower and, separately, the Powerflex inserts. Haven’t installed yet but it’s definitely a different thing to lay hands on this vs looking at all the photos.

The fact that the car body-attaching piece and the engine-attaching piece are literally connected only by rubber blows my mind. It’s almost artful — while simultaneously and categorically subject to all the issues discussed in this thread.

And the bottom of that filled chamber — vacuum hoses have sturdier walls. What the heck, BMW. Just what the heck. Engine heat alone will weaken the living daylights out of that to the point of failure over time.

The Powerflex inserts will definitely reduce movement of the center/car-body-attached section — and with that, reduce pressure on that gel/fluid-filled bottom chamber. But I fully expect to either do a similar fill to your urethane or end up replacing the new mount at some point due to similar failure. The design problem is obvious from a materials standpoint (sadly).

 

Well, I took on the motor mount project last night. Still have to put the headlight back on the car and blah blah blah, but the mount itself is in.

Some observations and notes for anyone who they may help. Note that all part number references apply to my 10/2016-built model year 2017 F56 Cooper S. You should independently confirm via realoem or other source that they fit your car before using the part numbers in this post.

1. The three Torx bolts holding the headlight in place via attachment to “alignment elements” are secured with red Loctite. I know this because I bought replacement screws (part 07119908719) and “alignment elements” (part 07149310339). I can also confirm that what the Torx bolts screw into are square nuts floating in retainer clips in each “alignment element” assembly.
   • NOTE those part numbers have different descriptions on BMW part sites, that’s ok, they’re the correct part numbers — as I type this I’m staring at my purchase paperwork.
2. Because of the red Loctite, even with the use of penetrating oil you’re going to want/need:
   • To replace the headlight screws and "alignment elements" just as I did. You’re going to mess threads up pretty good getting the screws out.
   • To swing (see photos) the washer reservoir and wires in the RF wheel well out of the way. Ok, if the screws come out fine for you maybe you can get away with not doing this. But if you need to grip that lowest “alignment element” to keep the square nut within from spinning — and you can count on that — you’ll absolutely want that reservoir out of the way.
     • REALLY IMPORTANT -- when you do this, you are probably going to unbolt what looks like an electrical junction box (see photos) from the body.
       • It IS an electrical junction box.
       • Specifically, it's providing ground to several RF lighting circuits.
       • The nut/bolt combo that holds it in place IS the electrical path to ground. SURPRISE!
       • REMEMBER FOR REASSEMBLY AND TESTING: put this back SECURELY and BEFORE you do any testing like turning the headlight on (much less going for a drive).
       • Since the nut/bolt is an electrical connection, note any signs of corrosion (white stuff like you see on battery terminals sometimes), give 'er a clean if so inclined, and maybe put some dielectric grease on the threads and the nut flange mating surface before reassembly.
       • If you don't reconnect this, and go off to test (or drive, yikes), your RF lighting is going to be dead or mostly dead or weird or some general state of "oh crap what did I do to my car" and you will have a bunch of electrical-unhappy codes. Don't ask me how I know this. The good news is that once you properly reconnect everything the codes will go away -- but look, don't tempt your ride to get electrically mad at you.
   • To use a small adjustable crescent wrench, rather than a squeeze-tool like channel locks or vise grips, to clamp the part of the “alignment element” holding the square nut (go look at ECS Tuning's pics for this part to see the detail). It’s a perfect fit, you can hold it with minimal effort instead of having to hand-grip it to death, and the square nut will NOT turn because the crescent wrench won’t allow the metal surrounding the nut to deform (it has to deform for the nut to spin).
   • To replace -- if you end up destroying it -- a “cable holder” (that’s the BMW term I guess) or two when getting wiring in the RF wheel well out of the way. Some of that wiring is pretty thin and will probably become fragile over time due to age and vibration. Make sure you re-secure all the cables when done. If you need to know specific cable holder part numbers, the ones I had to deal with are 61139285770 and 61136964200. The first one in particular is white, has a grommet on the back that presses against the body to keep it from spinning (I guess), and holds a cable running horizontally along the metal body in the wheel well (securing that point is important, IMO at least).
3. If you’re stubborn and methodical at the same time like me, you’re going to be tempted to try to do this without removing the headlight, due to concerns about alignment either of the beam or with the hood. Don't try that!
   • On the Cooper S at least (mine is a 2017) you’re not getting that mount out of there without pulling the headlight. Twist the mount around all you want, one bit of it is going to jam up against the bottom rear headlight corner so you have no choice but to start messing with those headlight screws (after which point you need to replace the parts noted).
   • If your mount is even partially intact, you will also make extra work for yourself trying to wrangle the mount out from under the refrigerant lines (annoying) while the headlight is in place (harder and therefore a bit riskier because you may goober something). Surprise, you're going to end up pulling the headlight out anyway. Just get that headlight out of there.
   • You're not getting the new, intact mount in place without removing the headlight. If a partially-intact mount won't bend and twist enough to make it, an intact one definitely won't.
   • You WILL have to be thoughtful about making sure the headlight is properly put back. This isn't hard if you're methodical.
     • Strong recommend: use a paint pen to mark the edge-locations of the "alignment elements" before you start unscrewing things in the first place. Not required, but will give you peace of mind during reassembly.
     • The "alignment elements" spring-clip onto the car. The spring is not super-strong, you can open it with your fingers, so when you slide them onto the car you can be careful not to scratch your paint.
