everything went nicely on the alternator swap. i started the car and it immediately sat at 14.4v on my voltmeter. hopefully the improved steering at low speed on my test drive wasn't a fluke.

brakes looked ok. but, they were replaced due to sub-par performance. i've used hawk pads on a number of applications, including the HPS pads on my old mazdaspeed 3.

the rotors are "performance" from raybestos.






new pads and rotors installed - easy peasy.





i always enjoy the bed in test drive. i followed hawks' recommended procedure of 6-10 moderate stops from 30-35 and then 2-3 hard stops from 40-45. the brakes were visibly smoking by the time i was done. hahaha... but most importantly...they stop SO MUCH better. i'm really glad to seemingly have the alternator and brakes settled.



i think these are the OEM struts. i am going to need to replace these at some point.





also, the last couple weeks i've noticed some oil puddles under the engine again. i looked at it all again and i definitely have to get that valve cover gasket replaced. i may have more leaks but, that's the highest leak i see so i'm starting there and working down. and i added 1 1/2 quarts of oil to the engine. yikes. i guess i'm going to need to start monitoring that a little more closely now. *sigh*

but, i'm going to go back to my bronco first and do a full tune-up on that.

 

I am, admittedly, new to minis and how they should sit, ride, or look. I said the power steering sucked and was told that's the way it is. But, when I installed a decent alternator, the power steering improved greatly.

When people say they ride rough, I'll take their word for it. But, I did find an issue that could negatively impact that, too. I knew the strut mounts needed to be replaced, but I didn't realize they'd gone inverted.

Here's how the car sits



Here's how the strut mounts look. I knew they were cracked. I didn't know they weren't supposed to poke out of the holes 😂



oops.

So now I've got a big box of parts to install this weekend
Also , I looked at lowering springs but my car has oversized 205/55r16 tires instead of factory 195/55r16 so I'm concerned they'll rub if I drop it. Oh well, not a huge deal at all. That was more of a whimsical idea I had.

 

i'm still recovering from being sick, so this was going to be an ambitious day to get everything done.

bilstein b4 shocks and struts
lemforder strut mounts
monroe shock mount bushings
ebay strut mount reinforcement plates
uro bump stops (i only needed front ones b/c the shocks came with bump stops)

the, unrelated to suspension, the air intake duct inlet (finally), replacement passenger door window motor & regulator, kicker 6.5" speakers, and boom mat speaker baffles. and a mahle valve cover gasket.

all i did was suspension today and the air inlet duct. hopefully tomorrow i can do the rest.






the strut mount reinforcement plates came with longer screws, so i put the new strut mounts on here my vice and popped them with a hammer.







you can see just how beat up my strut mounts were. and this is why the front end sat so low. and if you look closely, you can see the old strut mount is starting to mushroom.

 

installation was really pretty smooth. the car didn't fight me at all.

i used some long screwdrivers to help align the strut mount, plate, and strut tower. then i used my jack to lift it up in place.




and strut is installed.





the bushings on the rear shock mounts crumbled as i removed them.






and installed. easy peasy.





the car sits significantly higher in the front...obviously 4.5mm of that is from the strut plates. but the rest is the new strut mounts.

now it looks like a properly set up mini cooper. and the ride...holy cow! i did a quick test drive to make sure it was all together properly. then i ran to pick up dinner since the install took longer than planned. this car is so much more enjoyable to drive. the squeaks/chirps from the front end are gone - it was the strut mounts. and it rides so much more smoothly. i can't wait to get to drive it more and see how it does at higher speeds.

i do need to get it aligned, though.

 

It's been a while since I last heard when you first bought the car.
I understand it's been a PITA (or an "adventure") to get this little car straightened out mechanically but personally speaking - I'm glad you decided to keep your Mini and preserver.
As you've already come to know - they a blast to drive. To the point you almost begin to feel as if you are "one with car".

BTW: #1_That large zip-tie on the upper motor mount is suppose to be there. I believe since you have a '02 - It's a pre- facelift thing. My pre - face lift (9.2003 build date) '04 R53 has always had one every time I've changed it.
#2_When it comes time to do something about the door sill rust; I highly recommend grinding/rough sanding the lose rust and applying Ospho rust converter/neutralizer. Then just mask off and shoot it with coat of your favorite off the shelf rattle can paint.

