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Well, no drivetrain in the car yet, but oh so close. My dissassembly pictures were not as detailed as they should have been, and the Bentley manual was lacking. I spent a lot of today just searching photos and vids on how the harness, hoses, and brackets go back in. I now have the wiring harness on the motor and it all did come together, with one exception. Where on earth does this little guy go?
On to better things, here's the 100% completed block. All that's left is to get it on the hoist and drop it back in place!
New idler pulley, belt tensioner (I found the one I had was almost completely shot), 17% pulley, and an SFI fluid gel damper:
And here's the cleaned, prepped, painted, and wired, hosed, and vacuum lined remainder of the block:
Hopefully this will be sitting in the engine bay within the next two days. Just need to get a buddy over to make sure nothing gets snagged.
Last edited by OutlandishnessDue; Jun 3, 2024 at 12:18 PM.
Looking good! The bracket you mention above affixes to the top portion of the airbox where the small bolt holds it down. You'll see how it goes when you lay the flat trapezoidal piece over where the bolt goes. If you need a pic I can shoot one for you.
Couple of updates:
1) engine is in the car for the first time in months!
2) I replaced every power steering line but the low pressure one, and there must be a pinhole leak in the one remaining as a portion of the thing is soaked through. New one coming in the mail - looks messy but simple enough to replace
3) I must have damaged the slave cylinder when reinstalling as fluid leaked out the boot and it wont engage the clutch. I ordered one, but this looks like a REAL pain to bleed and replace. I knew something like this would happen
I'll get a bit more done by the weekend - fuel lines, intercooler, A/C - but then I'm out for two weeks on work/personal travel. So hopefully by the end of June I'll be back on the road.
Last edited by OutlandishnessDue; Jun 5, 2024 at 10:56 AM.
Can someone please remind me what these are and where they go? My only remaining "spare part". That's the problem with taking an entire car apart, even with photos. I forgot a few things I assumed I'd remember (this board to the rescue), and didn't capture in a pic. Thanks!
Last edited by OutlandishnessDue; Jun 10, 2024 at 02:21 PM.
I haven't done any research into oversized valves and their implications here, but the time would be now if I do it. Something like this?
anything with boost wants to be able to vent the exhaust as fast as possible. the W11 cylinder head has small valves on both intake & exhaust, but especially on the exhaust side. the largest possible you can fit on the exhaust side are what should have been fitted on the stock standard engine. more important to do them than the intake side, but ideally both want doing. this has a knock on effect, the 1mm oversize pistons the W11 can take then become ideal to help unshroud the now larger valves.
the fuel consumption increase after having done this is significant.
Progress!!! Looks good. Congrats. And yes the slave cylinder is a royal PITA to bleed. The last one I did (you may recall I had to fight with a few of them) - I compressed it all the way, then I used a small clear plastic "oil can" with a plastic line and pumped some fluid into the bleed nipple. Then I affixed it to the hard pipe on the car and tried to push fluid up instead of down. Then I switched gears and started bleeding the other way with fluid going down and out of the bleed nipple. Oddly, this dual method seemed to work the best and it was faster than my previous attempts. So, take it for what it's worth if you are inclined to try.
As for the extra parts, I have no clue. I don't think I've seen them before.
Getting close! I rigged a screw-on cap that fit the fluid resevoir (the one on my HF oil catch tank was amazingly a perfect fit) to my compressor and bled the cylinder probably 10 times using about 15psi. I always let my wife sit in the car and pump the brakes when I bleed them - her favorite thing in the world, mind you, but I wish I'd thought about this earlier. The clutch engagement feels great but I guess I won't know for sure until actual driving.
The slave cylinder is a PIA for sure, but to your point the BIGGEST surprise headache was the dang header. I'm embarrased to say it probably took six hours just to get 8 bolts in - if I ever pull this again I will 100% take your advice on studs. I ended up buying an extendable mirror to see behind the head if the bolt holes lined up, then ratchet straps tied to the rafters to get the holes aligned exacly. I had to keep the bolts loose once they fit and shift the header with the force of the straps by hundredths of an inch for basically every bolt. I'd imagine I could do this much faster next time, but it would still be a pain. And I'm sure it would go easier with the stock maniford than the questionable precision of the bolt holes for an X-Force header.
Good news is I'm very much home stretch. I cranked the engine before attaching the exhaust, adding the drive belt, or connecting radiator just to see if it'd turn, and it ran. Immediately shut it down as is not been tuned, but a good sign for sure! With any luck, I may have things finished by the weekend :-)
Last edited by OutlandishnessDue; Jun 25, 2024 at 05:35 PM.
