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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.
After putting in a dreadful 60hr work week; I didn't think I had much stamina left in me to do much work on the Mini today. Today I simply planned on replacing a cracked 20+ y/o antenna boot....
A crack and a feeble attempt at a temporary/sloppy repair with some left over silicone.
Yeah, I find it amazing how much dirt can collect under a water tight seal
After cleaning up the accumulation of dirt - Replaced the old antenna boot with a new one I had in my parts stash I'd purchased from Way Motor Works years ago.
The surprisingly amount of dirt I discovered under the antenna boot also had me thinking about a recent discussion thread. The poster had asked opinions on the condition of their sunroof seal.
They had water intrusion in the footwell due to a ruptured drain tube.
For a while I had noticed the front leading corners of my sunroof seal looked as if they had dipped.
I never had any water ingress. When I re-covered my headliner a few years ago, I made a conscience decision to cable tie the drain tubes to avoid any problems in the future nonetheless.
Today, I decided to retract the sunroof to have a closer look.
Although I neglected to snap a photo - indeed the front left and right corners of the sunroof seal had sagged a bit.
In addition to the sagging seal; was compounded by a profuse amount of "natures droppings" which had collected between the sunroof seals and channel.
I began by chasing the dirt from the channel in the seal with a small stiff bristle artist brush and a tooth brush.
Initially, I only saw some moderate debris. But then noticed the drooping seal (circled: top right).
However noticeably, more-so, the complete blockage of my drain tube(s) (circled: center).
^^^ Dammed up drain tube ^^^ - It clearly seemed obvious that here was more accumulated debris lodged in there than meets the eye.
I pulled back the entire seal. There was so much decomposed crap in there (pic doesn't show), so I fired up my vac and air compressor.
After a couple of hours of scrubbing, vacuuming, hosing, air pressure, pulling the headliner down enough to see that the drain tubes weren't leaking -
I ran the seal back in place nice and snug with the aid of a plastic panel tool.
[QUOTE=Here2Go;4675460]Likewise. When I was a "kid" (mid 2wenties) I built a little 110hp VW Beetle. I was pulled over a lot (for mostly the looks of the car). I did however wound up getting 3 speeding tickets and lost my license for a year.
I was just getting ready to move from the SE to the SW so they allowed me to drive the trip and the SW state would take over during the term of the suspension. After 3months the state dropped the suspension. I got my driving privileges back and drove/moved to Cal a few months later.
WRT the guy in the Tundra, There are a lot of "home growners" up here that drive (albeit pretty awesome looking) trucks and jeeps that just don't care for
"city folks that move here driving them Euro trash tin cans" [end quote]. Yes that was the welcoming remark that I received when I pulled into the parking lot the second week I had started my new job. -
It's fine.
It's better than being shot at....I suppose.
EDIT! 635CSI ? - Wholy smokes - That's the Beemer model I've always wanted!!!
I don't often see too many of them around these days.
* envious *
I have two 635's H2. An '87 5spd manual car and an '88 automatic. It's one of my really favorite cars, they drive great on a road course (Road Atlanta in Braselton), handle like bmw's should and have long legs. But they are as maintenance intensive as a Mini. Sorry you had that experience at work, I guess a few people make us regular rednecks look bad. I'm in SW Ga and I really don't know anybody like that. and I can tell you that most people in the south will go out of their way to help you even if they don't know you. A 110hp Beetle is very cool! I have a box of leftover beetle parts
This is the ‘88, it cleans up well. Its starved for attention though, too many toys.
Yep - That's the car!
Same model in black, that I've always wanted.... and/or the 840CI (E31).
Nice
My Mini is the only car I ever bought/ordered brand new. It is also the only front engine & water cooled car I've ever owned.
All my aircooled VW's had 2liter 914 engines stuffed in the *** end. That particular Beetle was ported and polished, roller rockers, mild cam, bored block w/103mm jugs and a Weber 44 carb.
They were as fun to build as they were to drive but pales in comparison to my R53
Today I changed out/installed a new, upper right side engine, vibration mount.
I hadn't noticed (until today), a small split in the old one when I replaced the main engine mount last week.
A few days after replacing the main engine mount, the SES light came on while I was driving. I pulled over and did a quick scan with my Foxwell and got a 0171 fault - "DME Mixture control (bank 1) - System too lean".
'Could be a number of things. But I figured it was most likely a vacuum leak. I saw no evidence and the car ran fine. The code never came back.
While changing out the upper vibration mount today; I discovered the vacuum leak. A small crack in a plastic Dorman connector that I had used to connect the out - vent side hose from my catch can.
Widow tweak - part 2wo
This seemed weird to me...
The other morning while tooling down the hwy; I thought I could hear a faint wind noise in the cabin.
I had already successfully adjusted/closed a noticeable gap between the driver side window and seal a few weeks ago.
Last weekend I also removed, cleaned and re-positioned the sunroof seal as well as thoroughly cleaned out the massive amount of accumulated debris.
