Originally Posted by sherman89

I also have an o3 Copper S and did spend 3 months working the car after purchase. The toughest part for me was getting that top bolt back in on the axle carrier on the passenger side. I had removed the axle for replacement and while out did the LCA bushings with poly and all ball joints, steering rod as well as replacing the oil filter housing ( which had a broken plastic drain in the housing which does not have a replacement part----you must replace the entire housing)----it took my forever to get that bolt back in a torqued up-----I almost pushed the car out of the garage and threw a match into it I was so mad and frustrated. I must say my rear Hotchkiss roll bar went in much easier than yours----working by myself I think it took me about 1/2 hour so I guess I was lucky. I went with Koni Yellow adjustable on the front end and an still running stock shocks on the rear. I am now running in D/S in autocross so I must stay with stock springs. If you want to take the dive out of the front end try Swift springs and the Koni Yellows to tighten up the front end. I did the switch to the ATI damper but did not experience the problem you had----mine went in quite easily and you are correct you do need an impact gun. I bought a set of used of pads and rotors from Tank up in NY that had come off one of his track cars with low use and do meet the stock requirement while adding better brake performance. I run 215/45-17 Bridgestone RE-71-R tires which are about as good as it gets for auto cross, very sticky but not good for DD use----they will wear out quickly for highway use. I have to run stock intake and stock motor in order to stay in the stock/street class. I would suggest you give autocross a go, it is cheap racing and a lot of fun and the Mini lends itself to most courses especially if they are tight and slow where power has no advantage. Jump into the Novice class and give it a go, you will be amazed how fast the Mini can get along. I continue to work on the Mini----it never seems to stop but I have thrashed it at a few autocrosses and it has not let me down yet.

Originally Posted by sevin

Well today went from a very good to a very bad day in a couple hours. I filled up the tank this morning and did the tune at Sneed Speed around 3 PM. The car made 188whp pre-tune and 206 post-tune. The supercharger was also probably still heatsoaked so Chris said it probably makes a little more than that, we'll call it 210. That was great and the car sounds and feels awesome to drive now. Then I drove almost 2 hours back to where I'm living and about 30 minutes before I got there I noticed that the clutch was slipping under full throttle near peak torque in 3rd gear. Just before I arrived it was slipping under full throttle at any RPM in 4th gear, so I think my clutch is toasted.

I don't know what to do. I'm not paying a shop $1k+ to do the work plus another ~$500 for parts. I know I have to do it myself and I'm absolutely dreading it. I don't even know how to do the job. I guess I'll order a Valeo SMF kit and baby it until I figure out how to install it and get the time to do it. Really not looking forward to this week.

I also noticed a whirring/rattling noise coming from the passenger axle area. I think I probably damaged one set of joints because I noticed that the inner boot on the axle was pinched when I finished doing my pulleys last week. I just thought something bumped it, but now I think I probably lowered the thing onto the control arm or something when I was moving the motor up and down for the pulleys.

Besides the SMF Valeo kit (clutch, flywheel, pressure plate, flywheel bolts, pressure plate bolts, release bearing and alignment tool), what else should I be getting?

Originally Posted by mega72

I ordered same kit last night for a LSD install starting it next week after I finish X5d alternator, not looking forward to it. If it's like my r56 was, subframe comes off and you'll need something to support the motor and something to support the transmission as it comes out and when it goes back in.

Originally Posted by bansasn

The whirring noise could be your wheel bearing hub assemblies. I had the exact same noise on both of my front wheel bearings. My axles are brand new. You should double check by rocking the tires by position your arms 9 & 3 or 12 & 6 o'clock position if there are any play. Of course you have to jack the car up prior.

Originally Posted by sevin

Thanks for your thoughts. That top carrier bolt is certainly a pain, but one of my friends could somehow wiggle his arm over the axle to the top bolt so he slipped it in with no problem. Still took him 5-10 minutes to tighten it down since you only have enough space to to move the ratchet one click. My ATI damper went on fine, it's just that I couldn't apply final torque with the torque wrench and I ended up just impacting it on all the way.

Why are you still running stock shocks in the rear? I'd imagine that would feel a little unbalanced with Koni Yellows in the front. I don't really want to "tighten up" the suspension, my first priority is ride comfort and smoothness. If I can find some good coilovers that can give me both that'd be great.

When I get tires I plan on getting some UHP all-seasons. Maybe Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ or Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06.

I know I should probably look more into autox but I just wouldn't have time. I work most Saturdays.

Originally Posted by Mini_Chan

How hard was it to install the bushings into the new belt tensioner? Did you have to press them out and in? I picked up some powerflex bushings, which I'm going to install but wasn't sure if I needed to get them pressed out.

Originally Posted by sevin

It was honestly kind of hard for me. To push the old bushings out I had to cut the lips off with a knife so they could move, but it was very tight. I probably should have pressed them out, but I beat them out with a 9mm socket and a ball peen hammer with the damper in a vise. Not ideal. I bent the damper piston shaft doing that and I had to bend it back. Going back in you should be able to apply enough pressure with your hands.

Originally Posted by Mini_Chan

Would bending the damper piston have an effect on the tensioner later down the road?

Originally Posted by mega72

I dropped my trans out last night. It took about 5 hours of work to drop it out, there's a lot of stuff that has to come off but I've done most of it before so it went quick. Buy a crank sensor O ring, rear main seal and if you take off the intake get new intake seals. Order differential bearings if you have not already.

I was able to drop mine out without removing the intake, we shall see if I can get it back in that way.

Originally Posted by mega72

I did, slight altercation there is a bunch of wire and a bracket right on top of the trans, take that crap off first it was a pain but once the bracket is out the wires are loose and you can get around in there at the bolts

I have a lift in the garage, there was lots of up and down to get at stuff that cuts down on the time it takes

Originally Posted by mega72

the shift linkages were not too bad, I am dreading putting this back together it's gonna suck I know it there was a lot of binding removing the trans, so getting the splines lined up and back together is gonna suck

I ordered permatex 51531 for the trans, hope it's right

Originally Posted by greatfolder

I am kinda in the same boat as you, not exactly... you have done many more upgrades than I have but my clutch went out today around 2pm I noticed a burning smell and thought it was coolant overflowing and heating up. I was wrong. I took it to a shop for an inspection because I am doing a 2,000 mile round trip drive to So Cal and back twice for Coachella/Stagecoach (I'm working as a vendor) and need my car at full function. They quoted me $3,400 for the job. I said hell no I will do it in our truck yard shop.

I ordered the Valeo Clutch conversion set that comes with the fly wheel and the store said they would have it by 3:30. I studied ModMini's video part one to see what all needed to be taken off and showed the mechanic helping me the video as well. I noticed his face was already dripping sweat just seeing all the work this entailed. Never the less we started to disassemble. Around 5:30 I went over to get the clutch set only to find out that they ordered the clutch kit and not the set that comes with the flywheel. So I spent 30 minutes at the commercial desk making sure they order the right set while my mechanic drained coolant and took off the radiator.

I get back to help finally and around 9:30 last night we left at the point of ready to take out the trans. I kinda wish I had the time and extra cash to buy a LSD since we have come this far. The problem is I need to be down in So Cal by Thursday afternoon. As long as the parts come in today I think we can get this all done and I can get my car packed up in time and on the road around 3-4 am on Thursday. Only to then go work 14-16 hour days managing 4 booths for Coachella.

Sounds like fun right?