Alright friends - I'm well overdue for a post here but can say with confidence that my build is finally done! Coming out the end of the build I had a fair share of problems to work through - leaky power steering hose (replaced all three to be safe), huge oil leak on the filter housing (stupidly overtightened the oil pressure sensor and cracked it), brand new piece of crap thermostat that wouldn't open, faulty adjustable rear control arm to replace, and a need to replace front inner and outer tie rods. All that said, she's finished now and runs beautifully! I'll need to get an app to time 0-60 but feel comfortably 5 seconds flat (will confirm). More impressive is I've NEVER been in a car that handles like this. I autocrossed an MR2 turbo that didn't come close (AND would snap oversteer and try to kill you). The darn thing pulls your face sideways before the tires start to squeak, and she's got more to give but I've yet to find a place to safety test what happens past the limit.
In @Boostmaster fashion I decided to tally up my spend here and wish I didn't. There's a cautionary tale on what happens if not more careful on what you throw into a project like this. All said and done, from purchase of the vehicle to completion of the build I'm 18000 in. I learned a ton though and had a highly entertaining 7 month project. Plus I think the final product is straight up the most fun I could have in a street car. Here's my built list - the deals you'll see on maintenance parts are generally wholesale closeout on RockAuto, a nice perk for having a car that's nearly 20 years old. Here's hoping the car runs for a damn long while before it needs anything!
Base Car: $2000
Suspension/Handling ($2,393):
Bilstein PSS10 coilovers: $1,190
Whiteline rear sway bar: $192
IE camber plates: $211
Powerflex bushings (motor and gearbox mount, control arms): $178
Adjustable Rear Lower Control Arms (Mevotech): $105
Left and Right Lower Control Arms (OEM): $157
Inner and outer ball joints (Moog): $99
Front and rear end links (Moog - twice as thick as OEM!): $42
Front sway bar bushings (TRW): $6
Inner and outer tie rods (TRW): $88
Alignment: $130
Engine Performance ($3,097):
WMW 19% pulley: $109
Bosch 440cc injectors: $169
PRW Harmonic Balancer: $209
Alta Oversized Intercooler w/ Alta Air diverter: $150
Intake manifold (ported): $100
Ported head + machine shop rebuild (inc. new rocker caps): $1,300
Cooler spark plugs (NKG): $27
Supercharger + horns, ported and rebuilt: $800
Tune (Adrian remote tune + cables + battery to revive old laptop): $233
Intake ($117):
K&N cone filter: $40
MEGAN filter housing: $77
Exhaust ($1,100):
Invidia catback exhaust: $827
X-Force Header + bung weld for A/F gauge: $246
Exhaust gaskets: $7
Hi flow custom cat mod (grinding bits + ultracopper RTV + and elbow grease): $20
Rota RB 17x17.5: $880
OEM X-lite winter wheels/tires (ALLMAG): $440
Custom mini center cap decals (Etsy): $26
Michelin Pilot Sport 215/45/17 (new - awesome deal!): $500
Urethane 2x primer/PPG OEM Aspen white base/clear coat for GP spoiler: $63
Urethane 2x primer/PPG OEM hyper blue/clear for side skirts, cowl scoops, hatch handle, and touch up: $300
Upper chrome front grille trim (OEM new part): $86
Left front fender arch molding: $55
Left front trim hood cover: $39
Right front fender arch molding: $45
Right rear fender arc cover: $56
LED third brake light: $22
Wiper arm nut covers: $20
Rear wiper arm and blade: $12
R56 JCW aero side skirts + R53 adapters (ECS): $519
Lower engine tray/cover (mine was missing; new OEM): $145
Right Fender well (ALLMAG; mine had been cut away to access crank):$40
Union jack LED taillights: $205
Cowl scoops: $169
GP Style Wing + jack nuts to secure (Aliexpress): $175
Other LED exterior lights: $21
Stubby antenna (Aliexpress): $2
Aero rear bumper grill decals (Etsy): $30
Chassis saver + Spray undercoat: $75
Window tint: $330
Not used: $328
Heat shield and header wrap (AliExpress, maybe later): $20
Cravenspeed 17% pulley (will sell): $110
JCW emblems - $17
Mini cooper vinyl boot stripes: $25
Stainless flex pipe: $30
KEMSO fuel pump: $39
Harbor Freight boost gauge (decided to go Autometer): $10
LED side marker lights: $35
Rear caliper (stripped thread): $152
Last edited by OutlandishnessDue; Aug 15, 2024 at 09:57 AM.
Wow, those costs really did add up! But then, the final product is outstanding! Thanks for sharing...
Hey thanks! The thing that kills me about the cost is I did every single thing from body and paint to engine (except the head work, tint, and alignment) while looking for closeouts and deals every step of the way. Crazy to think what it would cost to have someone else do it.
Last edited by OutlandishnessDue; Aug 10, 2024 at 01:10 PM.
