I'll try to keep this short and relatively sweet. Bought a 2003 R53 with 70k miles off BAT in 2020 and have loved every minute of it. I have only added 5,000 miles in my 3+ years of ownership, but yesterday experienced a major setback. Was driving it to work/to be inspected and noticed a ticking noise while accelerating (only with the accelerator compressed, no noise when idle or moving). Passed inspection but the noise persisted - didn't think too much of it and figured time to get a proper service. Driving home on the highway, felt like something popped or shot off the engine on the road below. Engine started stuttering heavily and clear smoke was visible. Immediately pulled over and turned off the car followed by a smoke plume. Nothing visible underneath or with the bonnet open, outside of a burning smell. Got it towed to a local repair shop (that has experience with Minis and other imports) and was informed this morning that there was absolutely no oil in the engine and that the engine was totaled and needs to be replaced. Mechanic commented typical for the supercharger model to more frequently burn through oil than the later models, and the lack of oil likely caused the timing chain to make some noise until its demise. The mechanic quoted an engine replacement would run ~$10k with labor and might as well replace/service the clutch with the car dismantled. My heart aches. I love this car and don't know what to do.

What are my options here? After spending some time researching, this is what I think I can do - but please, I am open to any ideas, recommendations or past experiences.

1. Seek a used replacement engine from another W11 Long Block engine from a Cooper S R53 --- the mechanic quoted in his search he found two replacement engines (one with 70k miles and one with 90k miles)
2. Seek a new engine from someone like Way Motor Works (i.e. https://www.waymotorworks.com/wmw-pe...-s-engine.html) and at least have the assurance of something 'new'
3. Find someone who can take the engine a part to fully diagnose the faults and replace what is needed before completely swapping the engine out entirely.

The other question I have, is if I am getting all of this work done, what other things should I have done while it is dismantled?

I am based in Philadelphia PA and the surrounding region. Thank you so much for any help.

 

This is awful! My heart bleeds for you.

I don’t have any experience to offer you regarding replacing a MINI engine. But I want to ask, was there no indication of a problem on the gauges? No oil pressure light?! I would expect that “absolutely no oil” would cause an oil pressure light…

When did you last check the oil level? You've put 5k miles on it. How fast was it burning oil?

Did the mechanic say what blew off onto the road below?

Do you (or someone you know) have an established relationship with this mechanic?

Let's say a salvage yard charges $3k for an engine with 7X,XXX miles on it, and you need $2k worth of miscellaneous other parts (things add up quickly). Then you're talking something like $5k for the labor. Is that a reasonable price? Can this number be negotiated on a job this big? And if you're going to spend $3k for a used engine, how much more for the one from WMW?

 

Unfortunately there were no warning lights or indications to my knowledge. ~75 minutes of total drive time before fatality and no indication at any point, visually or mechanically (outside of the ticking noise described). Embarrassingly, I think it had been two years since a service/oil change. So I cannot help but feel this is entirely my fault - I have neglected my child and paid the ultimate price.

 

I added some questions while you were writing this.

My questions are meant to try to help you assess the situation. I don't claim to be any sort of expert. I have had the experience of having an engine die on me while I was driving the car. Three times in fact. And every time, there was a gauge telling me that something was wrong. Do you make it a habit to check your gauges? Would you have noticed if there was an oil light? You noticed the ticking so that says you pay attention...

The only reason for you to be embarrassed will be if you don't learn from this experience, whatever the cause of the problem may be.

Two years since an oil service, but you've only put 5k miles on the car in three years. Had you checked the oil level since that oil service? I can't say that I have noticed my R53 burning oil. Is there a big, big oil stain where the car is regularly parked? The car holds something like 4 quarts of oil. There are lots of places where R53s leak, sure, but that's a lot of leakage.

 

If you're paying someone else to do the work, it's rarely cost effective to pay them to disassemble and diagnose/rebuild an engine, so I'd say option 3 is probably not viable. I think if you can afford it, I'd go with option 2, go with a new/rebuilt motor that has a guarantee and very few questions about where it's been and what it can do.

As far as "while you're in there" jobs, I needed a new clutch a few years ago and my "while you're there" list added up to a few grand worth of parts, but the car is fantastic. here's my list
LSD (I went quaife but I might consider wave trac)
super charger oil change
every front suspension bushing (LCA, sway bar, steering rack)
Inner ball joints
engine/transmission mounts
Clutch (I went with the exedy SMF)
I needed a new radiator and replaced as many engine gaskets as I could
Thermostat
crank pulley (ATI or bust)
idler pulley
belt tensioner
I think I replaced the water pump, but can't remember for sure.

Things I wish I'd done
Larger front sway bar
starter
header/full exhaust
Baffled Oil pickup/pan (Way motor works has an oil pickup that looks pretty easy to put in and looks like it'd work)

I know it sucks to see your baby like this, but it's an opportunity to make it better than new

 

$10,000 is a rip-off if your mechanic is talking about simply exchanging your present engine with a used one. You could buy another nice R53 for much less.

