Hey all! So my mini is now at 153k miles and I don't really want to put any more money into performance parts if i should be spending my money to replace old worn out parts. So my question for all you knowledgable owners out there is...what parts and/or systems would you preemptively replace? cooling system or water pump or fans or gaskets? I just want to make sure I am increasing the longevity of this car as much I can. I have had it for quite a while and want to keep it running strong. (crossing my fingers) I haven't had many issues lately other than a failed alternator. I am planning to remove and service the supercharger soon, i just got all the components for that. Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks all!!

-Burkee

 

If you've kept good records on what has been replaced under a normal wear and tear schedule then any and all wear items and fluids much over 30 to 40K miles old. Gaskets, bearings and such will speak for themselves. Brakes and wiper blades are another matter.

 

Without any signs of any issues the problem is you replace the water pump and the fuel pump quits. Replace the A/C compressor and the power steering pump quits. Replace the starter and the clutch slips.

And so on.

If one tries to guess/anticipate what things will fail and replace these preemptively he can go broke replacing these preemptively.

What I was told by professional automotive techs -- this some years ago -- and what I have done with cars that progress from new to middle age to advanced age (up to around 16 years old and up to over 300K miles) is to just follow a good service schedule. Have all scheduled services done on time or a bit earlier. For instance in the case of my JCW I have the oil/filter service done every 5K miles rather than 10K miles.

As the miles accumulate things will wear out.

Pay attention to what the car is trying to tell you and if a problem appears have it addressed promptly.

No issues yet with my JCW -- other than the left rear brake pad wore down to the wear sensor and I had to have new rear brakes installed at around 16K miles. Might add after a brake fluid/clutch fluid flush and bleed the hypersensitive stability control apparently is not so hypersensitive anymore.

But with other cars besides the normal wear items like plugs, brakes, v-belt/accessory drive belt, I've had the water pump, fuel pump, coolant tank, CV boots replaced, an alternator replaced. In every case it was because the water pump got noisy or leaked. Or the fuel pump quit. The coolant tank leaked. The CV boots developed cracks and the tech removed the half shafts cleaned and greased the CV bearings -- after inspecting them to ensure they were ok -- and installed the half shaft back in the car. Or the alternator would stop generating electricity after some minutes of engine operation. A longer time back with a car of mine at over 150K miles a release/throw out bearing failed -- got noisy (seized) and I had the clutch replaced. A wheel bearing got noisy and was replaced.

Another time the variable camshaft timing hardware went bad and I had a new variable timing solenoid and actuator installed. The various cam drive hardware: Chains, sprockets, tensioner guides/rails (covered with composite plastic) were all ok so the tech just advised me as long as the other side was not manifesting any signs of trouble to not worry about these on the current cylinder bank or the other cylinder bank.

Based on a CEL I replaced a MAF. At other times O2 sensors. Two times over a span of 150K miles I replaced two noisy idler roller bearings.

At another time the radiators (in this particular car there were 3!) all started leaking and I had all 3 replaced. This same car while there were no signs of any issues I had the coils replaced (at over 140K miles) and the engine perked up some. So coils can degrade yet not enough to generate any error codes and light the CEL.

IOWs one stays on top of things.

 

MINIs don't have a specified list to do at 150k miles. At that mileage I would do a full inspection of the car and make a list of what all it needs then do as necessary.

In addition the fuel filter is due at 100k miles if you haven't done it already
https://www.waymotorworks.com/fuel-f...7-r58-r59.html

 

2 bits from the peanut gallery...

At that mileage I'd consider the overall health of the engine before making any significant investments.

An easy indicator is mileage - has it deteriorated?
An inexpensive diagnostic is a leakdown test - are all cylinders still in spec?

Just to avoid a situation where all drive train related systems are renewed, but the wear in the engine core becomes terminal.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Thanks a bunch for the info guys, definitely given me things to think about. I appreciate all the help! You guys are awesome!!