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Hi all! I recently bought a car from auction. It is Mini Cooper R56 2009 with N12 engine. I have no idea about previous history. I only know that it has 160 000 miles on ODO. When I tried to start a car there were several ignitions but id didn't start. I decided not try again in order to do not brake anything. I found that coil pack was recently changed because they looks like new and it is not standard pack. Also looks like spark plugs was changed too. But they covered with something like burned oil. I did ECU check and found error codes for random misfire and for all cylinder misfire separately. Also there were codes: P0030, P173B.
I decided to take off valve cover and check timing chain because I was afraid if it is broken and valves are damaged. Everything looks good, but I'm waiting for timing chain kit to check exact timing chain wear and be sure it isn't an issue. So there are questions:
1. What else you would recommend to check?
2. What I need to replace with such big millage?
3. I found one not plugged black connector and one strange blue connector secured with zip tie. What is this?
Last edited by Katran91; Dec 23, 2023 at 03:33 PM.
So surprisingly I got tools earlier than expected. I already checked timing wear. There is 71 mm of tension tool length. Looks like chain tensioner is original. Also it seems that nothing is broken. I stopped flywheel by pin and both camshafts look straight to the top. So definitely I need to replace tensioner and chain. But I'm thinking if it is good idea to change camshaft adjusters. Car has 160 000 miles. I see there is packs with camshaft adjuster already. How can I check if I need to change them? Sorry for many questions it is my first MINI.
I'm in the middle of restoring an '09 with 156K miles on it. The engine block is at the machine shop right now; the block is worn out (no crosshatch left in the cylinders), and the piston to cylinder wall clearance exceeds specification. So, she's getting all new .020" over pistons, new bearings, the works.
Perform compression and leak-down checks on each cylinder. Worst case scenario, the car was not maintained, it had a cooling system leak, overheated, and then all the valve seats dropped out the head causing your multiple misfire issue. Best case scenario, you just need plugs & maybe coils.
The two connectors in your picture are for your upstream and downstream O2 sensors. Looks like someone disconnected the downstream sensor. They may have done that if they were getting a P0420 code.
I got my car from a private seller for $1000.00, and I regret the day I bought it. I've got over $1000.00 into just fixing the cylinder head (all new, and deeper, valve seats). MINI parts are freaking expensive, and every time you turn around, there's another special tool you have to buy. If you're not into it too much, you may want to part it out. If you are going to stick with the old girl, make sure you get that cylinder head to a competent machine shop that has experience with N12 cylinder heads. Allied Cylinder Head in Atlanta, GA replaced all my valve seats with the SBI's deeper versions. http://sbi-e-catalog.com/ So, I should not have any future valve seat dropping issues.
You can also search Ebay for N12 engine rebuild kits. Mahle, is the OEM supplier to MINI for engine parts. Even if you buy the Mahle (OEM) pistons from a place like FCP Euro they are still made in China. But one piston from FCP Euro will cost you $385, when you can get the entire Mahle rebuild kit directly from China for $386.00. Here's a link to the site I used. I ordered a set of +.5mm pistons.
Oh yea, one last thing, if you do decide to rebuild, make sure you replace the oil pump. Unlike a lot of engines where you can replace the pick-up tube and reuse the old oil pump. The MINI N series engines use an oil pump with an integrated pick-up. My screen was full of debris; when I pulled the pump apart, I could see there was contact with the gears and the gear housing. SHW is the OEM supplier for the oil pump. Shop around for pricing because these pumps can go for over $400.00. https://www.allmagautoparts.com/prod...11-r55-r56-r57
I'm in the middle of restoring an '09 with 156K miles on it. The engine block is at the machine shop right now; the block is worn out (no crosshatch left in the cylinders), and the piston to cylinder wall clearance exceeds specification. So, she's getting all new .020" over pistons, new bearings, the works.
Perform compression and leak-down checks on each cylinder. Worst case scenario, the car was not maintained, it had a cooling system leak, overheated, and then all the valve seats dropped out the head causing your multiple misfire issue. Best case scenario, you just need plugs & maybe coils.
The two connectors in your picture are for your upstream and downstream O2 sensors. Looks like someone disconnected the downstream sensor. They may have done that if they were getting a P0420 code.
I got my car from a private seller for $1000.00, and I regret the day I bought it. I've got over $1000.00 into just fixing the cylinder head (all new, and deeper, valve seats). MINI parts are freaking expensive, and every time you turn around, there's another special tool you have to buy. If you're not into it too much, you may want to part it out. If you are going to stick with the old girl, make sure you get that cylinder head to a competent machine shop that has experience with N12 cylinder heads. Allied Cylinder Head in Atlanta, GA replaced all my valve seats with the SBI's deeper versions. http://sbi-e-catalog.com/ So, I should not have any future valve seat dropping issues.
You can also search Ebay for N12 engine rebuild kits. Mahle, is the OEM supplier to MINI for engine parts. Even if you buy the Mahle (OEM) pistons from a place like FCP Euro they are still made in China. But one piston from FCP Euro will cost you $385, when you can get the entire Mahle rebuild kit directly from China for $386.00. Here's a link to the site I used. I ordered a set of +.5mm pistons.
Oh yea, one last thing, if you do decide to rebuild, make sure you replace the oil pump. Unlike a lot of engines where you can replace the pick-up tube and reuse the old oil pump. The MINI N series engines use an oil pump with an integrated pick-up. My screen was full of debris; when I pulled the pump apart, I could see there was contact with the gears and the gear housing. SHW is the OEM supplier for the oil pump. Shop around for pricing because these pumps can go for over $400.00. https://www.allmagautoparts.com/prod...11-r55-r56-r57
Thank you for the answer. Unfortunately when I replaced timing chain and cleaned oil pan and oil pump I found out that it doesn't start anyway. I decided to check compression and here it is:
0, 180, 180, 180. Zero compression in first cylinder. So probably something wrong with head or piston. I'm going remove head and check it.
I take it those numbers are in cylinder order 1-4.
Pull the #1 spark plug and use an articulating bore scope (Amazon) I'll bet you've dropped a valve seat, or you've have a valve with a hole in it.
One of the R56s I restored had this problem with the #4 exhaust valve ... no compression on that cylinder for sure; I found this by doing a leak-down test.
My current resto job had this problem ... dropped valve seats.
Weird, just checked and its made in Germany for the parts below N12/N16? Says it on the box. I dont know of any Mahle made in china unless its from the W10 and W11 engine which was moved to china production on some OEM components. China still uses that engines on some Non MINI cars.