After looking more closely at my driver side window today, I could see just an ever so slight gap at the lower portion of the glass where it meets the rear seal.
It appeared as though it needed to be adjusted inward flush against the door seal. This would involve making a minor adjustment to the securing/adjustment bolts underneath the door.
(no pics. tools in hand, I was in "what if ?" mode).
One would think that loosening and sliding the adjustment bolt, in its channel, towards the cabin, to move the bottom edge of the window inward closer to the door seal in order to close the gap.
WRONG - Oddly enough, The bolt needs to slide in the OPPOSITE direction = towards the outside of the car (away from the cabin).
Sounds completely backwards to me - BUT that's how it works/worked.
My driver's window is now completely flush against the door seal with absolutely no gap/wind noise.
I am a bit dyslexic. So this backwards thinking should have made sense to me from the beginning.
I had planned to do more extensive work on the Mini today - like, replacing the shift weight bushings top side of the transmission.
But the forecast had other plans.
Instead, I decided to do something simple and a adjust/tighten any slack from my E brake handle.
But again, my Mini had other plans for me....
Preparing to remove the E brake boot to gain access to the cable adjustment nut; I discovered this fairy significant tear/hole...
Upon further investigation: It appeared to be worse than I'd thought....
Someone please explain to me how a rust free car could possibly have a rusty E brake handle? - In the interior no less?!!
No worries. A little Ospho should do the trick..
No need to go overboard. Ospho works fairly quickly at neutralizing/converting rust. In just under an hour I could resume with the task at hand...
After making a slight adjustment to the E brake cable; It was time for the new brake handle boot.
Believe me when I say; I really didn't want to do another headlight restoration post - but seriously?
This is more or less a rant rather than "what did I do to my Mini today"
About 3months ago (while still living in the city) I had a guy pullout in front of me in a pickup truck that was leaking paint out of the bed.
I didn't realize it was oil base paint until the next morning only to find it peppered across the hood of my Mini. Upset but not a problem, 'I thought'; as the oil base paint easily wiped off the polymer treated hood and windshield.
However, the solvent in the paint had misted and etched its way into the plastic headlight lenses. I could not remove the spots of paint without completely refinishing the lenses starting from scratch = 800,1200,2000 grit and final polish.
The other day, ironically, nearly the same thing happened again!
While driving behind a truck (pacing a 40' distance), I soon found myself driving into a vortex of atomized swirling mist.
No big deal. I assumed it was just dust or drizzle.
Started washing the Mini this morning. By the time I got to wiping down the headlights...
I was hoping the little white speckles were just hard water spots
Nope - After some ambitious rubbing and buffing to no avail...I then remembered driving through that mist behind that truck -
Really? - paint? again???
Today, I spent the time on my Mini completely refinishing both headlights in order to to remove the etched in solvent/paint from the headlight lenses..
Here's how the left driver side turned out. The passenger side turned out just as well - if not better.
MOTD last week, 1500 trouble free miles, 0 oil burned or dripped. What a difference between the R53 and the R55S, nice knowing I just need to get in and go, was a stress free week. Mile High Minis
I'm fairly satisfied (for the most part) with the appearance of my Mini.
For a car that has never been garage kept in 20+ years under Florida skies and SE conditions - its held up pretty well.
Of course I've always dreamed of finding the time (and the right talent) to have it re-painted someday.
The one thing that has bothered me most for the past 10years was seeing the degradation and fading paint along the top surface of my driver side door.
I remain baffled as to why that is the only badly affected place on the entire car where the paint finish has failed?
Yet, I cant help but wonder if that area was spot painted/touched up at the factory before it was shipped to us (2003)?
Over the past few years, at random intervals, I've tried several methods and products that have worked for others (DIYers), but has never worked for me.
Yesterday, I finally gave in and prepped, painted and blended out that area myself....
Both paint and clear were rattle can. The MINI Dark Silver Metallic (#871) from: Automotivetouchup.com and the clear: Spray Max 368 00061 2K clearcoat (Amazon).
Unfortunately the Spray Max 2K clear began to loose it's propellant halfway through the final application process. As a result; left a less than desirable semi-gloss shine. The Max 2K was unused but had been stored in a box
with other paints over the last year or so. I decided to attempt to do this re-paint on a whim. I should have waited and purchased a freshly formulated can to achieve optimum (DIY) results.
However, I will say - that the results look much better in person (even up close) than they do in the photos.
I'm giving the finish a chance to fully cure for a week before I proceed to wet sand/cut and apply the proper finishing products with a high speed polisher.
