I’ve been down to the dragon a few times 😉 My parents live in Sevierville, so a nice hour and and half drive down. My old R55s saw most of the action, did get down there twice last year in the r53, good 200 dragon miles on her. I’m probably heading down early on Thursday and plan on being around Fontana and of course the dragon. The exhaust event Thursday has my interest since milltek will be there and I’m running a full milltek system myself. Friday planning on the Outmotoring run, haven’t seen Aaron in a couple years. Saturday it’s either tiny terror run or 100 miles on dragon havent decided yet. As for where I’m staying, I actually am staying in Maryville at a buddies place, he just happens to live close to the start of us-129, so I’m probably 30 minutes away from Fontana.

 

You're an old hand then! Nice to have a place to stay near the dragon! I will be there by Wednesday night and will be staying until Sunday. Definitely up for one of the runs and checking out the exhaust event. I'll send you a PM with my cell and we can maybe meet up!

 

I wouldn't have tackled this job without all the tips and advice I read here!

 

Last weekend I upgraded my OEM crankshaft pulley to the fluid filled PRW, seal, bolt and a new Gates serpentine belt.

Success! (?) - Ran great for 400+ mi... Until...*read to the end*...

Having recently relocated from metropolis to the northern mountainous region, I began to notice a few strange things with my Mini I hadn't noticed before while living in the city.
Most noticeably while snakin' through mountain roads, S-turns and switch-backs @ 55mph, I began to hear the familiar sounds of a failing wheel bearing starting to make its droning baritone presence known while pitching to and fro in and out of turns.
Yesterday I changed out the offending Right/passenger side wheel bearing.






Everything went smooth and by the numbers and I even had just enough "detoxers" (de-ironizer and degreaser), to make things reasonably clean for the fresh install.


Miles of smiles. Hopefully (?)....

Upon wrapping things up and putting away my tools; I fired the Mini up and let it sit while it warmed up before taking it out for a quick shake-down run to see and hear how it felt.
I felt a great deal of satisfaction an confident in a day well spent.

That is until...
"At the height of my revelries, when my joy is at its zenith, when all is most right with the world, the most unthinkable disasters descend upon us.” - I hear this ungawdly awful squeal and then a tumultuous slapping sound coming from under the hood.
The (new recently installed) serpentine belt had let loose!

Today I pulled things back apart to access the damage. I discovered a few things that may have been a contributing factor:

1. I noticed the lower outer most edge of the belt tensioner damper bushing had begun to crumble (the inner sleeve looked ok) but seemed to function well.
2. The position of the recently installed PRW pulley was not fully seated in line with the tensioner and idler pulley?
3. I have an inordinate obsession and disdain for dirt and grime and may have over sprayed too much degreaser in/on and around the pulleys causing the belt to slide off the tensioner and or idler

I went back and "covered all the bases"

1. I ordered a new belt tensioner assembly + powerflex damper bushing inserts.
2. I ordered 2wo new Gates K060535 belts (for 15% SC pulley).
3. R&R'd the center PRW crank pulley bolt and re-hammered/impact driver the pulley, re-threadlocked and torqued the center bolt.
4. Installed the old (25k mi) belt for the time being.
5. I ran the engine for 15min @ 2,5 - 4,5 rpms and watched the belt and pulley for tracking, drifting or any unusual noise or behavior...

Runnin' fast. Runnin' smooth!

I paid closer attention to how the belt rode over the idler pulley. I'm not sure if it's normal for the belt to ride that close to the edge but the previous track/wear on the idler pulley indicates the position of the previous belt(s).

After taking the Mini out for a quick 15mi/ 55mph test run through the mountains it performed very well.
My assumption that the Right front wheel bearing was going bad turned out to be correct despite the fact that there was no physical play @ either 12 & 6 or 9 & 3 position - The drone was gone throughout every twist and turn!
I plan on changing out the Left driver side wheel bearing next week...As well as a re-alignment of my driver side window (wind noise).

I even took the liberty of staying on schedule by changing my oil @ just over my 3,500mi intervals.

I just started a new job up here.
Crossing my fingers and hoping for the best over the next few days

 

Hopefully it’s fixed but if you still have issues and you replaced or removed the idler pulley, there are two threaded holes next to each other that the idler pulley will bolt to. I’ve seen a few posts where the pulley was bolted to the wrong one which caused some issues.

I think there’s a pic pointing it out the correct hole in the Bentley manual.

