Hi all, new owner here of a 2008 MCS manual with 117k on the clock. I wanted to send out a thanks to all the contributors, especially ECS Tuning. This forum has been a major help the past two weeks as I sorted my MCS with a CEL that I bought for a song. Happy to report that it just passed state inspection and emissions. This is a spare car for us, and one of the most fun cars I have ever driven.

Work done by me so far:
-Oil change, air filter, cabin filter
-solder rear wire to DMTL pump to fix p2418 code and turn off CEL - major thanks to that thread, prior owner could not fix this one
-new valve cover and gasket
-new windshield cowl from ECS
-new crankcase vent hose
-new spark plugs

After all this I still had the yellow 1/2 full engine light on the tach but no codes. I added a bottle of techron two days ago and the light finally went off this morning. I suspect my injectors are less than perfect. I have an oil leak at the vacuum pump and will replace the pump this weekend, along with the vacuum lines. Knock on wood, the car runs perfect and I really enjoy working on this car. I see so many complain about working on it, but it is a lot easier than most of my prior BMWs (M3s and 335s) and the price of parts is shockingly low compared to what I am used to for my other cars. Anyway, thanks again.

 

Welcome and great news on the car coming back to life.

 

Post some pics! I'm tempted to buy a R56 dirt cheap and run it into the ground as my commuter car (25k miles a year). These forums make it so easy to diagnose and fix issues!

 

You are welcome and welcome to the forums.

 

My thoughts exactly. If you are decent with a wrench, a lot of easy things can be addressed. And, if I told you what I paid for the car you would probably laugh. As my one buddy said, I have a washer and dryer set that cost more than that. I am also looking to do a driver event this summer with the car because if something gets dinged, I really don't care. Here are some pics:

 

Looks good! Welcome.

 

Looks good! These cars take some love that's for sure.

And yes, ECS got my business back when I noticed all the forum help provided. Keep it up guys, it's appreciated. Great business model IMO.

 

I have 5 Minis, all are S models and 3 of which are 2nd generation. The most I have ever paid for a 2nd gen Mini is $1800 and that is only because it had 59k miles.

 

A little update. I started getting a minor stumble on cold start up and immediately thought HPFP. So I called my local MINI dealership (Otto's MINI in Exton, PA), printed the HPFP MINI warranty letter and made an appointment. Lucky for me, my 08 MCS has an in service date of 5/30/08 and 117k miles on the clock so I am barely under the warranty limit. I shot some video of the car on start up two days ago and again, lucky for me, it completely stalled. Re-started and it sounded like a lawn mower powering up. So I knew it was the HPFP then. Otto's replaced the HPFP yesterday without blinking an eye, gave me a free 2018 Countryman S ALL4 loaner for the day and night, waived the diagnostic fee, did the recall retrofit heat shield on the turbo oil supply line, and sent me on my way for $0.00. Major props to a great dealer. If anyone is in my area, I highly recommend. I also highly recommend anyone with our cars that are under 10 yrs or 120k to get their HPFP replaced under warranty.

I picked up a Foxwell NT510 code scanner and found P2885 boost pressure plausibility code. My $50 Actron pocket scanner couldn't see this code. I have to say the Foxwell is a really nice scanner for the money. It even resets my service intervals on my Cayenne that no other scanner seems capable of, short of a $100 visit to the dealer. Otto's points the code to the vacuum lines to the vac reservoir so I will replace them after all, along with the gaskets to the intake manifold and throttle body.

As an aside, that 2018 Countryman S is a nice car inside and out, but the engine is really unimpressive and it completely lacks the driving experience of my R56. I wouldn't trade my R56 for it straight up, and my R56 is worth less than 10% of the sticker price of the '18 Countryman!

 

Well I'd say I found my problem. The vac lines weren't even on the vac reservoir! The lines were all swollen and oily so I replaced them. This area is quite a pain to get to by taking off the intake manifold - and that one bolt on the bracket underneath required taking off the passenger wheel and a super long extension with a flex-head, and then the paper towel trick to get the bolt back on. Intake looked decent so I didn't even clean inside, just the mating surfaces. I replaced the intake manifold gaskets, buttoned everything up, cleared the codes, and all is clear now. Car boosts like a champ, wow!