Well, late yesterday…
Went to my local MINI dealer for the unveiling of the new 2025 JCW Countryman. Very sharp and no longer even remotely mini in any dimension. Sad to see it grow in size, but I am told that is basically a BMW M X1, which also grew in size to fit the battery for the electric version (no info on that yet that I could get). Tires are, finally, worthy of the JCW moniker. Performance Pirellis with a 280 TW (unlike the crap that my 2019 JCW came with). The brakes are huge and look to be worthy of running on the track, not that a Countryman would be run on the track. There is a new infotainment system that will keep any driver entertained for hours on end while on a long trip
The best part of this JCW is the engine… 312 Hp, up 10 from the previous model and I don’t know if that will make it into the JCW Cooper hatch. Shame if it doesn’t.
They also had several 2025 Cooper S cars there. They look similar to the facelift Gen 3s, only smoother in the front. Looks a bit like the large round end of an egg that has been made into an oval. Hmmmm… No… not impressed.
Sorry to say, gone are the days of the really cute Gen 1 MINIs. I love my Gen 3 JCW, but it lacks the light on its feet nimbleness of our Gen 1 base Cooper.
Last edited by Eddie07S; May 11, 2024 at 11:44 AM.
Reason: Edits
Having had replaced my badly worn set shift weight bushings and subsequently having to have my transmission replaced last year; I couldn't help but wonder if the mechanic had installed the (good used) trans with it's old shift weight or...
transferred my refurbished one onto the replacement transmission?
Regardless. Having purchased a backup set of shift weight bushings on hand - Today I decided to dig in with the intention of replacing the bushings.
The procedure is pretty straightforward if not simple:
Remove the airbox, pop one shifter end off the weight's ball joint, remove one 13mm center pivot bolt from the shift weight and remove the whole thing. R&R the old nylon bushings with new and reassemble in reverse order.
Staring out; The only disappointing part of the whole job was revealing the enormous amount of crud and dirt that had accumulated on top of the gearbox after removing the airbox. That's a lot of dirt.
After cleaning up all that mess; my eyes were met with a pleasant surprise - The mechanic had indeed transferred my original/refurbished shift weight onto this replacement transmission.
I decided to remove the shift weight for good cleansing and fresh superlube.
BTW/FYI: Don't ever hold a superlubed part between your teeth during repair. Sure it tasted a bit sweet at first. But the aftertaste will make you wish you'd had a third set of hands instead. Trust me!!
I remembered (the first time) noticing that the factory had applied this "quantum base" purple loctite on the threads of the central pivot bolt making it almost impossible to break loose.
I did my best to conform and mixed a little red thread locker into some blue.
Knowing that this bolt had been previously removed and replaced a couple of times, and you can't get a torque wrench in there to tighten it down;
I used the muscle gauge torque with a cheater bar method to ensure it's tight without risking snapping the bolt.
Everything cleaned, lubed, threadlocked and back in place.
So essentially "what did I do to my Mini today?" was just some minor R&R and cleaning.
On a final note;
Checking to see whether or not the mechanic had considered the condition of the shift weight was never in question of his integrity or thoroughness.
This guy is top notch with Mini's.
Thanks again, Way!
I had already ordered the bushings when I tackled the rest of the front suspension bushings & balljoints as part of replacing the front struts, but I didn't tackle them then because I could only find methods for their replacement that required dropping the front subframe. But, last night I stumbled across this post and it gave me hope to be able to tackle the job with the front subframe left in place.
I've gone ahead and ordered the tool recommended in that post so that I can replace the bushings in-place on the vehicle.
Changed the oil and brake fluid and tackled changing the water pump with a friend since it was leaking. Couldn't believe the brake pedal felt like new again after the fluid change.
At the moment, I'm in the middle of replacing the front rear lower control arm bushings. I tried the "replace on the car" solution with the special tool, but it didn't seat the bushing completely. I'll have to drop that front subframe now to do it right.
This is the special tool positioned for removal. The removal went OK with it, but the plates were not cut correctly to allow the bushing to move all the way through the mount on installation, so it wasn't evenly seated (same overhang on either side of the bracket was not possible).
The old bushing was so worn it fell apart on its own. The videos of the excessive movement it allowed are here and here:
I put coolant in. Check engine light on, radiator fan runs, car stalled, wouldn't start again. Car park attendant suggest I put car in neutral and try start. That worked.
Headliner time Black suede, not a job I want to do anytime soon. I’ll get some better pics tomorrow, but I have replaced the taillights, all side markers, turn signals, and fog lights with LEDs. Carbon fiber door handles and gas cap, and new mirrors caps. The mirror caps are in primer, carbon fiber covers are en route.
I let a guy who is 6’ 8” try on Smokey, my R56S. He fit.
This happened in a Big Box store parking lot. I pull up near his really really big shiny red pickup truck and when he saw me get out he wondered how well I fit in the MINI. Nice guy. Told me about owning a 240Z that wasn’t tall enough inside for him. He thought about buying a Corvette, but it didn’t have enough leg room and he couldn’t get his foot off the gas. I told him that MINIs having a lot of room inside and offered to let him try it. He did. I left him with the thought that, if he got tired of driving the PU, he should try a MINI. He chuckled. That expanded the smile that I already had on my face from having had a blast just driving Smokey to that Big Box store.
