Sorting out how I plan to get back into a mini after selling my '05 S vert three years ago. I've read through the forums and found mentions in threads here and there about superchargers lasting 100K miles or so.

So what is the scoop on how long the superchargers are lasting? Any maintenance that needs to be done? Anything to look for if I decide to get another S?

 

They seem to die young or last a LONG time...no real ryme or reason....seems to be kinda like alternators....some last 60,000, some last closer to 180,000 miles....
But boost can drop with wear.....and you can get units ported, polished, and rebuilt for $850 from leading rebuilders, like steigimier (please stay away from cheap $500 ebay rebuilds...they last about a year...).
Oem new (limited stock)/rebuilds from mini are about $1500......
Imo the least of your worries is the sc!!

 

thanks for the info ZippyNH. So if that is the least of my worries, what is the most of my worries? ie what other problems are lurking out there should I get another R53 (or R50)?

 

Get the onethat you like best!!justfind a good one, and do a good prepurchase inspection...due to lower $$ these days, many folks are trying out gen1 cars....many from a younger set....some don't understand that mini's might need s bit of tlc...and have oftendriven their cars hard, and done halfhearted moddind attempts...just look around, and buy a goodone!! Some things like acrank damper will liklu go soon..so many folks have switched to an aftermarket dampened one like an ati, clutch...ask if/when it was done and by who....driving a stick is a lost art....gooddrivers can get 100,000 out of a clutch, but some mini's seem to get 30,000.....lol...they don't take abuse of a person slipping them long!! Other stuff is just good routine mx with good parts! Most overlooked item imo is a mini is coolant.....
my r53 has been great...but i drive it well, and have fun when it is appropriate!! Imo, find a used car owned by similar,and you will have a goodtime!!

 

MotoringFile put together a good year-by-year buyers guide together a while back...

http://www.motoringfile.com/mini-r50r53-buyers-guide/

Otherwise, I completely agree with ZippyNH. Most superchargers seem to last a good while, but quite a few have failed early. MINI says they s/c is "maintenance free" - yeah, not so much. Doing doing an oil change on the s/c every 50k or so is a nice bit of insurance...even if it is a pain in the *** to do it, it's cheaper than a new s/c.

I'd also say that cooling systems get a overlooked, but that's just not on MINIs. That seems to be the case on most all cars. Seems to be one of those things that people don't pay attention to until something happens. On the cooling system, the coolant expansion tank is prone to failure. Although my original expansion tank lasted 10-years/125k miles, so I don't know how "prone to failure" I would call that. The thermostat housing on the R53 is also a potential issue...some tend to warp/crack, causing a coolant leak. Again, after 10-years/125k miles, mine looked brand new, but it's something else to check when looking under the bonnet. Otherwise, water pumps & thermostats are just the price of owning a car. There is also the radiator cooling fan resistor failure. As the resistor that controls the high/low fan speed settings is exposed to the elements, it will eventually fail, meaning a fan replacement (you can't just do the resistor). I went aftermarket on this part, as it wasn't worth the $300+ for a new fan that would eventually fail again, when I could get a OEM quality replacement for $80. This is probably the most common cooling system issue, and there is a huge thread about it around here somewhere

The crank seal/gasket and crank position sensor o-ring were two areas of oil leaks. Both are relatively simple to fix...once you get the car into maintenance mode. While doing the crank seal/gasket, you'd be well off to replace the OEM crank pulley with an aftermarket ATI unit. The OEM crank pulley has a rubber damper than will eventually dry up and fail. The ATI unit would rid you of that "issue".

Other people seem to say that the valve cover gasket is prone to leaking. It's not a huge issue, just means you'd need to check your oil levels more often. It is relatively easy, though time consuming, to replace. The oil pan gasket seems to be something people are talking about as well, though less common I would say...it is more a pain in the ***, as the subframe needs to be dropped from my understanding.

The OEM Lower control arm bushings seem to wear out after anywhere from 40-80k...replace with a set of PowerFlex LCABs, and you won't have to worry about 'em for a good long time.

There is the strut tower mushrooming issue...but that seems to be able to prevented, or at least the risk minimized, with some aftermarket strut tower defenders.

Otherwise, normal wear and tear, and maintenance seem to be it.

 

Well personal experience with my car is like ZippyNH said, 100,000 miles for me unfortunately was when mine failed. Just two weeks ago.

I had 109,000 miles and my supercharger was failing horribly. To top it off, Im pretty sure it failing helped contribute to my Crank Pulley splitting in half because of how hard it was to turn and all the vibration from it.

I bought the car at 35,0000 miles 2 and a half years ago. I had no mods, and I put nearly all highway miles on it. Guess I drew the short straw on mine.

This was also three months after my AC condenser split at the seam along the bottom and had to be replaced.

Waiting for the next part to fail now.

 

What are the symptoms of a failing Supercharger? My 2003 MCS with less than 60k miles is having acceleration issues. Runs great on flat roads with gentle acceleration, but runs like s**t when punched or driving up steep grades. It's in an "independent performance shop" now. He's replaced the warn belt and tensioner without success... I don't want to throw money in the wrong direction.

FYI I have had a catch can for over 6 years.

 

Well my harmonic balancer ended up failing before my supercharger, so luckily it did not fail.

BUT, i noticed how much louder my engine sounded. I pulled up to a customer's site for work one day and there is a security shack, and i could hear horrible sounds echoeing off of the building.

