Hello again.

I need some advice on doing some repairs and maintenance on my '04 MCS.

First, a little background. I purchased my Mini from a non-Mini dealer last fall with 115,000 miles on the clock. At that time I took it to my local Mini dealer to have a level 1 service done on it. The service adviser informed me that my Mini had two issues that needed to be addressed. The first being the low speed of the cooling fan and the second being the control arm bushings. I declined the opportunity to have them separate me from my hard earned cash after having just purchased the Mini the week before, and figured that I would get to these problems in the spring.

So, the time has come to begin wrenching.

I have purchased a replacement cooling fan from TYC through Amazon and am planning to purchase the Pre-Pressed Powerflex bushing kit from Way Motor Works. But I need some advice from those who have gone before me.

I am also experiencing the occasional failure of the power steering pump and since I have little history of the service that my Mini has had before I purchased it, I also think that this would be a good time to check the oil in the supercharger as well.

I have read through the "Girl's Guide to putting a Mini in Service Mode" and also the recent posting "R53 Supercharger Oil Change - How To" which have given me a good understanding of what is involved. Also I can have my Mini parked for a time since I have other vehicles I can use to get back and forth to work.

My question is "Does it make sense to tackle these issues all at the same time?"

If I have read correctly it seems that to drop the sub-frame and get to the control arm bushings you need to disconnect the front crush tubes which it just so happens that you need to do to get to the supercharger. I would also remove the power steering pump and try the method of cleaning out the dust from the brushes and lacquering the components
to protect them in an attempt to delay having to replacing the pump.

Or would it be better to just check the supercharger and replace the cooling fan first and then do the control arm bushings at another time. Possibly NOT dropping the sub-frame and trying to press them in myself? I would still attempt the cleaning of the power steering pump now though.

So, if you have done these repairs yourself, your thoughts please?

Jim

 

The repairs are pretty straightforward if you have not done them already, considering you have all the parts, a couple free days should suffice for the repairs. Plus it also helps to have some guides to go by.

Check out our subframe removal and control arm bushing DIY articles:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...eplacement.htm

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...me_Removal.htm

-Jorge

 

I have a 2004 MCS with about the same miles as you. I would recommend doing all of this at once. Get the bushings pre-pressed from Way. With the subframe dropped access to the power steering pump is demonstrably easier.

 

Thanks Jab 67 for the encouragement and Jorge for the excellent DIY articles.

I have yet to start on these repairs since I have been busy with repairs around the house, but I hope to get to them later this month. I will probably buy the new ball joints along with the pressed in bushings from Way. Figured while I have the suspension down might as well replace them too. I can bet that they are probably original to the car as well.

What is your opinion on attempting to clean up the electronics on the power steering pump to keep it going? Worth the effort or a waste of time? I have read that some who have done this have been successful, but if I already have the front suspension down maybe it would be better to replace the steering pump with the newer version. I'm still on the fence about this. If I pre-order the steering pump so that I have it when I begin the work and then find out that my supercharger's PTO for the water pump needs to be rebuilt, I might kick myself for having spent the money on the pump. If there is a chance that the existing pump can be salvaged for awhile longer it might be better to hold onto the cash just it case. I can always replace the pump at a later date if I can get it to run awhile longer.

One question about the control arm bushings. Has it been reported that failed control arm bushings can make shifting of the Getrag 6-speed more difficult? I have noticed that if I drive the car hard with several high RPM up shifts, that the shift linkage will tend to stiffen up. This seems to happen after I have felt a bump through the steering wheel at each throttle on / throttle off that I am attributing to the failed control arm bushings, (or maybe a bad motor mount?). But this problem doesn't occur if I drive civilly with nice easy up shifts. Is it possible that bad control arm bushings can cause a movement in the drive train that can impact the alignment of the shift linkage, or is it more likely a motor mount failure?

Thanks,
Jim

 

Jim, do you have the proper tools for the bushings? You will likely need to apply heat to get the bolts out and a hydraulic press to get the old bushings out.

Control arm bushing don't have anything to do with shifting.

 

Daflake,

No, I do not have the tools to press out the bushings. I was planning on purchasing them "Pre-pressed" from Way Motors, hence why I was planning on dropping the front suspension completely out of the car. Way sells the powerflex bushings pre-pressed along with both the inner and outer ball joints as a packaged deal.

I figured that this would be easier since I need to replace the cooling fan and check the supercharger oil as well. Since replacing the cooling requires putting the Mini into 'service mode', (which is also necessary to drop the suspension), might as well do all at once.

Thanks,
Jim

 

Then you should be good to go. May still need to hit those bolts with some heat to get them out. Mine required it.