Hello! Glad to join the community! I just picked up my new to me r53 (2004 S) from a close friend! The car is in fairly decent shape but i am looking to give it a good service/check.

The car has 150k on it with a newish motor with about 50k its bone stock too. The previous (only 1 owner) kept its maintenance schedule up I believe (or i hope!).

Other than the basic oil change, filter etc what are other things I should either inspect or perform for "my" first service?

I dont mind spending some money as well to replace any parts this community recommends either since I got the car for a good price!

Thanks ahead of time!

 

You do need to check and ensure that the 100k supercharger service was performed. Grab a good OBD II reader and check for codes. After that, look for oil leaks and go from there.

 

If i wanted to just do the service myself what would that entail?

 

There are quite a few DIY's floating around the forum I am sure. Look up modmini on youtube if that's your thing.

In a nutshell:
Raise car
Remove front wheels
Remove front fender liner fasteners attaching to bumper (easier to just remove the whole liner IMO)
Drain coolant
Remove serpentine belt (you'll need a serpentine belt removal tool)
Remove front bumper cover
Remove radiator and support
Remove alternator
Remove supercharger
Drain coolant from pulley and water pump sides
Replace with new oil. If nothing comes out or if its very low, I'd remove the cover for that side (or both) and evaluate the gears and determine if you're better off replacing the SC or cleaning and refilling.

It'll take a day on your first go round while you learn how all the fasteners work and where they are.
Once you've get some experience its a 2 hour job.

Before you start you'll at the very least want 2 new water outlet gaskets on hand. I'd suggest replacing the serpentine belt, and crank position sensor o-ring while you're in there. There are a TON of other items to check, but those are bare minimum mandatory.

Unless the previous owner was a fanatic and REALLY kept on maintenance, it probably needs a complete end refresh. Lower control arm bushings, struts, mounts, end links, ball joints are all probably totally shot. I'm a huge proponent of doing everything at once and not worrying about it again.

 

What sort of mods do you recommend at the start for things that would help get the car up to snuff. Ive read the sticky post. Im wondering in what order to start prioritizing items.

Ive seen things like the rear sway bar. Or the strut plates.

 

If budget is tight, Poly LCA bushings > Strut plates > Rear sway bar. LCA bushings and strut mounts are probably shot. Those will give you biggest bang for the buck and be replacing failed components with aftermarket upgrades. Rear sway bar generally doesn't 'go bad' so its not a 'need to do'.

 

And if budget wasnt too much if a concern ?

 

Be aware that poly bushings will increase vibration and noise. So, if this is a daily driver and street-driven only, stay with stock bushings.

 

While you're technically correct, in this case it is the worst kind of correct. :-) It may add a very small amount of harshness, but the handling improvement is substantial and the NVH increase is not. Plus poly bushings are lifetime, go with rubber and they'll be shot again in 45k miles.

Regardless of what your budget is, go with name brand parts only for your components. The Chinese stuff really does not last on these cars.

If budget isn't too much of a concern, I'd pretty much suggest what I did on my 06 JCW. Replace all moving suspension components with OEM quality except upgrades on the following:
Powerflex lower control arm bushings
Vibratechnics upper engine mount
Powerflex lower engine mount inserts
Powerflex transmission mount
Koni FSD shocks with either OEM or JCW Sport springs if you can find them
X-lite wheels (lightest OEM 16" wheel). If you aren't going to the JCW brake upgrade, there are lighter 15" options.
Ireland engineering fixed camber plates
Ireland engineering 22mm rear sway bar

If you'd prefer a bit more sport over comfort, go with anything Bilstein. B4 is 1/3 the price of Koni but is more of a joy to drive, also much harsher. I believe the B8's are adjustable.

This is basically my setup and the ride is sublime. It's sporty, but not quite as much fun as I remember in my same setup but with B4s. It's way more comfortable though.

 

Yeah, the poly LCA bushings really don’t add any noticeable NVH. Putting rubber back in really makes no sense for a driver. Motor and tranny mounts on the other hand… definitely noticeable at idle.