 

Changed the oil pressure switch yesterday, seemed to have fixed the oil light at 1500rpm, changed oil and filter... An hour to figure out how to jack the car up , just wanted the front up to change oil and i usually use the lift but I have a car on it at the moment. Found there was a quick drain and I could reach it with the car on the floor! Then thirty min to get the damn filter cup to thread back on the housing properly, finally got it out of sheer luck what a PIA!
All seems better now though, and I know the proper level on the dipstick.

 

Hey - thanks for pointing out the idler pulley holes in the engine block.
I didn't change or remove the idler.
After doing all the above in my previous post; Since yesterday I've driven the car 65mi at various speeds (45-65mph) on the older/previous belt. So far, so good. (new belts should be here by Wednesday)
I'm happy to see the pulleys are all perfectly aligned and the belt is riding super smooth. I can see that I still have very good tension as the tensioner exhibits smooth and just the slightest rebound with no noise coming from the belt components.
3/4 of the first pin hole is visible.

On the other hand - after replacing the front right/passenger wheel bearing, I now have a clunk going over bumps and inconsistent undulations in the road. I also, now have a slight/faint rattle coming from the dash.. Neither one were present before.
I hadn't missed anything during installation and reassembly. All bolts are torqued to spec. The car is super responsive without any road or wheel noise.
I'm guessing it could be the drop links. But sounds deeper as if coming from the strut (bearing?) or swaybar (or gawd forbid the axle). All of which have been previously replaced within the past year.

Ugh!

 

H2, for what its worth, check your tie rod ends. My driver side was so bad i thought it was literally gonna fall off. Ordered one and same day went to the local upullit and got a good one for less than ten bucks. Kept the new one in the parts bin. Check your inner tie rods too. Of course you already know this but its worth mentioning, bad tie rod ends are scary. 😊

 

Figured I'd finally post an update here.

To by 19 Countryman All4S, got quite a few service items completed over the past couple weeks.

New

• Rear brake pads and rotors (parts - ECS Tuning; install - local shop)
• Brake Fluid change (dealer)
• Battery (dealer)
• Tires (Michelin Pilot Sport AS 4) (Costco)
• Upper and Lower Engine Mount (Dealer)

I don't have the knowledge nor the space to do myself so I had to take it to shops/dealer.

Parts and labor: $2303. Except for the engine mount, most was "wear and tear", just came all at the same time.

Somewhat encouraging though as it was the first time I got a video from the dealer where they said everything looks good

 

New York State safety and emissions inspection - Passed! Forth year in a row with stage 2 tune and cat-less down pipe, in an emissions state, no less.

Also got an alignment check, and new alternator belt.

Thanks to The Little Speed Shop!

 

Yes - good advice as to also look at the condition of my tie rod ends! Both tie rods were replaced by an indie BMW garage w/OE about 18 months ago. I've had the front end up several times having recently replaced everything from struts (coilovers) to complete subframe/suspension refresh, so I knew that the tie rods were still in good/great condition. The front end is now essentially like new. This is what had me angry and confused after hearing this 'clunk'.

I wish I knew the keyboard strokes for the face palm emoji but...
After driving to work this morning, still hearing the intermittent clunk just made me even more frustrated. But it also had me thinking: Maybe the clunk I'm hearing is coming from the rear and not from the front???
During my lunch break I went out to the Mini and popped the rear hatch. Sure enough there was the source - I had put my jackstands in the back after working on the wheel bearing and belt . You know... "just in case"?
The jack stands were knocking against the plastic interior panels everytime there was even the slightest bump in the road.
The cabin is so small and I have a tonneau cover stretched over the back seats. I could swear the clunk was coming from the front (since it was the last place I did work on).

I wedged some chamois towels around them and enjoyed the clunk free peaceful ride home at the end of the day.

 

Your Clubbie looks awesome!
'Love the look of the lowered stance w/those wheels.
How do you like the Bilsteins after having them over a year or so?

 

Thanks!
I love the way the car looks and handles on these. However, I think the combination of firm dampers, stiffer springs, and soft snow tires don’t particularly work well on the car. I’ll be getting the summer tires back on by the weekend, and I can’t wait.

 

I agree. I am absolutely thrilled with how my R53 looks and the firmness of these Bilstein B14's
Thanks again for posting the link to them last year!

 

Changed the fuel pump and filter on my r53 this afternoon. Had started getting hard to start in the mornings, figured fuel system losing prime or filter clogged. Filter was black, what the hell is that anyway? I've never seen black fuel filters before. Started about 4:30, got home at 8. Also cleaned the back seat and rubbed in leather conditioner, and a couple more smalls. I could do it again in prob 45min now. Seems to run better, we'll see in the morning.

 

I’ve been busy lately…
This morning, changed the plugs, scoped the pistons while I had the plug holes open, and swapped to summer tires. Failed to mention before my inspection I changed pads and rotors all around too.





