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General MINI TalkShared experiences, motoring minutes, and other general MINI-related discussion that applies to all MINIs, regardless of model, year or trim.
I am kind of weirded out... Recently, I replaced the camshaft position sensor, crankshaft position sensor, radiator, hoses, thermostat/housing, transmission mount, oil pan gasket, dip stick o-ring, power steering fan and hoses.
Prior, I would check the fluid levels on the Mini every weekend just to make sure everything was on the up and up and nothing was low. Add this, top that off...
Post work, coolant level is maxed and has not gone down. Power steering fluid level is topped off and has not dropped. And the big one... I always had to add some measurement of oil to top the motor off.
I have not added motor oil to the engine now for a couple of weekends. And mind you, I am not driving Ms. Daisy. That is way cool. Pretty impressed. I am glad I shored up all the oil leaks and should be good to go now for a while. Thought I would share, Im easily impressed.
I am kind of weirded out... Recently, I replaced the camshaft position sensor, crankshaft position sensor, radiator, hoses, thermostat/housing, transmission mount, oil pan gasket, dip stick o-ring, power steering fan and hoses.
Prior, I would check the fluid levels on the Mini every weekend just to make sure everything was on the up and up and nothing was low. Add this, top that off...
Post work, coolant level is maxed and has not gone down. Power steering fluid level is topped off and has not dropped. And the big one... I always had to add some measurement of oil to top the motor off.
I have not added motor oil to the engine now for a couple of weekends. And mind you, I am not driving Ms. Daisy. That is way cool. Pretty impressed. I am glad I shored up all the oil leaks and should be good to go now for a while. Thought I would share, Im easily impressed.
Replaced the thermostat/gasket, coolant expansion tank, and air filter. The engine gets up to operating temperature a lot more quickly, heater pushes out much more heat than it has in years, and I can watch the thermostat opening (happens right at 195*F) with my Scan Gauge II.
Also drained the transmission fluid, replaced with Redline MTF. Wow - the transmission shifts so much more smoothly now, most noticeably when it's cold.
Diagnosed a rattle from the exhaust. Turned out, a little rock made its way into the chrome exhaust tip and got stuck in there. Easy fix.
Added some videos to my YouTube page.
I'm chasing some oil leaks. Something is leaking on the front of the engine and it's not the crankshaft position sensor seal (replaced last week - no change). I'm going to replace the dipstick tube oil seal, and inspect the supercharger. Keeping my fingers crossed that the water pump PTO gears are in good shape and that all I'll need to do is change out the s/c oil.
Also on the list: replace the control arm/subframe bushings, and possibly the ball joints. My car seems to tramline a lot more than it used to. Tires are still wearing evenly, though.
Last edited by AKIndiMini; Oct 30, 2016 at 11:36 PM.
Yesterday I installed a new Strut mount on the drivers side, a polished aluminum coolant expansion tank, and did some plastidip work on some of the interior trim. I think it came out pretty good so far.
Yesterday I installed a new Strut mount on the drivers side, a polished aluminum coolant expansion tank, and did some plastidip work on some of the interior trim. I think it came out pretty good so far.
How difficult is replacing the strut mount? My right one is making the dreaded creaky noise and I've received a new one, but have never done it. I could use some good hints. Thanks!
