Hello Everyone!

First things first: I've always wanted a Mini for as long as I could remember...just was never in my budget and I couldn't find "the one" that was calling my name. After years of saving and finding a deal I couldn't refuse, I am now the owner of a 2006 MCSa with 40k miles

I made the purchase a little over 2 months ago and cannot stop waking up every day(early at that, who knew I had it in me) with a huge grin on my face ready to drive every single backroad I can find.

Now I want more fun. So I'm about to purchase the WMW pulley, but can't decide between the 15% or 17%. I'm sure I can't go wrong with either, but I haven't found much in regards to the performance gains and suggestions for automatics. I know the 15% or 17% question has been asked a billion times but can someone convince me that 17% is the for sure way to go with the auto(I've been going back and forth but I think 17% is the way to go escpially since its auto).

Another huge question: when I perform the pulley what other maintenance should I perform as well since I'll have everything off of my car. Since my car has 40k miles is it too soon for SC oil? Id like to take care of as much as possible since I want her to be in tip top shape for as long as possible!

Thanks for the replies in advance, any feedback is greatly appreciated!

 

Congrats on the car she's a looker. According to MINI the supercharger oil is lifetime, they don't even sell the fluid so you'd have to use something else which makes me a little nervous. I just bought a 17% pulley from way after exchanging several emails with them. Being I'm not tracking my car just autocross and street driving they suggested the 17% for best low end improvement.

 

Great lookin MCS; good find on the low milage. I wouldnt worry about the s/c oil until closer to 100k miles. Even then, some people get away without changing it, some dont; its kinda a crap shoot on some of these things. The s/c oil is available at most of the usual vendors (wmw, outmotoring, ecs, etc.). A 17% pulley will benefit more from a custom tune, will work well on a DD. just keep good syn oil in the motor, changed every 5k miles, new belt every couple of years, keep an eye on the "risk items", you will have many years of fun in the car.

The pulley change and changing/checking s/c oil are different operations; doing a pulley change wont get you access to the oil. I wouldnt worry about the s/c oil until later down the road.

 

That's low miles, definitely change the trans fluid.

 

Thanks guys! Definitely will do the transmission fluid as well. I figured it was too early for something like S/C oil but never hurts checking I noticed the last owner already installed the JCW Intake as well. Figured this and the pulley would pair nicely.

 

I wouldn't say it's too early for the supercharger oil, the seals dry up over time. So, low miles or not it's not a bad idea.

 

Nice car!

If you're a decent mechanic and just really want to take your car apart then sure, check your sc oil. You did buy a car with low miles for a reason though, if you wanted a car that needed to come apart you could have saved a bunch of money and got one with higher miles.

I would just put the pulley on and enjoy your super nice 40k miles Mini. With luck, you won't have any of the issues that those of have with our over 100k miles Minis do for a very long time.

 

Nice looking MINI.

+1 on the trans fluid. Also, would be a good idea to check brake fluid, coolant, and lower control arm bushings. After all, they are 12 years old.

 

Very nice MCS and good find. I would not worry about the super charger oil

Since you found a nice low mile un-abused car, I would leave it as stock as possible.

Our 2002 has zero mods on it and at 55K miles, we have not experienced anything major.

I pretty much changed the plugs / wires, filters, thermostat housing and oil pan gasket.

 

Super charger oil is here : & DIY

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...arger-oil.html

 

Six hours and taking off the front end - is it as intimidating tondo admit looks?

 

Front end removal is a whole lot easier than it looks. I had to change my rad fan and thought it was gonna be horrible. Wish I had bought the stuff to do a supercharger tune up while I was in there. But I'll do it when I change my pulley. It was real easy. Couple plastic clips from wheel liner, a few screws across the bottom and 2 under hood and bumper cover is off, 4 nuts and a bolt on each side and the bumper itself is off and you now have access to everything.

 

I would also check the passenger side motor mount, strut towers, thermostat seal, and the coolant tank. I purchased a very low milage '05 with only 8,600 miles after 6 years and thought I could wait on some of these items. The motor mount went out at 17K and the thermostat seal and coolant tank at 19K. My strut towers were perfect and I waited on getting plates, but by then some mushrooming had already started. I think the low miles led to a false sense of security, or urgency for some of the know 1st gen issues.

