I wanted to update this thread regarding the awesome accomplishment of this member. Harold (the owner of the most milage Mini) had passed away May 24. He was apart of the same Mini group I live near; Milwaukee Minis. I never met him but from what I know he was awesome and even wrote a small document with MINI USA on his high milage Mini.
So I guess he did keep his mini forever and reading about his Mini from the article he wrote was really interesting.
I hope that 2002 Mini can keep piling on the miles!

MINI is such a great and exciting brand unlike and other car manufacturer.

https://www.miniusa.com/content/mini...stanfield.html

 

Thank you for letting us know. His was certainly a life well lived. A nice tribute to Harold is here:

https://schmidtandbartelt.com/obitua....aspx?id=11726

 

Thanks for letting us know, I met him back in MTTS and talked to him on here a couple times. Great guy and he will be missed.

He signed my poster and talked about who was going to have the highest mileage MINI. His silk green MINI was in near perfect shape for the miles. I just saw they posted up in that thread.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...i-do-it-4.html

 

I have lived in WI pretty much my whole life and I cant believe that he was able to keep that MINI in such good shape through the winters and just bad road conditions that can occur here. Really shows what one can do when you take care of your things.
And proves Mini/BMW new what they were doing back then.

 

I saw it with white R81 MINI wheels hollies aka "phone dials" and the wheels were bright white. No yellow!

Silver versions here:

 

I plan to keep mine a very long time. It has renewed my love of driving cars. I do all my own mechanical work and always have. I like buying tools as much as I like cars! My mini has 105k miles on it and is perfect except for needing a windshield. I just got it a month ago and have already put 2000 miles on it just driving it for fun. I don't commute for work.

 

Haven't posted in forever on here. I have a Chile Red 2002 MCS w/ 78K on the clock. I LOVE HER. I really want to drive it forever, but recently making a sound from the engine bay that increased with RPMs almost sounds like a "whine" from a bad bearing. Seems to be coming from the SC, but can't really identify the source as everything that spins is on that side of the engine . Any help appreciated or point me to where I can find answers. Here is the "old girl". Her name is " Chile P".

 

Hi ToOMINIs,
Since the supercharger whines, I have no answer for you, other that the supercharger needs to be serviced. It takes a little special oil on ech end to lube the bearings and waterpump gears. It is possible that the oil has run out and the bearing in the supercharger are speaking up.
Also the cam chain tensioner may have failed and needs a new one and possibly new cam chain and guides. If the tensioner is shop, make sure to get one that is tested as many are on the market and bad brand new!
Welcome back to NAM!
Great looking Chili red MCS!

 

Hi ToOMINIs,
Since the supercharger whines, I have no answer for you, other that the supercharger needs to be serviced. It takes a little special oil on ech end to lube the bearings and waterpump gears. It is possible that the oil has run out and the bearing in the supercharger are speaking up.
Also the cam chain tensioner may have failed and needs a new one and possibly new cam chain and guides. If the tensioner is shop, make sure to get one that is tested as many are on the market and bad brand new!
Welcome back to NAM!
Great looking Chili red MCS!

 

Forever is a long time, but I've had my 05 MCS since 2008 with 168k on it now. 2 rebuilt heads, one rebuilt block and a rebuilt auto tranny! All except the tranny, I did myself. But even so, I've got more into it in the last 12 months than it is currently worth. So from simple economics, I'm in for at least a couple more years! I do love driving it, but like any high maintenance love, you gotta pay attention to everything! 2 water leaks I couldn't easily find did me in on the heads. You can't ignore these cars and expect them to be faithful!

 

I had this exact issue a few weeks ago with similar miles, a shrill whine that started around 3k RPM and continued from there. It was the fixed idler (part #3 below, part number 11288625983), the bearing was completely trashed and about to explode. It's equally likely to be the tensioner idler - best to replace both since they go bad at about the same time and you're wrenching there anyway. Good luck!

