So my stock '05 MCS has 75k on the clock as of today. I am planning on doing a major maintenance cycle at 100k. To include fuel filter, plugs, coil, wires, new belt, maybe a 15% pulley, lightweight crank pulley, minimum of poly bushings for tensioner, tensioner stop, and SC rebuild and refresh.

My questions are:

Is there anything that I missed here?

Should I purchase a used stock SC to rebuild and have as shelf spare or bite the bullet and upgrade to something like a Sprintex?

The car is a daily driver, grocery getter/commuter. 95% Highway @ 70-80mph for 62mi commute one-way. I plan on keeping this car as long as it runs.

As always thanks for the input.

 

I don't know if you need to wait to do any of those things until 100k. I generally replace my belt every 30k or so, along with the plugs. If you do a 15% pulley you should go a step colder plugs anyway. There is a debate on the light weight crank pulley, for a daily driver you plan on keeping for awhile I would go with the ATI dampened pulley. Not any lighter, but better built. Its about time for wires and the coil.

I would recommend front control arm bushings, and maybe "strut defenders" or whatever they are called to prevent mushrooming.

As for the supercharger - you can check the oil, but thats about it. I got 191,000 out of my first one with a 15% on it for most of its life, my second has over 100,000 on it now and is doing fine so far. I generally have one set aside ready to go on.

Good luck,

Nik

 

I have the M7 strut tower brace on the car now to prevent the mushrooming and stiffen up the front end, already went down that road.

I have never seen any mileage recommendations from MINI or the BMW TIS about belt service life, so I've just been running it. I know for a fact that it now has 50k miles as I have never changed it and I purchased the car with 27k miles on it. I inspect it with every oil change (~7K miles) and it has yet to show any excessive wear or sign of slipping.

I was under the impression that that the OEM plugs were platinum and therefore designed for longer life, I planned on upgrading to Iridiums along with a new coil and wires.

I have yet to read any of the discussion on lightweight pulley vs. stock vs. dampened, but my mode of thinking is that any weight I can remove from the crank will reduce rotating mass and give me ever so slightly better gas mileage off the line. I also plan on using a lightweight flywheel when I need a clutch replacement.

I think at this point after talking with Way, reading the forums, and xsmini's experience, I will probably remain with a stock pulley and just check/change the oil in my SC and run it till it dies. Then cross the bridge of replace or upgrade at that juncture.

 

I would do a thorough flush of the coolant system too. At least on my R50, it seems particularly prone to getting rust in the system, even when the coolant hasn't been in for too long (1-2 years). Next time I flush mine, I'll be using Gunk C2124 radiator flush, which seems to clean very well according to reviews.

Be sure to check your front strut mounts too. These tend to tear on 1st gens around the mileage you're at.

Might be worth checking the front crank sensor seal too - these tend to weep oil when the engine is running on aging 1st gens. You'll notice a bunch of oil road grime build-up on the lower front side of the engine block. The AC lines there might have a bunch of the road grime on them too if yours is weeping.

Don't forget to lubricate your hatch hinges too!

 

Thanks gknorr, I hadn't even thought of a coolant flush. Might as well do a brake fluid flush as well, as I also have never had that done either.

I will also take a look at the strut mounts. Are those the rubber "caps" that are sandwiched between the spring and the strut tower?

Haven't looked but is there a zerk on the hatch hinges? Or is there another method to lubing them? Never heard of doing this, but I guess it never hurts to lube moving parts.

Will also check the crank sensor, I always look for oil leaks and weeping during oil changes (its kind of a pet peeve of mine), I've never noticed any of the grime buildup that you talk about on the lower part of the block, or the AC lines but I also wipe down anything I can reach looking for stuff like that.

xsmini, I will also check the control arm bushings you mentioned earlier, thinking it might be good time to start a change over to poly bushings.

 

DO NOT install a lightweight crank pulley!
It's a great way to destroy the engine.

http://www.atiracing.com/products/da...mper_dinan.htm

Also, I wouldn't consider the coil pack to be a maintenance item. Leave it alone unless it's giving you trouble.

 

They recommend every two years for brake fluid flush since brake fluid is hydroscopic, so I would definitely do one.

Yup - that's right part. Here's a good picture of a pretty badly torn strut mount. It's an easy thing to check for.



Nothing fancy for lubing them - just spraying a good lube and making sure they're soaked should be good. If you don't lube them regularly, they will eventually rust on the inside and seize. There's a thread on it here.

 

As stated above Powerflex control arm bushings will make a huge difference in the handling, and unlike the stock units, won't fail in 40K miles.

 

Add struts and a transmission drain and fill.

Am at 75,000 and just put new struts, sway bushings, control arm bushings, fixed camber plates and strut tops both front and rear.
Makes the car drive like new. I did not even think I needed struts but the change made me see what I had gotten used to. Got Koni FDS's from WMW.

As others have said, regular coolant, brake fluid and transmission fluid changes will add a lot of life to your car.

 

You might have all your bases covered (and more) with all the replies here, but here are the factory service recommendations.

http://new.minimania.com/article/234...ndicator_Light

I'm slowly doing the same thing to my mini (with about the same mileage). Trying to get it all done by the summer. Just ticking things off the list one by one on free weekends and afternoons. It's surprisingly cheap if you do it yourself.

 

These cars are are surprisingly easy to work on, and for the most part pretty cheap to keep maintained. Bigger repairs are a bit expensive though. (Superchargers and power steering pumps) In 10 years and over 296,000 miles mine has only been to the dealer/ repair shop twice. Both early on for recalls, everything else I've done. I'm no mechanic either

Nik