Hi folks

My 2006 mini , 75k miles, started misfiring and riding rough .

they diagnosed that one of the cylinders is misfiring due to a burnt exhaust valve and it's about $2500 repair =( "REBUILD CYLINDER HEAD, REPLACE EXHAUST VALVES"

does this mean the others might start failing too .. we have been thinking of buying a new car next year so maybe time to just do it now. kelly blue book values it now at about $3k if it was not having this problem.

I special ordered it and have had it since 'birth' so a bit attached .. this is quite sad.

looking for some experiences to see what people did in similar situation or advice.

 

First of all my condolences. I special ordered my first MINI in 03 and it met an untimely end a couple of years ago when a snow plow made an unexpected turn in front of me. I know how attached we can become to these things after this much time, though mine had more than twice the miles then that yours does now.

Also I'd say that I think you could probably get $3,000 for that car as it sits, so don't believe everything KBB says. However, if I were you, I'd see this as a blessing, it's the perfect excuse to put an upgraded head on the car, and then enjoy it for another 100,000 miles.

Revolution motor works, sneed for speed, and I think detroit tuned all have improved heads with varying levels of performance/price depending on what you're looking for. You could get a head that is ported, has slightly larger valves, and a performance cam, and put that on there, it'd be good as new, but with even more power and fun.

anyways, I would fix it. It's only got 75k miles which means it's still in it's prime.

 

I have to disagree, it is worth about $1-$1.5K depending on your locale. I recently bought a R56 with 57K miles and a bad engine for $1100. I do agree that you should fix the head if that is all that is wrong with it. You most likely will find other issues once you start looking. You need to ask yourself, would you pour more money into it if it turns out that you will need more work? If you were already thinking about a new car then my guess would be no.

 

If you could do the work yourself it is one thing but if you need to have a shop do the work and the cost is about the worth of car, for me, it time to move on.

Assuming this is an exhaust valve. In this case the valve was not closing correctly that led to the exhaust gas eating the valve away. The question is what made the valve hang up. If the engine is opened up and at those miles it would make sense to do a valve job.

 

You didn't say it was supercharged, so if it's not the value isn't as high.

If you have the money I would fix it. As mentioned there are vendors that sell replacement heads. Call around.

Sneed lists a head for $900.

www.sneed4speed.com/mini-s-r53-cylinder-head/

Way will rebuild yours for $680

http://www.waymotorworks.com/cylinde...0-r52-r53.html

Way might also have a replacement head for you too.

Easiest way would be to get a replacement head and drop it off with the car and just have them switch them. Let them order the gasket and head bolts so they feel like they aren't losing too much money on the parts.

Any competent shop can do this. If you find someone honest the total should come in lower than $2500 and you know the head will have been done correctly.

If you go this route your engine should before great for at least another 75k miles. Just make sure you always use premium gas.

 

Recently had the same problem on my 06 Justa. Code showing misfire on Cyl 3. Compression/leak down tests confirmed that the valve was bad. Cost about $2300 to have work done at Detroit Tuned (great people). This included 8 exhaust valves, and head re-decked. They also fitted new timing chain, tensioner and guides, new thermostat, front main seal (I think), plus oil change, coolant, and all of the necessary gaskets and seals. Work done at about 130000 miles.

Car is now running like a champ.

Yes, $2300 represents a significant percentage of the value of the car, but this my daily driver that I absolutely love. Can't see me ever selling the MINI.

 

thanks everyone for the input. Talked for a long time with Mike and Rob at German performance services and decided to go ahead and repair it with them.

Picking it up now. Fingers crossed!!!

 

Hello, all. I need your help desperately. I did post this on another thread as well.
I have 2010 justa and had misfires (can't remember which cylinders) last Nov. and did seaform few times (thru PVC tube) and it seemed all got cleared. Few weeks ago, the idle rough came back (always happens when the engine is warmed up - 20-30 min) and got P0301 code. I did normal troubleshooting (switching the coil and plugs), but always comes back with P0301. I am suspecting it could be the exhaust valves, but I am about to do compression test But before doing so I looked inside and found something I was afraid to see. Sorry for the blur shots, but the cylinder 1&4 have black buildup or something (more on cylinder 1 than cylinder 4) that I don't see on cylinder 2 &3.
The Mini has been relatively trouble free and has almost 140k miles on it. What course of actions should I take to resolve this issue or do I need to start looking for another car?

