So I blew the head gasket and threw a rod in my old mini engine. I have a new motor to swap in that's had all the gaskets replaced in by a professional mechanic. I just can't afford the labor so I'm going to attempt to swap it in myself. I've never done an engine swap by myself though and was hoping I could get some advice. I have a general idea of everything I'm supposed to do but is there anything specific to these engines I should watch for? Any and all advice is welcome and appreciated thank you!

 

This and Mod MINI's other videos are great source of info. Also, Pelican Part's tech articles, a Bentley service manual, and posts on NAM should be helpful.

 

Modmini has other vids as well on different parts of the engine

 

Take your time, take ALOT of pictures, watch Mod Mini over and over and over and over until you feel comfortable to start. Write down lists of parts you want to replace while the engine is out. example, starter, clutch, axels, any place that are very difficult to get to. Label all wires and mark each ends with numbers that correspond to where it connects. Make sure you mark it with something that doesn't rub off when grease or oil contact. You will run into problems but you'll figure it out. Again...watch Mod Mini over and over every night before you go to bed.

It was my first time swap engine to. Swap an 04 to an 06 engine. Took me a month and a half. I work on it weekends only. Learned a lot from my mistakes, yet was very fun. I think I know my Mini engine bay like the back of my hand now. This is why I will keep this car for a long, long, long time since I know the in and out. It's a very easy car to fix once you experienced this. Motor on!

 

+1 on taking lots of pictures, notes, and label everything. It's easy to fall into the trap of "Oh, I'll remember where that widget goes", but I guarantee that you won't.

 

There are a few members that have done engine replacements on here. Do a search for recent threads and maybe pop into them for additional advice. Our tech articles, as RB said, will also be a good resource. Good luck!

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...tech_index.htm

 

After recently tackling a head gasket, I'll give another massive recommendation to label everything. It's one thing if you're putting it back together same day, but it will undoubtedly take you longer than you anticipate. Label literally everything. Keep bolts with their brackets or screw them back into their resting place. For any other loose bolts, stick them through a piece of cardboard and label it. It will seem like it takes forever to disassemble, but it will make your job MUCH easier to put back together. Beyond that, it's just disassembly/reassembly. Take your time, have fun, learn a lot.

 

I like to buy a box of both large sealable freezer bags and also sandwich size sealable bags along with a good black sharpie. I separate all the fasteners per area, marking the bag and also keeping an index. When you have nothing but time, you take something apart and the next day put it back together. You remember where just about everything went. When you are weekend warrior mechanic by the time you get around to putting things back together you have forgotten half, maybe more of what you did.

Several recent threads here looking for help after taking something apart and then having major issues. One, the car would not start. I suggested the guy check the grounding strap up by the supercharger. After several failed attempts he finally got around to checking the strap, yep it was loose. Another guy was jumping through hoops as the trannie was not working, yep, did not have a plug connected.

 

I'm not sure if I was the ground strap guy he's referring to, but that's another point. Double-check ALL of your work, no matter how mundane/simple it is - even if it's visually correct. My ground strap was connected, but it wasn't making a quality connection. Wouldn't start, but would run when jumped. Towed it to the dealership because I thought it was a key issue. $150 to tighten up a ground strap - about the most accessible bolt in the engine.

 

There are many excellent advices given already. I second the use of small ziploc bags to separate the fasteners from different areas. I used shipping boxes to keep parts separated too. Helps also is to make a point to pay attention to the lengths of the bolts if there are more than one length - though Mini design is very good in this.

One thing that I will add that may help is you can remove the engine with the entire engine harness intact. The advantage of this is you minimize the need to fight with disconnecting them at tight confines at the sensors. It is much easier to swap it once the engine is out. Same goes with the fuel system, and ancillary lines. On the starter I only had to disconnect the B+ cable to pull the engine.