A few weeks later, I pulled up to my parents house and my dad noticed how much louder my engine was. I have always found that someone else who is somewhat mechanically inclined that doesnt ride in your car every day notices changes better. It gradually got worse, so I never really noticed how bad it was. I had the same thing happen with a wheel bearing on my previous car.

I looked around on here, and it seemed like a lot of people had the same rattling sounds coming from the nose of the supercharger, which is where mine sounded like it was coming from.

When I actually took it off, your could hear clicking when I turned it manually by hand, so something was definitely wrong.

I did not notice so much of a loss of power. Maybe a little less mpg, but mainly the sound.

 

My R53 is an 02 with 84K. With it being 11 years old, I recognize that there will be failures of components. So I've done my best to keep it in as great of condition as I can and then figure even if it cost me $10,000 for a new engine/supercharger, it would be a special MINI because it's still an '02, R53. I once had (emphasis on "had)a Datsun 240Z and recognize that the opportunity to own a future "classic" doesn't happen that often. I just do whatever I can to take care of the rest of the car so that when I lose a big piece, I'll still feel it's a worthwhile car to repair. At this point, a new engine/supercharger would still be a bargain compared to trying to buy a new one.

 

Just got a welcomed call from my mechanic... he diagnosed my problem as a clogged CAT (I installed a Milltek Header in about 2004). Luckily I saved the old (almost new) header so it will be re-installed next week.

I am keeping my fingers crossed because I now can avoid the temptation to buy a $3k+ Sprintex high performance supercharger.

 

Agreed.

Obviously if you are willing to do the replacement yourself (supercharger) it is not that expensive. I got a SC from WMW for about $1,000 with a 17% reduced pulley.

The quote on replacing it from a local shop was about $2,500 with supercharger.

So, $1,000 isnt that bad to me. I took the opportunity to replace several other parts and probably spent a total of $1,800.

Other than my AC compressor and alternator, most stuff under my hood is new now. So, it can be affordable and is well worth it in my opinion. Still much cheaper than a new car!

 

FWIW, my supercharger seems to be in tip-top shape (2003, 132k miles). I just bought the car two days ago (), but have pretty complete records and from talking to the previous owner have no reason to doubt that everything is original and in great shape.

As for power loss over time, I don't have any recent dyno figures, but this thing pulls hard, so I doubt many of the original 163 horses have escaped over the last 10 years (though the Borla exhaust probably added a few).

 

Mine's been fine. (118K n rolling). I've been really fortunate in that MisterQ has had very few of the common issues among his generation.

Though, he has sucked in two birds through the scoop. Apparently he doesn't like birds much.

 

What happens when a supercharger "fails"? Are there different terrible things that can go wrong or do they just throw in the towel one day? I'm willing to be left with the equivalent of a standard Cooper for a few days if I can just let my s/c die instead of replacing it when there may be another 5k worth left in it. I don't mean to sound harsh by "letting it die", but it hisses loudly. Verging on screeching. Will my car be slower or completely dead when it throws in the towel?

'04 R53 S, 116k, 15% pulley.

 

CarFreak: No, problem is that the most common failure scenario is that the water pump side fails; continuing to drive the car risks overheating.

 

How will I know when that happens? How difficult/expensive is it to fix?

 

I've got a little over 100,000 miles on my 03' JCW MCS my SC is still going strong. It's making around 13psi boost, and from I've read...that's right for a JCW with the different head and pulley on it. Just to be safe, I'm going to pull the SC off here in a few months when I drop the subframe to get to my balljoints in order to chance the SC oil and give it a good once over.

So far so good (knock on wood)

 

We put just over 130,000 on our 04' S when it started to make a rattle which later turned into the water pump gear drive on the SC going out. I decided to have it rebuilt with a 15% pulley and am expecting to have it back this week. Paid $1400 to have it fixed but AutoXCooper seems to have corrected the OEM bearing issues, so we are hoping to get another 130,000 or more from it. Other than that, the car has been a blast to drive, and minor maintenance is a breeze (brakes, etc...) Even taking the old SC out only took about 4 hours, and I was taking my time with it. Installation should be about the same.

 

New Question: a few times now, if I start my '05 MCS when its warm, like after grocery shopping,.. I hear a new rattle kind of sound that lasts for a short time, 20 or 30 seconds. Is this the beginnings of the water pump drive gears failing? -Just wondering if this is a common symptom.

Edit: PS, engine oil in crank case is not low, and I do not think its the valves. I know that sound if they were just slow to get oil upon start up, but I'm pretty sure this is different.

 

I have a rattle that is only apparent when the clutch is out while idling in neutral, and completely disappears when I push the clutch in or start moving.

 

Yeah, my dual mass flywheel makes the same noise. I had MINI dealership listen to that when I first got it -I wanted to make sure it wasn't the throw out bearing.

Anyway, this is a new different sound I'm hearing.

 

Glad Im not the only one. I've only had the car 2 months. Is that a noise that the factory clutch doesn't make but aftermarket ones do?

 

I'm watching my temp gauges closely. -I think $1000 to $1500 if you can do the labor yourself.

 

Bump: sorry for the thread jack... Just seems like a related question.

 

Surprisingly what I ended up doing. Changed the engine (factory crate) and put a new SC (factory reman) on there as well. All for the same reasons.

Save the R53's!

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