Hello All,

I have owned 6 R53s in the past and loved them all. A good deal has come up locally for me to pick up an 06 R53 with 125K miles with all options and all the items serviced but has a failed water pump drive. I was wondering what to expect when buying an R53 KNOWING it has failed water pump drive gears. The car is decent otherwise and I can make it a project car to remove and install a new/rebuilt SC/WP. I've never done that before but am handy enough.

Any advice?

 

Plan to replace the supercharger and water pump with the gaskets. But with that kind of mileage be prepared for other items like bushings and such to need to be replaced.

 

You should "expect" around a $3,000 discount as compared to the same vehicle running at 100%. Parts for a SC and WP are less than that, but the labor and PITA factor in. I haven't personally done a SC R&R but once you've had the car in service mode it doesn't seem too daunting. My first instinct is that it will take more than a supercharger and water (coolant) pump to get the car back to normal.

Beyond that, I would have questions as to how the owner knows this is the problem. If the WP (gear) went bad there are probably overheating issues to be dealt with, for instance. Since the car isn't currently running there are myriad problems that it could have, and you won't know about them until you start it up. The seller knows this too and should price the car accordingly. If a decent '06 R53 is a $6,000 car, this car should be $3K - $3.5K.

 

Does it run and drive good?

It's not going to overheat instantly so you should be able to drive it at least around the block. It takes a few minutes to get up to temperature and it's already broken and can't break anything else.

Water in the oil?

If it didn't overheat and you are getting it for a good price, it's not that bad of a job. Rebuild is around $800. New is more, but you might be able to find a good used one. Add in other parts like water pump and gaskets so figure at least $1000 plus whatever else you might find.

Here's a great guide on how to do it

http://www.minicooperspeed.com/how-t...ercharger-oil/