I have a 2004 mini cooper s jcw. 124k miles. Have done crank pulley and belt tensioner, idler pulley, ngk spark plugs, spark plug cables, synthetic oil change and filter, oil pressure switch, radiator, overflow tank, driver window regulator and motor. How long should I expect this motor to last?
and how much is a rebuild or replacement at a shop?

 

Anywhere between 1 mile and 1,000,000 miles.

because, there's no way of answering that question within any reasonable accuracy without knowing the history of the engine, oil used, maintenance schedule, who built it, etc.

 

I ran my first (Works) R53 motor over 100k miles. The 2nd (Works) motor was healthy as a horse when I sold at 190k miles.

The heart surgery was about 10k.

No regrets.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

The fuel pump, alternator, battery , power steering reservoir, tie rods, struts and springs, t stat housing and gasket, all have been replaced anywhere between 90-110k miles with receipts. The clutch was supposedly replaced around 90k but have no receipts for that. All oil changes on time.

 

I imagine they could last quite some time with proper maintenance and care, but then again **** just happens sometimes. I cracked open my transmission at 111k to install a Quaife lsd and I was amazing at how well the internals looked.
Are you looking to do any performance mods? Are you just thinking of a stock replacement engine?

https://www.waymotorworks.com/r53-co...ck-engine.html

https://buyusedengine.com/used_engin...ze=1.6L&page=2

when it’s time, my plan it to upgrade to an RMW engine.

 

As a reference, I did my rebuild after 212k HARD miles.
The need for the rebuild ended up being a problem in my head and my desire to do it.
Besides the oil squirters being broken off from "many" 7500 RPM pulls, the bottom end/short block, was in great shape.
A well maintained, not constantly thrashed motor, should get you 350-400k no problem.

 

I have around 182K Miles on my 03' JCW Mini R53. Still running oem power steering pump, oem crank pulley, oem SC.......

If serviced, these things should last a long time. I wouldn't be surprised if my SC craps out soon.......but so far, it's still making good boost issues. You don't hear too many SC's going back 200K miles.

 

None of this matters on how long an engine will last.

People with brand new GT350R lost engines within miles, while others have tens of thousands. There's no crystal ball that will tell you how long an engine will survive.


The best way to get an IDEA of the engine health is do oil analysis (ie: https://www.blackstone-labs.com/).
They will tell you if you have elevated minerals in the oil, viscosity of the oil (which helps determine if you have the right oil for your engine and how long you can go between oil changes), etc.

From there, doing your maintenance of spark plugs, air filter, oil filter, tensioners, etc... that'll all help.

 

Yes......do a blackstone test. They are only $28, and it will give you a pretty good idea what kind of condition your engine is in. Well worth the money. I sent one in last year when I had around 170K on my motor....they said all looked great, and everything was in good shape. I'll probably do another soon...just to get a baseline going.

 

Hey guys,
my r53 has 160k miles on clock an started consuming too much oil. Compression rate is fine alround all 4 cylinders, valve stem seals have been just replaced.
Kinda scared to drop oil pan to check piston conditions(( Seems like engine swap is coming.

 

Most likely more than the car is worth. Welcome to MINI/BMW.

Expected lifespan also depends on how you drive it - lots of traffic, mostly highway, track day every weekend etc. The biggest life extender is oil changes. 3000 miles with full synthetic and a decent filter make all the difference for any car. Most people don't do it, starting with the first owner.

 

Yep....no doubt. You would be better off buying a low mileage used motor if you can find one, even then...unless you do the work yourself, swapping motors isn't going to be cheap.