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The front main was leaking like hell when I bought it. I ended up putting an ATI dampener and a new seal in. The timing cover seal was good and is still good. I replaced the rear main when I did the trans swap.
Do anything you think you need to do before you put it back in. The biggest oil leakers on both cars were the front seal, the oil pan gasket and the crank sensor O-ring. Knock on wood neither one of the Mini's leaks any fluids right now.
I could not get the dampener to come off so I ended up taking it to a German repair place. They ended up welding the puller to the pulley to get it off. A new seal and a new dampener and no more oil leak. . I pulled the dampener on my R52 and it came right off.
I went ahead and ordered a complete set of Bilstein B4 shocks and new upper strut mounts. The shocks are OEM so I know they are worn out and I want it to ride as good as possible since this is my daily. I was driving her to work this morning and I was thinking how much different this car is driving now compared to what I brought home a little over a year ago. I like my Cabrio S but this car is my favorite.
I am thinking of painting the calipers. I was thinking of staying with the silver stock look but red is also piquing my interest.
The OEM shocks are the work of Satan's minions. They are horrible, hateful things. The Bilsteins will be a huge improvement.
Thanks, I will never be able to watch Despicable me the same way!
Your nice calipers have been haunting me and it made me finally decide I needed to make mine better. The car rides really good now, excited to see how much better it will be with the new shocks installed.
While I'm waiting for everything to arrive, I am going to do the residential fridge upgrade in our motorhome. I already unhooked the old RV ammonia fridge and I pick up the new fridge this afternoon. I am going to have to remove the passenger seat to get the old fridge out the door. My son-in law will have to help me because the old RV fridge is really heavy.
I'm glad you all talked me into getting new shocks. I would say the shocking function had left the car a long time ago. The bushing is pretty bad too. The strut tower really didn't have much bend if any, I did tap it down a little. One down, 3 to go.
The passenger side ones were just as bad as the driver's side. It went smoothly with no issues at all. I anti-seized the heck out of the pinch bolts when I put them back in. I can't do the rear struts today because the bushings have not arrived and are in a delayed shipping status. I can't wait to see how it rides with the new struts.
There's nothing about that shock/mount that looks good.
Thats why I changed them. You changing yours made me look at mine and see they were factory and decided I needed to change them.
I was afraid of having the pinch bolts break but they came right out with some penetrant and my impact. I can't wait to get the rear bushings so I can install the rear struts, I bet she is going to ride so much better. I forgot to order the caliper paint; I have 2 projects going on at the same time.
My son in-law and I got the old RV fridge out and the new residential fridge installed, I need to do a few adjustments and then screw it down. I have 2 new front leveling valves coming in today, one of them leaks and the front end of the motorhome starts to drop almost as soon as you shut off the engine.
I drove her to work this morning and WOW what a big difference even with just the new front struts installed. One of the roads has tar that the road people put in the cracks in the road and all of that bumpy feeling is gone. I should have changed them a long time ago!!
I pulled down the center exhaust bracket thingy and then loosened up the muffler straps and moved it all around. I tightened it all back up and put a washer under every bolt of the center plate. Not sure what I did but it doesn't rattle at idle anymore!! I removed the Dorman themostat housing and replaced it with a new Mini one, a thermostat and a new cap. Ran it a few times while I was checking on the exhaust rattle and it's not leaking anymore. I also polished the headlights as they were looking a little yellow and hazy.
I ordered a new front engine motor mount as thats the only one that isn't new. Next on the list is probibly front strut bushings, I noticed cracks in the rubber today.
Hey Chief, a little advice, please? Do you think I should remove the “center exhaust bracket thingy” to help the catalytic converter (2-bolt connection) fit more easily? Or is there more to remove in addition to the CEBT? The bolts holding the CEBT are rusty, so it would he yet another trip for more stupid bolts I probably don’t have… so I don’t want to do it unless it has a good chance of working. What do you think?
I drove her to work this morning and WOW what a big difference even with just the new front struts installed. One of the roads has tar that the road people put in the cracks in the road and all of that bumpy feeling is gone. I should have changed them a long time ago!!
I should have changed them a long time ago!
That is the general reaction that everyone has when they change out the MINI shocks. I had the same reaction and I went with the B8s and they were better to the point I put the runflat tires back on... It is hard to believe that MINI failed so badly on shocks when the rest of the car is really pretty well done...
Hey Chief, a little advice, please? Do you think I should remove the “center exhaust bracket thingy” to help the catalytic converter (2-bolt connection) fit more easily? Or is there more to remove in addition to the CEBT? The bolts holding the CEBT are rusty, so it would he yet another trip for more stupid bolts I probably don’t have… so I don’t want to do it unless it has a good chance of working. What do you think?
I did on mine but my car is pretty much rust free. I also had installed new exhaust from head to tail, the old owner had removed the Cat. I went ahead and did a new Cat and new muffler and pipe since I was there already.
I pulled into the driveway at home and the AC button started flashing, AC was working great till then. Popped the hood and saw the cooling fan was not running. Car didn't overheat thank goodness. I odered a new fan assembly.
I pulled into the driveway at home and the AC button started flashing, AC was working great till then. Popped the hood and saw the cooling fan was not running. Car didn't overheat thank goodness. I odered a new fan assembly.
Do you know about the radiator fan resistor problem? The resistor burns out and then the fan will only run when the coolant temp is very, very high.
Great minds think alike!!
Holding off on the caliper paint for now, I will do it in the spring because that's when I'm going to replace the rotors and pads all the way around.
I saw those, wish they were red and not blue. I am replacing the gasket because I get a little bit of a burnt oil smell from the engine compartment. It's not leaking anything or anywhere that I can see, but that is the only gasket I haven't replaced.
I saw those, wish they were red and not blue. I am replacing the gasket because I get a little bit of a burnt oil smell from the engine compartment. It's not leaking anything or anywhere that I can see, but that it the only gasket I haven't replaced.
Unfortunately, you can’t see the blue color once they’re installed. See?