 

Can you do any of your own work? Labor is going to cost a ton no matter which way you decide to go.

I think that there are other options to consider here:

1. You could pull the engine yourself and tear it down (not too hard and not much to it)- then you can "SEE" for certain what the issues are and if it's able to be saved.

2. You could go to a local salvage yard that has some R53's on a "sale" day. You can sometimes get an engine for a few hundred bucks. (Go through it and install)

3. You could purchase a used engine online (like ebay) from a salvage place. They run about $1000-$2000 and some have free shipping.

4. Go to craigslist, FB marketplace or one of the other online platforms and buy a super cheap used R53-(usually under $3k)- maybe one with a great engine and trans that has a rough body.Then swap it out.

Since you have not driven the car much in the past few years I presume you have other cars and do not NEED this one right now. If I were in your shoes, I'd go for option 1 first. I recently did something like that and here's the thread with a price break down at the end so you can get a better idea of what things should cost https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ome-ideas.html
Tear it down and see what you find. Maybe it's not as bad as you think. And if you don't turn your own wrenches, there's no better time to learn. You can take your time and learn as you go. This forum is a great place to learn and get input from other Mini enthusiasts.

 

+1

The W11 engine is a fairly simple engine and once the car is in service mode, R53's are also not awful for DIY repairs.

I blew a head gasket on my original W11 at about 165k miles due to a broken tee in my cooling system. I too, was planning to rebuild the engine and then costs got to a point where I decided to buy a used longblock (with 90k fewer miles in my case) instead of rebuild. My longblock (from LKQ) was about $1800 shipped. I replaced all the seals on that engine before I installed it, new clutch, some "while I'm there" items and replaced every piece of the cooling system except the heater core. I didn't document all my expenses as thoroughly as @Boostmaster but my rough estimate is I was in that repair for about $3000 in parts since I did all my own labor.

That was in the spring of 2022 and my car has been great since.

I've seen R53 engines on my local offer up as well.

 

How many hours would you say it took you to do the job?

 

That's much harder for me to estimate.

I chronicled that repair on this thread.

I encountered parts not received in time, parts I forgot to order for the next work session, parts I broke while doing the work and had to replace. Those sorts of things drug out repair time to about 3 months of me working on my off Saturdays (I worked every 4th Saturday at the time) at my shop that was open 7-5. It seems most Saturdays were not full days due to those issues I encountered. Also included in that timeframe was the time I spent tearing down the original engine when I thought I was going to repair it, deciding which course of action to take and ordering the engine. Once I received the replacement engine, it was 4 Saturday's for me to remove and replace my engine before I drove it on its first road test. Then some adjustments, further diagnostics and 3 more road tests until my R53 was all good to go home.

 

I had the same reaction to the price as you. I don't know if the mechanic is known and trusted by the thread starter; that's why I was asking the questions about what he knew about oil levels before the event. We didn't hear details of what sort of diagnostics have been done beyond "no oil in engine". I'd want detailed diagnostics and maybe a second opinion (maybe depending on whether I had an established relationship with the mechanic) before I dropped $10k.

I believe Mod MINI has a youtube video where he removes an engine from an R53 in something like 90 minutes more or less. I'm sure installation would take longer than that, but $10,000 seems to have a far too large labor charge embedded in it.

That said, this R53 only has 70k on the clock. Those aren't super common.

 

If a engine was supplied to my shop I would do the R&R itself for 1200 with fluids included.

 

I am in Delaware and a simple engine swap can be done in 4-5 hours. Done several of them.

since you are in Philly, contact the Philly Mini Club or many people use Mike Marzo for Mini Work. I know you can find him on Facebook.

 

Whohasgottheblues: If you do the work yourself, the time can vary. I would err on the side of caution and plan for it to take a little while. I say with the idea that just because the car has 70k miles it is still a 20 year old car. Parts get old, seals get hard, leaks happen. Much of the stuff is hidden until you pull the engine. And then you'll discover that you need to order another seal or gasket or replace a rusty bolt, etc. The list goes on. Then there are delays from vendors, etc. So while it would be nice to anticipate that the "job" requires 10 parts for example, and if you ordered them in advance and then started your project you'd be fine- this is NEVER the case. LOL

I would also caution against ordering what you think you need in advance as the time for returns/refunds starts ticking. I would pull the engine, take tons of pics, bag and tag the parts to make your life easier and THEN start placing orders for what you need or discover that you might need. It takes longer, but will save you in the long run.

My projects are done outside (slowly) on jack stands as time permits so your mileage may vary.

 

As a Former Delaware resident myself (Chrsitina Mall area) Someone jump over the bridge and get me a Whiz wit from Genos and Pats lol

 

I agree. It's not my project, but following along with interest.