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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.
Installed the winter tires on “like” new 17” wheels. What a difference with respect to noise. Although they are Blizzak winter tires and a bit loud, they are WAY quieter than the lower profile 18” Continental’s that I have on the summer wheels.
Changing the starter tomorrow. The weather is still really nice here for a few more days but we’re on borrowed time. Snow and cold here soon
:(
Great choice with the Blizzaks. I have a set on a matching set of 15 inch "holie" rims.
Outstanding performance and handling in the Minnesota snow.
Simply switch back to all seasons when the snow depth recedes.
Motor on!
Great choice with the Blizzaks. I have a set on a matching set of 15 inch "holie" rims.
Outstanding performance and handling in the Minnesota snow.
Simply switch back to all seasons when the snow depth recedes.
Motor on!
Have had Blizzacks on our Cooper. The best for the winters in upstate NY… But they were recently replaced with a Wrangler, Jeep that is…. The Cooper has become a fair weather car.
Changed the starter, small space for every set of hands
:(
Despite watching several videos that indicated starter removal was possible from underneath, that possibility had completely eluded me. I eventually removed the air intake off the rear of the engine. It was the only was I could facilitate the removal and replacement
But, now I need to track down the source of a code. I need to locate the cause of the CEL 37DE crankcase ventilation heating, activation line disconnection. I have checked and rechecked connections and will attempt to do so again today.
I’ve searched the web and several forums. Nothing I found was 100% definitive. Any available insight into this from anyone in the know, is appreciated.
HMMMM
I dug a lot deeper and was able to correct the issue.
I made the incorrect assumption that I had reconnected everything correctly. After I spent the afternoon reading up on this, everything pointed to a connection that was not seated as it should have been. That was indeed correct. I pushed and correctly seated the two wire connector circled in orange and code 37DE went away. Cleared the code, ran it a few cycles and checked with scanner.
All good now.
So simple and so easy to overlook.
Big thanks to everyone that had posted about this across every forum. I learned from all of you and saved myself quite a few $$$ by not having to take it in for a diagnosis.
Not today buy Yesterday - After blowing my CAT about a month or so ago; I finally acquired an OEM manifold and CAT purchased from one of our kindred Mini contributors here on NAM.
If you'd ever had your CAT come apart internally; I don't have to tell you what an annoyance that unsettling and obstreperous constant noise it makes rattling around inside the canister.
Not to mention the havoc it plays with performance and gas mileage..(and more). Anyway....
After a weeks wait I received my "new to me" low mileage CAT from our friend (@2out2sea), here on NAM...
Looks pretty good to me.
A quick rust inhibitor bath with Ospho...
Then on-to a 25 min drive down to the valley to my go-to place to work on my Mini - Walmart parking lot...
I finally managed to extract my original 22y/o manifold/CAT. My Mini is pretty much free of rust. Even though I'd PB Blasted - every nut and bolt was effortlessly removed and without incident
Top: My original - Below: "new to me" replacement
Needless to say it was a long 6 hour day for a first timer, rolling around under and stretched over the engine of my Mini to finally get this thing taken care of once (hopefully), and for all. .
On a final note: It is amazing to me how I'd had almost forgotten how much power my Mini has while driving around with that failed clanking CAT for the last 200+ miles.
I must say; The one noticeable difference (since before the CAT failure) is the sound.
It is much more, yet pleasant - "throatier" sound than I recall. Sounds a bit more subtly performance. Without the overly obnoxious, nuisance "racer boy" wannabe sound...(just one old man's opinion).
With that accomplished, said and done...the only question remains....Where to now to my next adventure?
Keep your wheels on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.
(RIP: Casey)
I performed my first brake pad replacement on the F60. I was a little surprised how simple it was. I do have the Carly app, so I was able to put the E-brake into service mode. After that, the rear caliper pistons just pushed in - no other special tools needed.
I do have a complaint about the front service wear sensor. Take a look at the picture below. New pads are pretty thick. The old pads were worn pretty bad, yet the wear sensor still had meat on it before triggering the service indicator. The sensor had yet just barely touched the rotor.
Oh well, new pads all around. I did not replace the rotors. Save that for next time.
Well the LA county roads won the battle and finally broke off a big piece of my front spoiler. So rather than repair it for the 4th time, I'm throwing in the towel and just removed it completely. Definitely can't be lowered in LA with this sucky *** streets. Wish Maxton Designs material was a little more flexible and forgiving.
All back to stock I suppose...and switched to fall/winter wheels.
Took a piggyback ride.
Radiator cap failed. Not even 4 months old. Apparently it was not "OEM quality" as was stated on the parts site where I got it.