@Boostmaster The sound on my set up is hard to describe - it's not buzzy and ricey like a Honda and has a deeper rumble. However, it's not like the Borlas on my 5.0 Mustang either. I took care of the excessive interior noise issue with double layers of sound deadening over the vents on the hatch (one inside the bumper and one inside the trim piece - what a difference that makes!) - and love it now. It is still really loud at WOT and peak revs - the supercharger wine over the exhaust noise is brilliant though and it sounds mean and modded + different than anything else on the road. And the cackles and burbles off throttle make my day.
Next time I'm out I'll get recordings of it, windows down and up, and see if I can find some way to post.
And your sayin' this isn't a sleeper?!?
Last edited by OutlandishnessDue; Aug 12, 2024 at 09:11 AM.
Nice! Mine is WAY louder. But then again I have a catless 4-2-1 and the milltek. I need to figure out how to do these recordings. Yours sounds really good BTW.
An interior upgrade was completed last night. The leather was fraying off the OEM shift k.*** (why censor **** of all words??), so I went for an upgrade and found a beautiful weighted metallic blue shift k.*** on eBay. Of course it was threaded and not push in, so I bought an $8 adapter that screwed on with allen bolts. It felt really cheap and IMO didn't look so great. After inspecting the stalk I decided to have a go with my old tap and die set ($10 from an estate sale!) instead, and see what happened. In the end it turned out really well, but I did need to use the griding bit on my dremel to narrow the width of the stalk a bit before the die would catch. Here's some pics; note I ended up cutting the top of the stalk an inch (no going back now) and working in some more threads down after taking the photo, so here's a way as well to get a shorter throw shifter without the need to take everything apart under the car:
Last edited by OutlandishnessDue; Aug 25, 2024 at 03:57 PM.
Besides the throw - Not a bad idea for someone looking to do "a poor man's" short shifter
Yup. I would have gone lower too, except I HATE not having an armrest - particularly on long trips - more than a taller shifter. So low as possible without it getting in the way - about two inches down. And a good tap and die set might set folks back more than a low-end short throw, but you get a handy new tool, can lower to your liking a bit at a time, and don't lose a weekend wrestling rusted exhaust and heat sheild bolts to install!
Last edited by OutlandishnessDue; Aug 25, 2024 at 12:47 PM.
Congratulations! I bet that port work is gonna feel extra nice when the temps start dipping into the 50's. Soon I'll have to retire mine to "Sunday" status and get the rebuild process started just the same. Curious to know what bugs you've had to chase down since reassembly and what they were. Fwiw, ECS and Improved Racing has a good selection of OCC options, getting clean hose fitment is the only hard part. After all that work and part swappage, getting a catch can will keep your throttle body/ intake valves/ SC clean and your new intercooler working at full capacity. A new intercooler could easily be completely fouled after 9000 miles without one. Good choice going two-tone on the spoiler, it looks way more subtle, distinguished, but subtle. about 1.5 oz (3 tablespoons) after 3125mi
Before you change the plugs look and see if it has a pulley swap. If it does you want to go one heat range colder on the plugs, aka the JCW spec plugs.
welcome aboard. I didn’t get near the deal you did on mine a couple weeks ago, nor my sons JCW last year, I’m a bit envious, lol.
Happy to be of any help I can if you ever have a question.
Also imo your first purchase after plugs, should be an old XP laptop and Inpa cable, so you can install DIS v44, ncs expert, etc etc and have factory diagnostics and do your own options coding. Your local mini/bmw dealer probably doesn’t even have full support for these anymore as they’ve moved on to newer machines.
Just a suggestion.
onizu how can I do that DIs V44 installation? I am on the same boat just got myself an R53 2002 S model 😁 I started with the brakes lines but I lost the old fitting so I don’t know what pitch I need to buy the new ones 😡 all I know is and M10 and the M12 on one of the line. If any one knows from where I can order them will save me some aggravations thanks
Update on the build: With a 19% pulley and an ALTA oversized intercooler I maxed out at 16lbs boost. The car actually came with an oddball "JDM Sport" setup that looked like a POS ebay special, but I found praise on the same version on a post linked here. Just to see what would happen I cleaned out the oil and gunk, ported the inlet to get an almost flush match, and reinstalled. Throttle response is improved and I'm now pushing 18psi at WOT and my IATs are no higher. There's a big diffference in acceleration, and I can attest this intercooler is legit!
On another note, a ported throttle body, intake, supercharger, and head + my exhaust setup means I have plenty of air moving through. My research indicates the largest remaining bottleneck is the terribly-designed boost tube/charge pipe and of course the OEM valve size. The head is freshly rebuilt and staying put, and I've decided to splurge on a TPE Precision charge pipe. What little testimonial is out there shows their claims of another 6.5 HP, a additional PSI of boost, and lower IATs with a stock set up hold true. My hope/theory is I'll do even bettter given this pipe is a choke point for all the port work as well.
It will be a few weekend before I can get to this, but I'm excited to give it a go and share results with the board.
