Hello everyone, i dropped my mini off at a dealer a couple days ago and from the diagnosis so far it sounds like an engine failure. Would it be possible for me to swap a JCW motor in? What would i have to do with the ecu? any advice would be great!

 

You'd be better off replacing or fixing the motor and then tuning it afterwards. You'll be able to get JCW performance easily with a tune and intercooler for a fraction of the price you'd spend on the JCW bits.

 

should i look into rebuilding the current engine with upgraded components?

 

If you mean like a larger turbo, you can do it, but you'll have to tune for it. It can be done, but it requires some planning. If you're just looking for some added pep in your new motor, I'd stick to my first post. If you want to do a more comprehensive build, then yes, now would be the time to start.

 

You can't just drop in a JCW engine into another MINI.
At the minimum, you will have to also swap out the harness and the DME. Other than the additional labor, additional parts alone will double the cost of the engine swap alone.

BTDT - fried my exhaust valves on my N14 last winter at 56K miles.
Went through all of the above considerations, and ended ordering a brand new/re-manufactured MINI engine from a dealer in TX for about $3.5K shipped, installed it myself over the course of a month or so.

It wasn't a bad project, but does require a heated garage and an engine hoist (the only tool I had to buy, for ~$150).

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Just trade it in and lease a new or newer JCW model.
Can sell u my tricked out 09 JCW R56 with 250 HP

 

Sorry to hear about your engine failure. Here is a thread of another member's rebuild with forged internals, I seriously doubt this member's engine will ever have a problem with high boost and a Stage 3 tune because it's built for it. What year is your Mini?