 

 

Still plan on keeping forever, but it is officially retired from being my daily driver at just over 417,000. Replaced it w/ this on Tuesday

 

Just found this thread today. I own an R53 2003 Indi Blu. I bought it new and plan to keep it forever. My plans were almost ruined about a month ago when I hit a deer. thankfully spare parts are plentiful in the salvage yards and she is still living. I have 93K total. About 4000 on my first head job. Getting ready to swap an 06 LSD transmission into her and rebuild the front suspension. I'm glad to know there are so many others out there.
after the deer :(

 

We have had this car since March 2002, bought it at a BMW dealership, the Mini dealership hadn't been built at that time. It has 156K miles, I've maintained it myself and my best feeling is when I look at the engine bay and underneath..... and is CLEAN! No leaks! Is my daly driver, in very good shape for its age, we drove it last year from Seattle to Sacramento with not a single issue. I love this car, I wish I had it when I was driving a rental in Los Angeles last week, it was a Hyundai Elantra, that thing was huge to park! Here is a pic of the engine.

 

My 2006 R53 only has about 75,000 miles on it and does not get driven during the bad half of the year in PA. I don't think it's going anywhere anytime soon. (Might be because it is broken all the time.)

 

Hey everyone, I haven't posted in about 15 years, but hopefully the active community can point me either to a good thread or good advice. 2002 R53 (October 2002), 96K miles. I think I've been good with maintenance, never turned down a dealer request/reco. Currently in LA and have been going to ImportWorx/MiniWorx in Culver City for a couple years. They seem like okay people. Started to hear a ticking near/in the Supercharger about a week ago and I got the 'end of life' warning with replacement as the only option. $3,600. My stance of for the past couple years has been 'next time I get a $3K+ servicing quote I have to considering just letting go.

Works been good the past couple years, so normally I would just nod and say yes. I did a quick search on superchargers and didn't see anything specific about replacement, a similar problem, etc. Anyone hit this threshhold, or have had a similar issue? I guess at the same time, I wonder if I eat this, what else might be around the corner - much of my 96K has been LA and NYC so I worry about the clutch (though the action had felt the exact same for 15 years now). How have people been dealing with these things? Just suck it up out of love and devotion?

I'm told that there is the possibility of catastrophic failure (instead of just sad shutdown) - any insight into risks at just living with it and letting it fail and kick the can down the road a little, decision wise?

thanks for any advice in advance

 

After recently test driving my brother's Camero, it's becoming very difficult to justify keeping my fun go-kart Mini. Yes, it only gets 9 MPG on the street, but it's a fun car.
The Camero has a very soft clutch pedal (makes day-to-day driving very relaxing on my left foot), has monstrous horsepower, and demands a powerful physical presence on the road (Everyone gives me a wide girth and ample driving distance.).
Whenever I drive the Mini on LA streets, I'm always greeted by tailgaters and people who outright refuse to let me do a lane change.

Don't get me wrong, the Mini has numerous awesome qualities (ease of parking, great gas mileage, extremely compact, great handling. But, at the end of the day, it has no respect on the road, is an expensive and difficult car to work on. I'm so glad my Mini has been well maintained and has great service documentation.

ECS Tuning has brand new JCW Superchargers for $1415.77. You'll have to put your car in front-end service mode, but at least you can leave the engine in the car. It's not too difficult, it's just a bit time-consuming. There are also aftermarket alternatives. You don't need to buy your Supercharger from the dealership.

 

I've got a 2002 R53, too, but mine has 130K on it - like you, I've followed the care and feeding of my MINI since I bought it and I'm also wondering when to say, "buh-bye".

My wife has a 2008 Clubman. No doubt about it, if we had to reduce the fleet - it would be the first to go just because it isn't as iconic. I still love to drive my R53 but it's not my go-to vehicle for long trips anymore. It's my commuter and if the supercharger blew up, I'd be inconvenienced but only by about 30 miles or so.

The problem is what you could get for it versus what you would pay to repair it and how long would it last? $3600 for a supercharger wouldn't go very far toward a replacement vehicle that you wouldn't be more worried about its reliability. If your engine isn't using oil, you've changed out the timing chain, brakes are good, interior is good, etc., I'd invest the money to keep it rollling. What else is going to put a smile on your face like this car?

Can't say I'm wild about the new MINIs. They no doubt perform better, get better mileage, etc., but they're really getting expensive. We have the Clubby and a pickup truck so we're not as consumed with reliability.

Let us know what you decide to do - I'd put a new supercharger on mine before I'd buy a new one.