Also, good to see you're adding a pulley. It transforms the car and makes it really fun to drive. I waited 4 years to add one, again because of the low miles, and after the install I had wished I did it right away.

 

Here are some articles that may help with the supercharger oil change and pulley upgrade.

http://new.minimania.com/Search_Resu...arger/Articles

 

Definitely have a good look at the belt tensioner, I got my 2005 R53 with 38K on the clock and the tensioner damper was shot, easy enough to change while you have the motor up for the pulley install. The passenger side motor mount is a good idea too, they blow out often enough that it might just be a good idea to do it.

I put the WMW 15% pulley on mine with a Dinan CAI and the difference is well worth the effort and cost.

The car is still a joy six years later and never fails to make any day a better one.

Enjoy!

 

If someone hasn't already mentioned it, Redline MTL for your trans oil.

 

For an auto?

 

oops sorry.. didn't know it was an auto...my fault..

 

Use a new sc belt with the smaller pulley. I wouldn't bother with the SC oil or belt tensioner. The tensioner is awful to change on an automatic, the pulley is not much fun either, but at least doable. I gave up on the tensioner because it would require lifting the engine up about 8" to be able to get the bolts out. The manuals have about 1" more room between the frame rail and the end of the motor.
Definitely change the tranny oil. The valve bodies fail early so you want to buy as much time as possible.

 

This transmission fluid guide may help as well!

http://new.minimania.com/MINI_Cooper...mission_Fluids

If you have access to the supercharger, we strongly recommend you 'at least' check the level of the supercharger fluid. These superchargers fail when the fluid leaks out over time and replacement superchargers are getting VERY difficult to find.

Be sure to check or replace the s/c fluid.

 

Is it any easier to check the fluid than to change it?

 

It's tricky but doable. Here's Bentley's description for 2002-2006 models.

https://wiki.bentleypublishers.com/d...er+Oil+Service

If you would like a copy of this comprehensive manual for your model year, we have it available: http://new.minimania.com/part/BOOK13...tley-2002-2006

Hope this helps!

 

The only way to see how much oil is in there is to pour it out. And to do that you have to take it off.

You can certainly add oil while it's still attached to the engine. It would save you some time doing it that way. You wouldn't have to take off anything on the left side, so the belt and alternator could stay on. So maybe 15 minutes total saved. The alternator is super easy to take off once you have the radiator off.

Another option is to leave the radiator on. You'll still have water come out of the block when you pull the water pump, but it won't be that much compared to pulling the radiator. Personally I think draining and changing the antifreeze is good idea, and taking the radiator off makes the job much easier.

 

Welcome. Lulz at your pooch's face--one that only a mother can love

 

Hahah thanks for that! He's quite the popular dog around the neighborhood. All the little kids love playing with him when he goes for his walks and boy does he love the attention! He loves riding around in the Mini with the windows down(of course) and we get all kinds of 'looks' around town which is always fun. I want to find a reasonable Pooch cover for the so it'll make cleaning easier.

Again, I want to thank everyone for all the suggestions and recommendations as they are very much appreciated The guides and brand suggestions are A+!

Also, in regards to the maintenance on the car, I was looking at either the "Under Tower Indurators" or "Strut Tower Defenders" for the strut towers. Anybody recommend one over the other? The consensus pick I've gathered is the "Under Tower" may be better to prevent mushrooming, is this true? I'll more than likely order one soon and install this as well.

So far, my project will more than likely be carried out two weeks from this weekend as I'll have time and all the parts together to make all the changes I want. Here is a list of the weekend full of fun I have planned for the near future:

-Change Transmission Fluid/Filter (Mini Cooper Automatic Transmission Fluid Aisin Type T-iv Equivalent To Jws3309 - Is this correct?)
-Check/Change SC Oil
-Check arm bushings, break fluid (already checked coolant and the level seems to be exactly where it needs to be, no leaks)
-Possibly change thermostat housing (money depending)
-Possibly replace oil pan gasket.
-Strut Tower (Age old question, "over or under" )
-17% Pulley

Any other suggestions feel free to throw them out there! Have a good evening everyone!