bad bad things happened this weekend. Just looked at the underside of my crank and the #4 bearing is in two pieces and the crank is deeply grooved. Mechanic says he can fix it and get the crank resurfaced, but felt like I had a 85% chance that was not the only problem, and the labor to chase after too many who knows what issues will quickly surpass the cost of just replacing the engine.

So, roughly 4k+2k or more to buy a rebuilt engine and labor to replace, or
1.5-2k to fix the problems we see and pray there aren't more (unlikely), or
find one at a junkyard and roll the dice , or

walk away from it, sell what I can, and start over with a different vehicle.

2006 JCW, might be worth 12-15k? Hard to justify spending ~7k to replace the motor with a rebuilt one, and anything else sounds like good money after bad.

I need a drink.

what would YOU do?

 

I'd swap the motor....IMO if one bearing has an issue like that...they are ALL suspect.
Enough lower mile cars are regularly totaled by ins companies due to accidents with airbags going off.....there are a few around.
If you can find a motor...in the $2000 range...add you stuff...good to go....unless you are willing yo take a HUGE HIT selling the car as a nonrunner....you want to fix it to limit your losses...even if you will sell it.

 

I have a good used 43k mile engine for $3500 right now.

And we sell new engines for about $5k.

 

I'd go with a new engine from Way. It will be a hassle trying to sell a car with a blown motor. Plus 5k for a stock motor isn't bad. I'm not sure how much it would cost to have it installed though.

 

I went down your exact path over the last year with a spun bearing on. #2 con rod (96,000kms)
I tried to give Way my money, but since I am Canadian, he wouldn't take my $5K.

I wasn't going to roll the dice with a junkyard or used engine.

I was forced to have the engine rebuilt because the car was worthless without the engine.

The rebuilder *ucked up, and the engine is being rebuilt again (different builder this time and I will try to sell it or store it)

I looked around for any other car on the market that gave me the same wow factor, and there were very few that did. Instead of buying new, I decided to save the R53. I ended up having the dealer throw a factory "fresh" engine in and have a 2 year unlimited kms parts and labour warranty on it now (250kms in on the new engine). It was crazy expensive, but cheaper than a new car.

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I would rebuild/fix your engine. Even if another problem occurs, the money you saved from not buying a new engine could cover the costs.

Also when rebuilding the engine, you can upgrade whatever component to your liking

 

+1 for engine from WMW. Highest chance of a good outcome.

 

WMW Highest chance of a good outcome!!! It's your new slogan Way.

 

rebuilding isn't really a good option; my quote for a block rebuild was 2,250 in parts and 3,340 in labor; all told ~7,300 to rebuild mine vs. ~7,800 to put in a factory reman JCW with the 2 yr warranty. That's a no-brainer.

What I'm weighing now is the choice between going the "new" JCW route or going another 2-3 grand and getting a built motor from either Way or Jan. I may have found another MINI owner with a partially built motor that might trade since he wants to start over in a different direction, but that's a bit of a longshot at the moment.

decisions, decisions. No matter what I do, I'll spend at least close to half of what the car's worth repairing it, so the resale value is kinda screwed at this point anyway. It's tempting to take the opportunity to go the big valve route since the labor will be essentially paid for already, so I can mostly do it for parts cost only, but then the number is closer to $10k.

agonizing.

 

Pretty much exactly what I went through. Rebuild (rings, new crank, con rods, bearings, gasket kits & labour) cost around $5500 (for the first rebuild). That engine is being rebuilt again at a price of around $3500 (rings, gasket kits etc)

I went JCW for the dealer install (same price for JCW vs S engine) but I then needed the other JCW kit stuff (intake, exhaust, injectors, map) & labour was around $2500 for the dealer to install it. All in (it cost much more than I paid for the car originally!!) at $16,110.

Changes in 2010 to the car insurance in Ontario made me decide to go with the factory/dealer option vs the modified high performance (and less expensive) option.

Yes resale is not even close to amount spent, but for me, I feel I'm better off than with a newer car. Now I have a 2 year warranty, and I've saved an R53 - there really are fewer cars you can get so much fun out of for that price and I really don't like the R56.

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Found a deal I just couldn't pass up. Getting a motor from an '04 MC40 that has only 29k miles, with an RMW big valve head, cam, ARP bolts and 550cc injectors installed only 1 month ago, adding a RMW shorty header and tune, all for about $1200 more than the stock reman JCW motor from MINI.

whee!~

 

Keep us posted on how this all works out.

 

Hoping the popcorn will be for entertainment and not drama.

 

Just got it back tonight. First impression is... holy sh*t. this is what it should have been like from the factory, other than the exhaust. gonna spend a day or two contemplating the noise level, idle is a little overbearing, but for now, nothing but smiles!

 

Sounds like relatively good news!

 

this morning on the way to work it felt like totally good news! turns like it's on rails, and once I break in the clutch and can really use the 5k-7.5k powerband, I think I'll be addicted. seriously considering a resonator add, though. has anybody ever heard of such an outrageous mod? tons of threads on resonator delete, but the opposite, not so much.

 

Glad to hear that you found a real runner of a motor. That's great news.

 

Do you do your own work and farm out the machine work or do you have a shop do everything?

 

I do my own bolt-ons and maintenance, but I paid my mechanic to do the heavy lifting on this one.

 

I was fortunate enough to get to go to the track a lot when I was growing up because my dad worked at a shop where they raced 1/4mi fuelers. If you are into racing then its just part of the lifestyle. Expect to be breaking things and paying money to replace them. Sometimes its going to cost out the *** but you have to pay to play. Im going through some upgrades as we speak from broken OEM parts that I pushed to hard. And if the engine snaps then I will spend the money on it and do the rebuild on my own and farm out the machine work. I like pushing my mini hard. I push it hard daily. I also change the oil on a regular basis and do regular maintenance and keep a watch over everything. I know sooner or later something is going to let lose. Then Im going to have to suck it up and fix it. Anyway Im sure Im preaching to the choir on this. But it almost sounds as if your heart isnt in to your mini any longer.

 

Please read the prior posts...car is fixed....better than ever....his posts are to tell us this.

 

heh, my heart, my wallet, and my right foot are most assuredly in it.

 

Lol...your answer was still good! In the end the op made lemons into spiked lemonade....and he seems to be loving it!!