I found it more time consuming than anything else. If you've got some mechanical aptitude it shouldn't be hard. I jacked it up and put it in stands, pulled off the wheel, then, before I dropped the Strut I loosened the Strut bolt with a 6mm Allen wrench through a socket and vice grips and the 3 13mm bolts that hold the mount. You can buy the BMW socket but I found this to be just as easy. Once the bolts were loosened i put the jack from the Mini kit under the lower control arm just to hold it up, pulled the brake line out of the grommet holder on the strut, disconnected the connecting rod and used an 18mm socket and breaker bar to remove the bolt that holds the Strut to the steering knuckle. Then I lowered the jack under the control arm. You kind of have to finagle the Strut to get it out but once you do, use spring compressors to compress the spring then pull the nylock nut off the mount and clean off the washer and grease cap underneath. Then replace the mount and finger tighten the nut and remove the spring compressors. Then it's all a matter of getting the Strut back in place and reconnecting everything. I found the jack under the control arm to be a big help as I could slowly lift it and get the Strut in place. Once that's done replace the 13mm bolts on the mount, make sure the connecting rod and strut bolt on the steering k uckle are good and tight, replace the wheel, and lower the car off the jack stands. Then tighten up the nylock nut with the Allen wrench socket and vice grips and replace the dust cap and you should be good to go. Sorry i dont have any pictures but if you search "Mini cooper strut mount replacement" there's a couple if good videos on YouTube that show how to do everything. Hope this helps.
How difficult is replacing the strut mount? My right one is making the dreaded creaky noise and I've received a new one, but have never done it. I could use some good hints. Thanks!
45 min or less typically... maybe longer if this is your first time.
We are excited here in Phoenix as the temps are dipping into the 80-85 range now...
Had some snow in the higher elevations last week, and some significant and much needed rain here finally. Almost 5.5 inches of rain from the two storms that went by. Been nearly Arid-zona dry all Summer and early Fall, so very nice to see the moisture.
Temperatures here have been a tad below normal the last 3 weeks and will continue since that high pressure area has set itself up over the southern central tier of states. Our daytime highs have only been ranging in the 40s and just hitting near 50 a couple of times. Much milder a little south of here. Really hoping for a good Winter crop of snow this year. The last one was paltry, and our snow skiing was way less than mediocre.
Phoenix weather starts to get nice this time of year. Low humidity and 80s are super! I went for a 40 mile bicycle ride yesterday in 40 to 45 degree temperatures with cloud cover most of the way. Your 80 degree Valley of the Sun weather would be awesome for stuff like that!
I did wash the Roadster after the rain, and brought the tires up to their 41 PSI suggested pressure. Got a top down drive Friday under the excuse of making errands. Nice to get out in the Mini once in a while.
Had him emission tested and passed! Woohoo! See them again in two years.
Edit:
The tech could not locate the OBD port underneath to complete the test. Really? So he chose to make me wait until his buddy could come by and show him. He looked at me to explain and I asked him if I could help. He said sure. I swing over, pop the cap down and show him where it is... All is well...
Then the buddy enters and is updated as to what is going on. I then get the stank eye from the buddy as to why I know where the port is... Interesting...
Last edited by CooperSAZ; Nov 3, 2016 at 12:17 PM.
I removed the front clip. Removed and inspected the supercharger. Oil in front housing was just a little low, but looked great. The oil in the PTO housing was very low (just a few drops came out), but was clean. Interestingly, it appears that the seal between the s/c and the PTO housing had failed and contributed to the sticky and stinky oily mess on the engine. I inspected the PTO gears and found that they were still in great shape - whew, dodged a bullet there!
I started cleaning up the oily mess on the engine. So far this has taken me more time than disassembly!
The dipstick tube seal looked like it had been leaking, so I replaced that.
Tonight (or perhaps, tomorrow) I'll be cleaning the supercharger and water pump. Will reseal the PTO housing with new anaerobic sealant and refill with fresh new GM supercharger oil.
I removed the front clip. Removed and inspected the supercharger. Oil in front housing was just a little low, but looked great. The oil in the PTO housing was very low (just a few drops came out), but was clean. Interestingly, it appears that the seal between the s/c and the PTO housing had failed and contributed to the sticky and stinky oily mess on the engine. I inspected the PTO gears and found that they were still in great shape - whew, dodged a bullet there!
I started cleaning up the oily mess on the engine. So far this has taken me more time than disassembly!
The dipstick tube seal looked like it had been leaking, so I replaced that.
Tonight (or perhaps, tomorrow) I'll be cleaning the supercharger and water pump. Will reseal the PTO housing with new anaerobic sealant and refill with fresh new GM supercharger oil.