     • When you put the "alignment elements" on the car, note that they actually are keyed and will sit securely in a particular way. For the top two you they slide down to seat. The bottom one slides "up" to seat.
     • When you are putting the headlight back, the "alignment elements" will move (until tightened) because of the weight of the headlight. Remember how they seat? You want to keep them seated. Tightening the new screws is a piece of cake compared to getting them out. Tighten them in a rotation pattern so that they clamp down more or less together vs one at a time and you can adjust the seating of the "alignment elements" to keep them where you want as you go.
       • I had ZERO problems getting the headlight right back where I wanted by doing this. I was nervous, but it came out perfect. I also lowered the hood 2-3 times while working through this to ensure no unintended friction/contact before I tightened the screws down for real.
     • Tightening torque for the screws in the "alignment elements" is 6 nm (newton-meters). Not a lot. The red Loctite is what is going to keep these babies in place, apparently.
4. You should replace all five of the bolts holding the mount in place.
   • Follow BMW torque spec for reassembly (including post-click specific turn for the ones holding the mount to the engine block). Others have discussed firm fit being a function of stretching the aluminum threads in prescribed ways. Unless you want “fun” just follow that guidance.
   • Holding the mount to the body are 2x part 22116858061. Holding the mount to the engine are 3x part 07129908650. These are all E-Torx bolts. Make sure you have 16mm, 14mm, and 12mm E-Torx sockets, as well as a u-joint adapter — which you should avoid using when trying to hit torque spec, but use it when you have no other option.
   • There is some solid risk of stripping aluminum here. To avoid that, take your time, be ready to raise or lower the engine incrementally to facilitate access to fasteners and/or ease of hand-threading fasteners, and do just that — hand-thread them. At one point I had one hand getting the engine block/mount alignment just so with the help of a screwdriver as prybar, so that I could hand turn (using 3/8” E-Torx socket on 12” extension, no ratchet) each of the 3 bolts going through the top of the mount.
5. There is a small E-Torx bolt (this is the one requiring the 12mm E-Torx socket) holding a clamp in place around one of the refrigerant lines. Proximity to other things makes getting it out -- and back in -- without headache requires some forethought.
   • The clamp bolts to the engine mount.
   • The head of the rear E-Torx bolt going vertically into the engine block will be in your way on both removal and insertion of this small bolt, depending on how high you do/don't have the engine jacked up.
   • Plan accordingly. If I had to do it again, I’d probably yank that bolt before even supporting the engine — I’d want the engine bottomed out — and I would install this small-clamp-holding bolt (see next point tho) RIGHT after bolting the new engine mount to the body (which should be done before bolting it to the engine block). BTW this is a self-tapping bolt, the new mount is not threaded for it. See next point and incorporate into your plan.
6. THE HOLES ON THE NEW MOUNT FOR THE REFRIGERANT LINE CLAMPS ARE NOT PRE-THREADED. Yeah, to move those things from old mount to new, they’re going to have to self-tap, which is Not Fun especially if you didn’t plan for it.
   • For the big clamps (2):
     • Your plastic is probably gone and the clamp looks more like a saddle bridge. The part number is 07149209733. But that plastic sits atop another part (“Ball pin”, 64539209732) that screws into the engine mount. You can reuse the existing Ball pins, but I assume from here that your plastic clamps are toast.
     • The two Torx bolts holding the washer reservoir in place are the same thread pitch, diameter, and material as the ball pin’s thread — but the tip of those bolts makes them more controllable for getting threads for the ball pin into the mount. Before you put the mount in the car, use one of the washer reservoir bolts to start the threads — make sure you get a good bite and decent depth (3-4 threads deep IMO). Then back it out, hand-thread in a ball pin, and use a spark plug socket (held steadily vertical) on a ratchet to do the rest.
     • To the extent possible, hold the head of the ratchet, not the length of it, to maintain control. To avoid stripping this is a slow and methodical process, using small turns — speed is your enemy.
   • For the small clamp (1):
     • This is not a plastic clamp and it should be intact (and therefore reusable).
     • I don’t have an “alternative tapper” idea. The hole on the mount for this is smaller than the one for the big clamps. And the bolt for the small clamp is probably going to stay in the car, held in place by friction of at least three thin metal plates within the clamp.
     • One could probably remove that bolt from the car anyway, but getting it back in the clamp might be a pain.
     • I left the clamp in the car, not realizing I needed to tap the hole in the mount until I had bolted the mount to the car. So I then had to tap the hole in the mount at a 90-degree angle, with extremely limited space. I got it done but I do not recommend this approach. Find a better way.
     • The fact that I got this done in a not-great way underscores how soft this metal is. Take the risk of cross-threading any or all bolts and any and all holes they go into — including into the engine block — very seriously.
7. On the Cooper S the instruction to remove the upper and lower “partition wall” sections between the engine and the RF side of the vehicle do not apply. They literally aren’t there. Or at least they aren’t on MY Cooper S. I think they are only on the base Cooper, and absent in the S due to lack of space.
   • Despite this, the rear 8mm bolt securing other plastic partitioning to the engine mount is there. The bolt type is the same as the ones holding the big underbody panel in place below the engine. Shallow head, usually easy to turn, but you have next to no space to do that here. A ratcheting 8mm socket wrench will be your friend. It can be dealt with without one, but it’s a pain.
     • Alternative is a non-ratcheting one. In either case you’re going to want, ideally, one with a long handle. I had a short 8mm non-ratcheting and I am now angry at myself.
   • The bolt anchors in a plastic clip attached to the mount. You can move that clip from the old mount to the new.
   • There is a similar hole for a horizontal bolt/clip on the mount, at the front, intended to anchor that partition wall. Again, on my Cooper S, no such wall. Also, unlike the rear, there was neither clip nor bolt attached to that on my car.