I've really enjoyed discovering and reading through your build thread.
Looking forward to your continuing adventures.

 

thanks! i appreciate that.

for the door sill, i think we're on the same page there. my plan is to hit it with a wire wheel then spray it with rustoleum rust reformer. then i'll see what "red" i have in the paint bin and give it a cover. the ospho rust converter sounds similar.

it was a pretty big PITA when i bought it, but the car has mellowed out. i'm still feeling guarded about it, kinda waiting for something to go wrong. i'm reluctant to do much more than the minimum with it. but, i'm definitely trying to move forward with addressing whatever issues it has.

the car is growing on me, though. it's a ton of fun to drive.

 

Passenger side window motor and regulator replaced.

New door speakers and baffles installed.

Also, my amp finally died after several cars. So I installed a new one. Man it sounds so much better than the old one.

I added a tie down on top, as you can see. I'm not real concerned about aesthetics on this one here. More importantly, I don't want that thing flying around in an accident. With the side tie down alone, the box fell over in hard cornering. So I had to do something.

 

i did a little 200 mile (round trip) trip on saturday. with the shocks/struts and the brakes recently replaced, i can drive a lot more confidently. traffic was light enough that i could get through any congestion without too much trouble. i averaged around just the right speed to time travel but sped up a couple times to avoid slow downs. the car just cruised along without really putting forth much effort. i made pretty good time!

when i filled up the gas, i did the math and got 28-29/mpg. that was a nice surprise.

i still have the valve cover gasket waiting on me. i'm going to try to do it this week in the evenings until i wrap it up.

 

I finally replaced the valve cover gasket and the spark plug o ring. I didn't think to order grommets for the valve cover bolts so I reused the ones on there, but I'll order some and maybe replace them eventually.

Overall, the intercooler looks ok for a car with 145k miles, I think. Not a ton of oil in there. The valve train looks good.

I cleaned off all the oil on the head where the valve cover leaked, so hopefully that'll stay clean for a while. Now I'll just look for new leaks to chase.

 

Nice thread 👍🏻. Yeah every silicone intake tube is a PIA, it doesn’t matter spending 45 or 120 in my experience. It helps if you boil the ends before installing the first time. They’ll stretch/mold to the filter box and TB and retain the shape next time.. sort of.

 

thanks! and that's nuts, because i've had silicone CAIs before with other vehicles and have not experienced the same fitment issues. i could stand to buy a new one and be more precise in my trimming of it, but it's tough to buy a part that you anticipate won't fit well. i'll just curse at this one for now. haha

 

Missed this reading through the first time but nice impact. Looks like the XWT08Z? I have the same model (and three other makita impact drivers) but that one especially rules.

EDIT: McMaster Carr is a great great place to shop fasteners like the valve cover bolts or individual grommets. They are stupidly expensive buying OEM, but if you get a little creative you can get equivalent hardware for much much less, often with spares left over. Allmag also has a well priced valve cover bolt kit, even if I disagree with how much influence they have over market prices for R53 parts.

 

I don't remember the exact model of my cordless impact wrench, but it's a beast. I've also got a collection of Makita lxt tools. My air compressor is essentially a tire inflator now as I've replaced my air tools with cordless electric tools.

And I've used mcmaster carr before , too. They have a nice selection of check valves for a catch can setup.

 

I changed the oil today. I can't note the mileage because my Bosch alternator quit charging at idle and my odometer isn't showing.




This alternator came from advance as my latest warranty exchange. I took it to a shop and asked them to rebuild it. They said it tested good and they didn't want to work on it.

So... Crossing fingers there!
The back piece of metal got damaged, though. That's an easy enough fix.





And I had the time, so I decided to address the rust in my door sill.





First I hit it with the wire wheel



then I sprayed rust reformer over it





Then I used the paint that must closely resembled chili red that I had already in my paint drawer.