Had him emission tested and passed! Woohoo! See them again in two years.
Edit:
The tech could not locate the OBD port underneath to complete the test. Really? So he chose to make me wait until his buddy could come by and show him. He looked at me to explain and I asked him if I could help. He said sure. I swing over, pop the cap down and show him where it is... All is well...
Then the buddy enters and is updated as to what is going on. I then get the stank eye from the buddy as to why I know where the port is... Interesting...
My first foray in to the world of Mini was a 2005 R50, took me 15mins to figure out how to open the hood.....lol
Thanks! I've got more to clean, like the timing chain cover and around the oil pan. I'm not sure if these are leaking or not, but there's no way to figure it out until I get it all clean and monitor it. The oil pan gasket and crankshaft sensor were replaced under warranty back in 2007ish.
I looked inside the supercharger and the rotors are in fantastic shape - no discernible wear!
I wish more cars had modular front clips. Seems only certain European cars I've worked on have these (MINI, BMW, Audi). Nice that they come apart fairly quickly, leaving you with a ton of room to work on the engine.
Thanks! I've got more to clean, like the timing chain cover and around the oil pan. I'm not sure if these are leaking or not, but there's no way to figure it out until I get it all clean and monitor it. The oil pan gasket and crankshaft sensor were replaced under warranty back in 2007ish.
I looked inside the supercharger and the rotors are in fantastic shape - no discernible wear!
I wish more cars had modular front clips. Seems only certain European cars I've worked on have these (MINI, BMW, Audi). Nice that they come apart fairly quickly, leaving you with a ton of room to work on the engine.
Nice! So much time spent on cleaning... I do recall that... Honestly, if the oil pan gasket was changed in 2007, it might be time to do it again? With the Mini all apart, now would be the time since it is easier to get to, no? Then you have piece of mind. Part is maybe $20-30...
That is excellent news on the charger and rotors. I am thinking I will do the same this winter while swapping out the water pump just to prolong the life of the charger and side step the expense.
Agreed... first time I took the front end off, I was a little stressed about which bolt went where, the process... now, you just start ripping into it and within a short period of time, everything is apart and you have access to what you need to get to. That is a nice feature for sure.
Agreed... first time I took the front end off, I was a little stressed about which bolt went where, the process... now, you just start ripping into it and within a short period of time, everything is apart and you have access to what you need to get to. That is a nice feature for sure.
No problem getting it apart, but then there's the getting it back together portion of the program. Don't know if I would ever attempt something like that. You guys are pretty darned impressive!
Took awhile, but I finally decided on tires. The RE-71R is currently the fastest of the 200tw street tires, but since I don't need two nationally competitive autocross cars, I decided to try something different:
Long story short, I decided to flush the blackened overdue brake fluid while mounting the wheels, got air in one of the lines somehow and had to redo it, so by the time I snapped a pic it was dark. But I took one anyway As for the drips on the driveway, I discovered an oil leak while doing an oil change the other day. Guess I have more work do to
Anyway, assuming I fix the leak, the car should hit the autox course at a local event November 20 and I may do a track day at The Driveway Austin before then. If I do, I'll start a new thread and review the tires - and the car
You have one of the rare Aero kits installed...Think I've only seen two or three of these over the years. Looks Nice !
Took the time to swap out my starting to leak driver side axle, driver side inner ball joint, driver side lower control arm and changed the transmission fluid. Swapped from the MINI lifetime fluid (hehe) to Red Line transmission fluid. Rotated the tires while I was at it.
You have one of the rare Aero kits installed...Think I've only seen two or three of these over the years. Looks Nice !
Thank you sir! My wife had a NFR/Black Justa R55 and I always wondered how it'd look with everything body color, so when I found this super clean R56 with the Aero Kit installed and fenders already painted, I picked it up. My Mini got a new cabin filter today, and I finally got around to uploading some better pics
As for the drips on the driveway, I discovered an oil leak while doing an oil change the other day. Guess I have more work do to 