 

I don't like calling shops to trade off quotes, but I just checked with Minicorsa and they had slight better pricing. New OEM plus labor ~$2,100, and rebuilt plus labor $~1,300. Both have a one-year warranty, so going to roll the dice on the rebuild. Given my rate of driving, I figure I can live with the odds. And if that doesn't hold up, I can always get an OEM down the road and I end up in the same place as my first quote.

I've done the timing chain, brakes have about 5K on them, tires the same, new head gasket, all that boot/front end stuff has been done (more than once I think), all the major service triggers were done in a timely/regular fashion.

I totally get the math on a new car vs. quality of life/happiness I get from the S. I don't need a daily driver, my GF has her own car; we don't live together, but I'm already on the edge of being a bicycle/Lyft/Uber household (the worst thing about living in LA with a Mini is... LA. I drive on Mulholland regularly just to live a little). Since I'm a little detail oriented (probably not unusual with people that stop by here regularly), I know my all in cost over the life of the car, the per mile driven certainly can't stack up against a compact Toyota, it's averaged out pretty evenly, so the last couple years have actually been better than some earlier hits. I work freelance, and honestly, if work weren't slow this year, I wouldn't have even thought about it. This has never been the most rational ownership decision, but I've always been very conscious of that.

Thanks for the reply and encouragement. Clearly we are pointed in the same direction, just hoping our commitment is rewarded by a little luck and durability.

 

I couldn't agree more! I'm dreading when it rains in LA. (Drivers are more hazardous, and potholes emerge.)
As a secondary vehicle, I'm considering buying an electric unicycle. Although, it'll cost as much as I bought my Mini ($1-2k)...

 

Hey Guys,

I'm planning on keeping my MCS as well. It's a 2003 that's been in the family since new and currently has 78k miles. Recently did an entire refresh. All new gaskets (valve cover, Crank position, front and rear main seal, transmission input, oil cooler), Quaife LSD, Valeo clutch and flywheel, coolant overflow, thermostat, slave cylinder, motor mounts except for transmission, LCA bushings, inner ball joints, fluid crank dampener, new front and rear roll bar, trans fluid (redline MTL), oil change, new filter, short shifter, new shift cables, steering pump lines and new fluid.

The car drives better than it did new! Only issue is that there's a little rust on the rear passenger tail light. I'm wondering how I'm going to fix that without it looking horrible (can weld in new material, but am not great at paint). Any ideas on a way to get the rust out without welding in a whole new panel?

 

My 2005 MINI JCW, 88k, is my passion, coping strategy, recovery, hobby... I could go on forever. I'm getting a 2019 BMW M2 Competition in January and am psych'ed but wonder if I'll love it as much.

 

Hey! Please continue reading, and I thank you for your time! I apologize for any of my ignorance.

I need help identifying the issue on my R53 04 mini that's the noise accompanied by 28mpg average found through the classic math (miles over gallons) method, however the indicator says 30mpg average. I believe i'm seeing a leak as well. I'm loosing 1qts of oil in about 1k miles, and i saw a clearish/yellow tented liquid with almost water-like viscosity dripping off the transmission. The liquid had a faint smell of oil, however I was doing other work and it may have been drowned out. The ticking is worse in the morning now that it's cold, and is accompanied by some smoke during initial warm up out of the exhaust (maybe a min max).

This is my daily driver. It has 181k miles on it, and the first oil change after I bought it there was confetti in the black oil and covering the filter. I've replaced the oil every 5k miles since (mostly because the oil is almost gone anyway). I bought at 165k miles in January, but i can't remember if the ticking started before or after i replaced the belt and alternator. There are no lights, and I can't tell if i'm bad at releasing the clutch or if there is a jerk from the engine. Please help.

 

I have a 2002 R50... like yours... with 158,000 miles. My car was making the same noise, louder when it was cold, I thought it was the timing chain tensioner, and I think it can be, the problem is that I forgot to check the oil and the level was low, after I added oil, the noise went away. The yellow liquid you found dripping maybe from the transmission, check if the axle seals are leaking. I had to change the drive axles, so I also changed the seals, 1 side is OK, but the other side is leaking just a little. I don't think you cause this problem by replacing the belt and the alternator, neither the clutch. hear carefully to narrow the noise coming from the left side of the engine.