 

I have to look under those rubber moldings and sill covers at some point - I'm dreading it. Before living in SoCal, it lived in MA for 6 years. MA SALTS their roads.

Glad to see the progress another gen1 car is making!

 

Yep we just talked about the dreaded rust here, MINI used to have a TSB about this.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...barn-door.html

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...oper-rust.html

 

well...small update...

i took out the bosch and installed another advanced auto alternator. the advance alternator was already inspected by an alternator / starter shop. i previously tried to pay them to rebuild it as a guarantee that it would work, but they said it was working and didn't need to be rebuilt.

after removing the bosch and installing the AAP alternator, i took my bosch and had them test it. it works. they opened it up and inspected it. they said the brushes inside look like they're just starting to get seated and should work for years to come. that was odd since it wasn't charging in the car.

unfortunately, the advanced auto alternator did not charge reliably at idle, either. i swapped in the bosch again. and again it's still not charging at idle.

soo, i have two alternators that have been bench tested and visually inspected and both test to work perfectly. but, when i put them in my car, they don't charge. i think the problem is something other than my alternator.

with that - i have exhausted my patience and expertise. i dropped it off at a shop last week that specializes in minis. we'll see if they can track down a source for this issue.

 

Keep trying. I went through about 3 alternators and 2 starters from a local parts place before I got one that worked properly.

 

well, a little good and a little bad news.

good news is the shop said the alternator seems to be functioning properly.
bad news is they said they couldn't actually recreate the problem.

now, i had held out some hope that they'd look at it and say,"oh yea, this is a common issue. here's the fix..." but they did not. they did, however, say that my little voltmeter plugged into my cigarette lighter is accurate. and they said they had 3 meters hooked up at once (the battery, mine in the lighter, and one under the hood) and they all read good so i'm not losing power anywhere along the way.

however, that still leaves me with this situation of the car not charging properly all the time. armed with multiple independent sources telling me the alternator and overall charging system is ok, i can start trying to figure out exactly when and why i'm losing voltage.

today i had a revelation. i started really focusing on the voltage as it relates to the ac compressor. when the AC compressor cycles on is when i'm seeing the huge drop in voltage. now, i don't know why the shop didn't see this. but, i have tested this a variety of ways watching the voltmeter and it's definitely related to the AC compressor. for one reason or another, it seems to be drawing too much power or drawing power for too long, causing the voltage to drop.

that said, i'm still not 100% satisfied that the compressor has failed. in fact, as i'm writing this, i remember the AC wasn't great when i bought it (never has been great) and i went to add a shot of freon. it was already pretty full so i left it alone. i'm wondering if maybe it's over filled. that can cause problems for the AC compressor. perhaps that's the issue.

hmmm...now to figure out exactly what's happening with my ac compressor...

 

Also look at the fan relay. They always go bad. I replaced a compressor, pulled vacuum and filled the system. I could not get my gauges to get the right pressures. Since I'm no expert, I broke down and took it to mini and the told me the bad relay would cause issues and you would never get a proper charge on the gauges. I swapped the relay (ebay $15) and had mini check it out and they filled it and it's ice cold.

Also, check your grounds. I replaced a starter and when I finished the car would not start. I checked everything. Tried a few different starters. Finally, broke down and checked the ground at the engine mount (right side). I had not touched it before so could not fathom it being an issue. I loosened it, wire brushed it and reinstalled. (It was not dirty or corroded at all) Car started right up. (This felt like one of those computer issues with no rhyme or reason- just unplug it and then plug it back in and it works)

Just some things to consider..

 

alrighty...final update incoming.

on the alternator - i think it was fine. i just quit changing things and observed the voltage. when the ac would turn on, the voltage dropped. but, the battery always worked so i just quit worrying about it. if i didn't have the gauge i'd never know.

well, i bought a new mini. that's covered here:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...te-thread.html

i swapped some of my upgraded parts from the red one to the blue one. final update on my suspension. the lemforder strut mounts and the rear shock mounts were already failed. i warrantied out the lemforder parts and installed new rear shock mounts along with brand new struts/shocks plus new front coil springs. it cleaned up nicely. i can say confidently that i left it better than i found it. pour one out for the red mini.