Post-install:

• The car feels smoother in general. Didn't expect that at all.
• The "bounce" or "bump" I got off the line or with certain stops is gone. That was expected, as the engine isn't banging into the front and rear of a dead mount any more.
• The yellow/street Powerflex bushings do result in transfer of some engine vibration to the body at idle. But not so much that I won't get used to it. In other vehicles I would almost expect it. I would NOT recommend using harsher/stronger bushings.
• Since the engine isn't sending torque into banging itself around the engine mount, more is definitely getting to the wheels. I'm surprised at how this makes a difference for things like takeoff or sudden acceleration. It's a nuance thing in some ways. Better responsiveness for sure.

Ok, I think that’s it, on to the pictures. I installed the GP3 mount (22118835574) with the Powerflex bushings (yellow/street, PFF5-1321) discussed in prior posts.



Circled is the electrical ground box mentioned earlier. The cables running to it are in the way of the motor mount, so it has to get swung out of the way along with the washer reservoir. The arrow points to the single nut (10mm) that holds it in place. That nut/bolt is the connection to ground for a bunch of RF circuits -- headlight, fog light, parking light, wheel arch light, ride height sensor, leveling control for BOTH headlights if your car is equipped with LED headlights, and maybe still more. Be sure to inspect, thoughtfully reconnect, & test lighting before button-up.



Suspended the washer reservoir from the strut spring so I wouldn’t have to deal with drainage/leakage/whatever but still got it out of the way. View through RF wheel well.

Suspended washer reservoir, view through RF headlight location.

Very broken mount. Fluid chamber also fully compromised and empty, btw. OH! See that white cable holder at bottom right? That's the one I was talking about earlier that is likely going to have to come out, and very important to get back in place. It will likely get damaged on the way out, even if removed politely with a plastic trim tool (I tried that way, that didn't save it).

New mount, before bushing install.

New mount with bushings installed. Dishwashing liquid is your best friend for pressing these in and through.

