Howdy all. New to the group and new to Minis. I bought an R53 from a friend in July. He bought it w a known BHG. He is ASE certified Master Mechanic so I trust his work and opinion.

the head was pulled, inspected, and rebuilt w all new valves and seals. He put it all back together and I took it home.

short story is the HG leaks at cylinder 2. I tried re tightening the heals bolts, but no dice.

I’ve decided to redo the HG. Question is, do I go w another OE thickness or go a little thicker (0.95) and throw on a 15% pulley to the SC to compensate for lower cylinder pressure?

it also needs a motor mount (or 2) and saw the CV axle boots are trashed on the Driver’s side. Looks like it will be up on Jack stands for w while.

recommended HG brand?

 

Recently did an rmw head replacement and i aswell have a headgasket leak. Engine overheats. What I suggest doing is removing the head and checking for any warping on the head. Also inspect for cracks around small walled areas on the head for ex: in-between cylinder walls, from coolant passage to cylinder wall, etc. I asked that same question about thicker head gasket but when installing a thicker head gasket what you do is not only increase the space from the head to the block, risk of failure increases while compression rate decreases. They say that you should stay oem with your gasket thickness. I will do the same when i replace my HG. Let me know.

 

All I know it that the receipt from the machine shop says “clean, inspect: cylinder head $100” and Surface Cylinder Head $65

i don’t know if they fluxed it for cracks, but I will take it to a different machine shop and have it checked before I put it on again

 

Oem headgasket and thickness and arp headstuds.....nothing better though I did arp headbolts for ease of install because it was my 1st head and cam install I'd done. I followed online torque specs as if I was doing oem head install buuuut I did go 1/2 ( 180' ) extra turn on the headbolts once torqued to spec. 2x years , 20lb boost , every other bolt on and 0 issue to date..

 

And what was the head and torque specs you used?

 

I’m deep into my tear down and I’ve come across a problem I need help with.

I put the car in service mode so I have access to the SC, belts, etc. I really wanted to check on the green gasket between the SC intake and get to the other deeper parts of the motor. Glad I checked bc the SC intake had no screw/bolt holding it in place and the gasket along w the intake are filthy w oil.

I want to remove the SC and have the pulley bearing replaced. It is so noisy you can hear it just standing next to the car. I put a stethoscope on it bf the tear down so I know it is an issue. Is the bearing a servicable item? I guess I can change the oil, at the very least.

Question; how do you get the hard tubes out of the SC intake? The grey side pulled right out (along w the red flare fitting. But I can’t get the black tube out of the SC intake. The red collar has disintegrated. The intake is literally stuck on the end of the black tube no matter how hard I pull.

can I undo the joint on the black tube (close to the PS resivior)? And once I get the hard tubes out of the SC intake, can I get new red flange grommets? Or do I have to get a new intake?

 

You need to press down on the fitting to remove the tube from the SC intake. When reinstalling the tube it should just click back in.

 

I’m not an expert at this level, but what I understand is that thicker head gaskets are used when the block and/or cylinder head is resurfaced, to compensate for the removed material. The machine shop will probably tell you how much depth was removed.

 

This is correct. The service manual likely has a tolerance somewhere specifying how much material can be removed without affecting timing. When too much material is removed, either a thicker headgasket is needed, or an adjustable cam gear needs to be employed.