Long shot… Any one know if there is a way to scope the intake valves without removing the intake manifold?

 

I never would have thought that driving my MIni in the city almost seemed quieter than driving around on country roads.
Granted, when I live in metropolis my daily commute was about 25mi roundtrip. Due to congestion and heavy traffic, my Mini barely ever saw speeds over 65mph for short sprints at a time.
Now, everything out here is wide spread where civilization (as I've come to know it) can be quite a commute driving rural back roads @ an avg posted speed of 55mph.
Most times there's never even another car in sight for miles while driving down some of these roads.

That's when my Mini revealed some noises I could never hear in the city.

• Thus far I discovered, fixed/replaced one growling passenger side wheel bearing. I'll try and replace the driver side tomorrow for a matching pair.
• tightened up the rear drop links that started to clunk,
• a slight rattle in the dash/glovebox (never rattled until recently),
• and a bowed driver side window which was enough to cause some irritating wind noise, fogging and a bit of a draft.

Today I re-aligned the driver side window. Closed the gap and eliminated the drafty wind noise.




I didn't have the BMW window tool to turn the adjustment gears. I used a long screw driver, a small block of wood (in lieu of a hammer) and a suction cup to gently move the glass around.


Gap closed. No more drafty wind noise. Perfect!..(for now)

 

I wasn't able to get into doing anything too involved or time consuming to my Mini today.
After successfully fixing/re-aligning a drafty driver side window yesterday; I'd noticed the black rear window and front windshield roof line trim(s) were looking a bit sun beaten, grey and tired looking.


Pretty sad looking and weather beaten example of my glass trim.

Today I refreshed the rear hatch window and windshield trims back to black by dressing/painting them out with black leather dye.

No before pic. But as pictured above; I already started painting the Right corner of the upper windshield trim...Taking a picture "before and after" was an afterthought.
You might notice the slight comparison between the right corner (dyed/painted) and the front left yet to be dyed.






Maybe trivial or hard to see the significance from the photos - but to me, any little thing you can do (because I'm broke), that helps make an old car look new-sh is time well spent

 

either nobody reads this thread or i overestimated how good i did in spending so “little” for all that work

oh well. Hopefully its the last for a little bit

 

Was able to fit my Trek Road Bike in the back of my 2024 JCW convertible. Not eloquent but seems to work...

 

A while ago I had posted (in another topic) a near miss encounter with a rather large opossum waddling along in my lane while driving down a rural road one night.
I was driving at a steady 55mph pace. If it hadn't been for my Rally/spot lights I probably would have never seen him/her. It might have been a sad story for both of us otherwise...

Having now transplanted from the city out here to the "sticks"; hasn't been easy. There's a whole new set of rules to be learned out here.
Where I used to fear the reckless/stupid behavior of metro Atlanta drivers - now my fears have turned to wildlife darting out in the road without a moments notice.
Rabbits and deer and bears - oh my! Badgers and snakes and cows - oh...WTF?...yeah - COWS!
Anyway...

Today I installed an electronic deer alert in my Mini.




While I'm rather dubious as to the effectiveness these things are as a deterrent to deer...
Anything as an added measure of precaution (including vigilance scanning the sides of the road) to avoid a disastrous end to a life and the life of my Mini.

I also installed a ground loop isolator in my AUX output in the head unit. No more speaker buzzing while my cel phone is plugged in
In addition; I took the opportunity to upgrade the antiquated Edison running light bulbs on the front bumper to LEDs.


These things throw some nice bright, white light by comparison!

All of the aforementioned little things I did today were merely an effort to keep my mind preoccupied...

Sadly - Last night my 12y/o co-pilot and I went to sleep. Unfortunately, she never woke up.
We've have many long road trip adventures together in the Mini. We've seen a lot. We've been through even more.


I will truly miss her being by my side...but will always remain in my heart.

 

I'm sorry for the loss of your traveling companion. They truly become part of the family.

 

@Here2Go - So sorry about your "co-pilot". My girl is 14+ and slowly fading, being deaf, arthritic and tires quickly on our short walks. I know her time is coming too...

 

Very kind of you -Thank you @khnitz, @MCS4FUN
I've got a ton of parts to install on the Mini in the coming weeks.
We will be taking our final 800mi (1,600 rndtrp), road trip together in the Mini. Back to a place she enjoyed the most - to spread her ashes.

 

H2, so sorry for the loss of your lovely spaniel. I had just said to myself, that I'm having some trouble with the loss of our family feline as of yesterday, and then I read this. We had only had our pet a few years but your 12yr co pilot is truly a special part of your life. You're in my heart tonight my friend.