2009 JCW Clubman / Engine Seized
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2009 JCW Clubman / Engine Seized
Hey guys, first post here!
So my beloved Clubman has prematurely pooped out and I'm looking for some advice...
A little background, I bought the car from the original owner (family friend) about 5 months ago. He told me beforehand that like most minis, it guzzles oil and occasionally overheats, even sometimes gives off a little white smoke from the engine bay. Thought it was just a coolant issue, maybe a faulty sensor or a leak in the system, so the first tech I went to suggested that and I replace those things, I did. It continued to have overheating issues and depleting coolant levels. In the month following I had noticed a gradual loss in compression. Came to find that this model is sort of notorious for having a failed head gasket after about 65k miles, mine is at 72k. Before I could do anything about it, the car completely lost power one day and consequently the engine completely seized.
Seeing as the chassis is pretty low-mile and everything else is damn near perfect, I would really hate to scrap it for parts.
I've found a few good refurbished engines through LKQ and right now I'm looking for someone in Arizona willing to do the swap for a decent price.
*** So here is my main question, is it worth spending $3-4k including labor to swap engines? Or am I better off parting out and finding something else? Might be a dumb question but would I be able to put an S model engine in it rather than a JCW? I feel as if the JCW engine is almost too powerful for its own good in terms of reliability, where as the S might be less prone to issues?
Any advice is appreciated, thanks guys
So my beloved Clubman has prematurely pooped out and I'm looking for some advice...
A little background, I bought the car from the original owner (family friend) about 5 months ago. He told me beforehand that like most minis, it guzzles oil and occasionally overheats, even sometimes gives off a little white smoke from the engine bay. Thought it was just a coolant issue, maybe a faulty sensor or a leak in the system, so the first tech I went to suggested that and I replace those things, I did. It continued to have overheating issues and depleting coolant levels. In the month following I had noticed a gradual loss in compression. Came to find that this model is sort of notorious for having a failed head gasket after about 65k miles, mine is at 72k. Before I could do anything about it, the car completely lost power one day and consequently the engine completely seized.
Seeing as the chassis is pretty low-mile and everything else is damn near perfect, I would really hate to scrap it for parts.
I've found a few good refurbished engines through LKQ and right now I'm looking for someone in Arizona willing to do the swap for a decent price.
*** So here is my main question, is it worth spending $3-4k including labor to swap engines? Or am I better off parting out and finding something else? Might be a dumb question but would I be able to put an S model engine in it rather than a JCW? I feel as if the JCW engine is almost too powerful for its own good in terms of reliability, where as the S might be less prone to issues?
Any advice is appreciated, thanks guys
6th Gear
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 1,945
Likes: 203
From: Northern NV
It's worth the drive or call to Tempe and visit Jerry of Eurotechs, he specializes in Mini's. His FB contact info --- https://www.facebook.com/EuroTechs/ He can tell you all about swapping engines, maybe even repair yours.
Personally, I wouldn't change from the JCW. If it's too powerful for you, learn to drive with less foot pressure on the gas pedal, and / or drive in a higher gear. Jerry tuned mine to over 500WHP and I love driving it around town --- all the power is at the top end, but it's definitely there.
Personally, I wouldn't change from the JCW. If it's too powerful for you, learn to drive with less foot pressure on the gas pedal, and / or drive in a higher gear. Jerry tuned mine to over 500WHP and I love driving it around town --- all the power is at the top end, but it's definitely there.
5th Gear
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 692
Likes: 91
Do a search on N14 engines here
I would suggest doing some research on N14 engines on this site. Seems that there are many, many issues reported. My friend did a used engine after his first one blew up, used one lasted only 20k before the same fate. Good luck
5th Gear
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 975
Likes: 15
From: Cathedral City, CA
Hey guys, first post here!
So my beloved Clubman has prematurely pooped out and I'm looking for some advice...
A little background, I bought the car from the original owner (family friend) about 5 months ago. He told me beforehand that like most minis, it guzzles oil and occasionally overheats, even sometimes gives off a little white smoke from the engine bay. Thought it was just a coolant issue, maybe a faulty sensor or a leak in the system, so the first tech I went to suggested that and I replace those things, I did. It continued to have overheating issues and depleting coolant levels. In the month following I had noticed a gradual loss in compression. Came to find that this model is sort of notorious for having a failed head gasket after about 65k miles, mine is at 72k. Before I could do anything about it, the car completely lost power one day and consequently the engine completely seized.
Seeing as the chassis is pretty low-mile and everything else is damn near perfect, I would really hate to scrap it for parts.
I've found a few good refurbished engines through LKQ and right now I'm looking for someone in Arizona willing to do the swap for a decent price.
*** So here is my main question, is it worth spending $3-4k including labor to swap engines? Or am I better off parting out and finding something else? Might be a dumb question but would I be able to put an S model engine in it rather than a JCW? I feel as if the JCW engine is almost too powerful for its own good in terms of reliability, where as the S might be less prone to issues?
Any advice is appreciated, thanks guys
So my beloved Clubman has prematurely pooped out and I'm looking for some advice...
A little background, I bought the car from the original owner (family friend) about 5 months ago. He told me beforehand that like most minis, it guzzles oil and occasionally overheats, even sometimes gives off a little white smoke from the engine bay. Thought it was just a coolant issue, maybe a faulty sensor or a leak in the system, so the first tech I went to suggested that and I replace those things, I did. It continued to have overheating issues and depleting coolant levels. In the month following I had noticed a gradual loss in compression. Came to find that this model is sort of notorious for having a failed head gasket after about 65k miles, mine is at 72k. Before I could do anything about it, the car completely lost power one day and consequently the engine completely seized.
Seeing as the chassis is pretty low-mile and everything else is damn near perfect, I would really hate to scrap it for parts.
I've found a few good refurbished engines through LKQ and right now I'm looking for someone in Arizona willing to do the swap for a decent price.
*** So here is my main question, is it worth spending $3-4k including labor to swap engines? Or am I better off parting out and finding something else? Might be a dumb question but would I be able to put an S model engine in it rather than a JCW? I feel as if the JCW engine is almost too powerful for its own good in terms of reliability, where as the S might be less prone to issues?
Any advice is appreciated, thanks guys
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