Hey guys I'm new here and have been lurking for the past couple weeks. Recently picked up a high mileage R53 for what I consider a steal ($1200, picked up from a coworker). The car, as sold, is basically a German death trap. TONS of neglect, my coworker was basically forced to sell because he had been limping the car to and from work for the past couple years really lol. Anyway, as fate would have it, I thought to ask him if he'd let it go to me and I'd essentially be putting a down payment on his new (hint: older, more reliable Honda) in exchange for the Mini's title. This thread is not an introduction to that car, nor will it be the transformation thread that is inevitable.

Instead, I ask you the board to help me troubleshoot my current issue. I recently just repaired the cooling system - Coolant reservoir cracked half way, fixed that, sprung another leak at the water pump, fixed that.... and then two days after I had that repaired, while driving, the exhaust suddenly got LOUD. No knocking, no abnormal misfires, but the car sounds like it has a glass pack exhaust system. Kind of ricey, comically loud and modestly embarassing. So yeah.

To reiterate: Was driving, all of a sudden the exhaust side of the engine got loud, the car drives like it can't breathe right (loss of power), not really noticing any fumes in the cabin, no odd knocking or valve train noise, but I do have the "service engine soon" light on and I just pulled some codes. What came up was PO326, P2270 which are for the knock sensor and the Oxygen Sensor bank 1 (lean). I think in this particular case it's worth mentioning that the car is just about to hit 200K miles.

Now, two possibilities came to my mind: Plugged up CAT or I have an exhaust valve that is sticking. Other than the above mentioned, the car drives surprisingly well for its age and lack of maintnence and I am STOKED to be a new Mini Member (: The last car that I was so enthused about was my MK1 MR2. The R53 shares a lot of the feels I got behind the wheel of my MR2, I love it.

If there's any relevent info missing please ask away, I'd just like to hear your opinions. I'm mechanically inclined so you shouldn't feel the need to dumb down your phrasing too much. Any help is appreciated! Stay tuned for the transformation thread as well (:

 

Maybe the precat joint on the header failed? I've seen a few posts where this has happened.

 

What year is the R53? RB-MINI is probably right about the exhaust. It's not uncommon for this to happen with the cats. You can weld it back up as a quick fix. Might not be a bad idea to go over the vehicle and replace some routine maintenance items. I'd highly suggest checking out our tech articles on our site under MINI > Tech Info (tab at top). They should help you with a lot of replacements on your new-to-you MINI.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/...aintenance.htm

 

Would that affect the knock sensor though? I didn't imagine there being enough back pressure at the exhaust manifold if it were cracked to trigger the sensor like that.

Edit: I'm just nervous about the car lol. Hoping it's not anything too serious as I'm not ready to open up the engine yet


Edit 2: it's a 2004 sitting at 198k. I've got the o-ring for the crank sensor replaced but there's oil coming from the timing area, starting with the valve cover. I have some seals and gaskets coming from rock auto, as well as that sweet driver side window motor (;

 

Don't be nervous. With the help of this forum and our tech articles we will help you get it back in tip top shape. For P0326 it might be a knock sensor issue. I've seen more than a few of these go bad.

Sensor if needed - http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/..._pg1.htm#item2
P0326 threads -
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ck-sensor.html
http://www.obd-codes.com/p0326
David also has some pretty good info to check out for that code as well here - https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-going-on.html.

 

Not sure about the knock sensor, but the 1st bank 02 sensor is right between the precat and flex joint.

 

Did you figure out your issues? I did want to throw this in here for you and possibly others as well. We just did a DIY on the knock sensor replacement for the gen 1 MINI. It is here: http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...eplacement.htm.