 

While all the aforementioned performance upgrades will indeed make for a durable reliable car - my logic leans more towards the simplest basic preventative wear items = eg: ATI or PRW crank pulley, coolant reservoir tank (OEM or aluminium), thermostat & housing, aluminum water pump, SC oil service, reduction pulley, plugs, wires (just for fun), belt tentioner, CAI....
Exterior wise - I would highly recommend upgrading to facelift projector headlights if your 04 is not currently equipped. Aside from upgrading to powerflex CAB....some of those other upgrades can wait.

'Just my opinion.

 

Good point, somehow I got locked into suspension. For a truly reliable ride, your suggestions are mandatory.

 

ABSOLUTELY check and imo change gear oil.. supercharger oil service is very important too , on both ends NOT just the snout.
imo , get the car on jack stands and start at the front top of the engine and give it a long , good visual inspection. Look fir torn bushings and oil leaks.
kick and shake the wheels and 2x check the play and replace anything even questionable.
don't be afraid to dive in and get dirty with the car. The internet is ******** , imo these minis are relatively easy to work on actually. Theres a few little tricks youll learn just from repetition but it really isn't a hard car by any means to work on..
tune up , fluid changes and suspension work. With these car it goes a long way.. i find people tend to neglect them because they fear working on them and so do alot of mechanics shops too ive actually found out. Atleast around here , either you go to the dealer or lol they ask me to help them do it.. but most side shops wont work on an r50/r53 , chickens.
all you need is a serpentine belt tool and some basic mechanical tools , you'll be fine..
wish you luck with your new toy !
amd imo , suspension, I go rev9 coilovers... they ride as nice if not nicer than any fixed suspension ive ridden with and they allow you to set it exactly the height and comfort you want.. you ONLY need 5mm spacers with them too if your running 17s with 205 or wider tires..
trust me tryst me trust me on the rev9's.. I put them on both my minis I have now , my other one I sold and 2x of my buddies both just got the coilovers too because they both needed suspension and both are happy they took my advice.. price definitely is rite with them too.

 

Here is a partial list that is a good point to start off with. By no means is this a complete list but it will start you in the right direction. I've included a torque chart and would encourage you follow it. If you utilize antisezure paste to your bolts, nuts, etc., which I strongly advise you do, you must compensate for it. Just research it and add the correct amount of torque to your setting. Good luck!
MINI
-Supercharger service needs to be performed. With any luck yours will only be low, not empty of oil
-Water pump is a toss up, I purchased my car at 107k miles and elected not to replace it. But I do all my own work.
-Same goes for thermostat and housing
-Radiator replacement is overkill. Skip that unless its leaking or damaged
-Lower control arm bushings (Go with poly)
-Front and rear sway bar end links
-Add a bigger rear sway bar as a 'while you're in there' It's my favorite mod
-Parking brake cables are probably seized.
-Skip the CAI
-Get new plugs and wires to go with the 15% pulley. And yes, do the pulley.
-Replace the lower engine mount, or at least get poly inserts. DS mount I have yet to see fail.
-Crank position sensor o-ring probably needs to be done
-You'll probably want to do shocks, they're either near or at end of life. 50% of the ones I've encountered have been leaking at this age. Super happy with my B4 replacements
-Replace the crank pulley if the rubber looks to be in terrible shape. Again, only about half of the ones I've seen actually needed replacement.
-Plan on dropping the headliner at the A-pillars and add hose clamps to the sunroof drain tubes if it's not already leaking. This will prevent leaks in the future
-Closely inspect CV boots, your inners are probably leaking
-Front upper strut mounts are probably trashed too, if you want a FUN car, go with Ireland Engineering camber plates
-Plan on replacing the oil cooler o-rings and oil cooler gasket, these are almost guaranteed to be leaking at this point
- a/c unit recharge
-change tranny fluid
-check spark plug
-oil housing gasket