Comparison of both mounts, outside the car.

New mount installed, bearing the full load of the engine (floor jack support under engine removed).

New mount installed, closer look.

 

Wow that sounds like loads of fun…

NOT!

Even so, great write up.

 

Thank you! My head totally hurts from doing all that lol

I'm actually glad I took this on -- for a couple of reasons. One, I really got to get around in there, see how all this stuff aside from the engine mount is put together, what is holding up, what isn't holding up, and how. Two, I found another problem to fix well before it becomes a Big Problem. I know I'm lucky to be able to do certain things myself, and it is often a bit of a pain -- but the big benefit for me is it keeps me aware of what's going on in the car before it goes CLANK or KABOOM.

 

Just edited my writeup to add post-drive notes and some things about not screwing up your exterior lighting by forgetting to reconnect a ground distribution box in the RF wheel well, lol.

All in all: good exercise. Well worth it. I got all the parts -- the GP3-spec mount, the Powerflex bushings, the replacement engine mount bolts, and the headlight bolts/screws + adjustment elements -- for under $300, and I got to know my car better. Even replaced some busted clips.

Now, I hope to never to have to get up close and personal with this mount again (save me please, Powerflex bushings), but if I had to I can get it done and get it done a lot faster now.

 

Your ride experience with the PowerFlex bushings will being interesting to hear about.

 

Short version:

- A little more engine vibration through the body at idle, for those impressed by the near-dead-no-vibe while sitting at a stoplight the Powerflex bushings will take that away. But not so much that I won't get used to it, and I think how noticeable it is may be variable.

- Noticeably smoother when not dealing with the above. I have no clue why it's smoother, but seems to be. Maybe because with the engine lurching all over the place before, output had to be more variable to compensate for the loss of kinetic energy to the lurching. In any case, nice.

- The Powerflex yellow/street is a good choice. I would not go to racing-material bushings if comfort is the primary concern.

EDIT to add: I feel the (automatic) gearshifts more. Not complaining, mind you, it's still ridiculously smooth, but I can definitely feel the car moving up through the gears from takeoff. Similarly, engine braking effects are also more perceptible (when lifting off the gas pedal, for example). In both cases, I would say you can feel the responsiveness of the vehicle to throttle input (whether more throttle or less throttle) perceptibly more than before. Some of that is having a not-broken mount, but some is definitely transfer of feeling into the body through the engine-body contact provided by the Powerflex bushings. Intriguing and also kinda cool in its own way.

 

 

Most outstanding post on how to fix that pesky motor mount issue that will haunt all of us at some point. I can see myself referring back to this in a few years. Thanks for taking time to document all of this.

 

Nice work cjv2! That’s a much harder job than on the F54 Clubman

 

@cjv2 That was an awesome write up and DYI, thanks so much for this. I wish I could pay you to install mine in - the amount of detail and patience on your side is awesome to see. 👍👍

 

And by the way, do we know if the upgraded engine mount part #22118835574 still has the bottom rubber part filled with oil or is it solid hard rubber (circled in red)?

 

https://www.ecstuning.com/Search/Sit...h/22118835574/

I dont have one in stock to check, my guess oil?



New aftermarket available:

 

O, so if I order one today you won't have it in stock to send it out? It says on your website that it ships out in 3 business days - do you have it or not please? I need to order one. Thanks.

 

Thats not in stock here... its at MINI/BMW USA depo and the estimate to get here and out. If an items says "In Stock" its here for Genuine MINI.

When one comes in i will update the post.

https://www.ecstuning.com/Search/Sit...h/22118835574/

 

Thanks @boki , if you have any questions feel free to hit me up anytime. That area you have circled in the pic -- it didn't feel or look any different old vs new (well, obviously other than the new one not being sheared). I think it's solid rubber, or at least mostly-solid. It sure doesn't feel hollow, but given that the whole weight of the engine is on it there is probably more rubber (quantitywise) that has to keep it semisolid anyway.

Very different from the rubber you see a hint of on the underside. The underside that you see -- that's a ridiculously thin rubber which is clearly a diaphragm, and mine had ruptured. I'm not sure how that fluid-filled area is connected to the other more solid rubber sections. Too bad I tossed my old one, I probably could have dissected it to try to understand that part better.

 

OK, thanks. I just ordered one - let's see how fast you can get them in and out to me - thanks in advance. 👍