I wish someone could make a nice metal adaptor to screw on where the cap goes, and which provides a regular radiator cap flange, like most cars use. Could've got a new cap at the Autozone that I stopped at, refilled the coolant, and been on my way, or, more likely, wouldn't have had an issue that made me stop there in the first place....
Took a piggyback ride.
Radiator cap failed. Not even 4 months old. Apparently it was not "OEM quality" as was stated on the parts site where I got it.
I wish someone could make a nice metal adaptor to screw on where the cap goes, and which provides a regular radiator cap flange, like most cars use. Could've got a new cap at the Autozone that I stopped at, refilled the coolant, and been on my way, or, more likely, wouldn't have had an issue that made me stop there in the first place....
New cap, coolant in and burped, temperatures look okay. Hopefully no more cooling system drama for a spell....
Gotta hit the car wash to wash the coolant mist off the back of the car....
Made a temporary muffler tip to replace the muffler bearing tip, because the knock sensor was picking its rattles up. Hope to find a top for a 2.5" pipe that's not 12" long relatively soon.
Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup, Family Size, in case you're wondering....
Today - After a year and a half, I finally got off my lazy butt and replaced my IHKA interior temp sensor.
One main reason for putting off replacing the sensor was largely due to cost. I saw prices ranging from $20 used to $140+ OEM/new....
Quite frankly; I've lived without this thing.working for so long...I wasn't even sure that it mattered.
A couple of weeks ago while scouring a local salvage yard looking for parts for friends - I came across a 2004 R53 w/automatic climate control and decided to pull the interior temp sensor.
Picked this thing up for $2 at the salvage yard.
^^^Yup - That's 22 years of dust,dirt and cob webs binding up the impeller fan resulting in it's final demise. .
Unfortunately cleaning out the debris from my original sensor was a fruitless attempt in blind hope that it may still work..
Moving forward, I installed the $2 salvage yard sensor and gave it a test run before buttoning everything up... Yes - a whurrling success!
Ahh, yeah - no more silly fault code!
I'd like to add that, As much as I love hunting the salvage yards in search of hidden gems - small parts like this (interior temp sensor) isn't one of them.
However consider the cost saving from $140 vs $2...?
Today - After a year and a half, I finally got off my lazy butt and replaced my IHKA interior temp sensor.
One main reason for putting off replacing the sensor was largely due to cost. I saw prices ranging from $20 used to $140+ OEM/new....
Quite frankly; I've lived without this thing.working for so long...I wasn't even sure that it mattered.
A couple of weeks ago while scouring a local salvage yard looking for parts for friends - I came across a 2004 R53 w/automatic climate control and decided to pull the interior temp sensor.
Picked this thing up for $2 at the salvage yard.
^^^Yup - That's 22 years of dust,dirt and cob webs binding up the impeller fan resulting in it's final demise. .
Unfortunately cleaning out the debris from my original sensor was a fruitless attempt in blind hope that it may still work..
Moving forward, I installed the $2 salvage yard sensor and gave it a test run before buttoning everything up... Yes - a whurrling success!
Ahh, yeah - no more silly fault code!
I'd like to add that, As much as I love hunting the salvage yards in search of hidden gems - small parts like this (interior temp sensor) isn't one of them.
However consider the cost saving from $140 vs $2...?
New rims n tires for my daughter's clubman. Now our cars match ! I also put new lower ball joints on it.. she just got her Temps so it needs to be fully ready and safe for her..
Today did full brake job, with fluid flush, on the daughter's 2017 F54 S. Had a bit of a rabbit hole, tried using a cheap a$$ hand operated vacuum 'self bleeder' purchased from somewhere I shouldn't have. It was worthless and left me with a **** ton of air in the system, wound up going back to my MOTIVE power bleeder.
Zimmerman rotors, Akebono ceramics. The Akebono pad sets come with new sensors, in case anyone is interested.
Made a temporary muffler tip to replace the muffler bearing tip, because the knock sensor was picking its rattles up. Hope to find a top for a 2.5" pipe that's not 12" long relatively soon.
Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup, Family Size, in case you're wondering....
After a bit of hunting, found this one that doesn't stick out TOO terribly:
I tried to go with a nice Borla tip, but their 6.25" long tip is actually 8.25" long, it does not fit over a 2.5" pipe as advertised, and I'm going to have to send it back to Summit. The tip I settled on is 6" long. You can imagine how silly the 8.25" one would look....
But they were recently replaced with a Wrangler, Jeep that is…. 
The Cooper has become a fair weather car. 