Thank you for your time and your help in advance.




cylinder1



cylinder2



cylinder3



cylinder4

 

That looks like more than exhaust valves.

 

You have a Gen2 Prince engine and this is the Gen1 Tritec engine. I see you posted this in the Gen2 section as well so hopefully between the two you will get some responses.

 

sorry about posting on 1st Gen forum.
I'm afraid someone would say it's more than my expectation.. :(
But any insights or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

jh

 

Rather have you ask a question than ask no question at all.

Normally that code means a burnt valve. Suggest a leak down test.

 

Thanks... by looking at those pictures, do you think much repairs would be needed to clean up the mess? are those the buildups of some sort or from the fuel not burnt up?

 

If it is a burnt valve, and if you cannot do the work yourself, I am thinking there is at least $2,000 involved.

 

I'd disagree with that. New guides are $70 or so. You can get aftermarket valves for about $13 a piece. Head gasket $80, head bolts $100. As long as the head doesn't need to be replaced I think you could be out the door for just over $1k if you have a good shop. I think book rate is 6-8 hours. So at $85/hour that's around $700 for the head swap, about $350 in parts, plus the labor of swapping out the valves - I had the valves ground down, all new guides installed, head cleaned and decked for $250. That puts you around $1300 or so.

Although, that's best case scenario and doesn't necessarily fix the problem that caused the burnt valve. If that's a lot of oil, it's possible the head is cracked. If it's cracked I'd add another $500 if you're going used, or another $1k if you're going performance/refab from a vendor. You won't need to deck/clean an aftermarket head, but you won't need to do a valve job either. Again, not necessarily solving the original issue, but repairing the damage.

 

Thanks, guys.
Oh, boy... at this point, trying to do a compression test would be a mute point. I can do some small repairs (brakes, head cover gaskets, etc), but not such major one. I guess I have to take it in to a local shop. :(

Once again, thanks for your help.

 

Compression test is SUPER easy. It's literally:
1. unplug the fuel relay
2. Unscrew spark plug
3. Screw compression tester in
4. Turn ignition on for ~10 seconds
5. Repeat for cylinders 2, 3, 4

That's all. Should take 20 minutes or so.

 

I know, CSP. Even though I've never done it before, looking at youtube it seems easy. I even bought the kit. Would the wet tests be required? And what would the compression test provide? general idea that there would be leakage(s) on cylinder(s)?

 

A compression test will reveal an issue but it will not pinpoint where it is on a 4-stroke engine. A leak down is better relative to a burnt valve.

The DIY cheap way of testing for a burnt exhaust valve is to take a thin piece of paper (paper towel, dollar bill, kleenex) and place it by the exhaust when the car is running. No burnt valves and the exhaust will be a constant positive pressure, the paper will stay extended from the pressure. If you have a burnt valve then the pressure will not be constant, there will be a flutter. Some old timers can do the test with their hand as the during the cycle the burnt valve cylinder will pull air back into the exhaust.

 

Sorry, man. I misunderstood and thought you were worried about performing the compression test. What r53coop said is correct.

Not sure how I forgot about the dollar bill test as I did it myself only ~3 weeks ago. Sounds silly, but it's indicative of a problem. I failed the dollar bill test but didn't have any burnt valves (that I noticed). I did have 4 cracks in the head, though. So give it a shot as it takes roughly 6 seconds.

I'm still unsure of what the black film is, though. Is that just oil? carbon buildup?

 

r53scoop, that's awesome... I can do that, for sure.
Since the code always comes on at cylinder 1, I thought that the leak down test would be better than the compression test, as you mentioned. And it's not a turbo, so I'm not sure if those dark film would be carbon buildups. It's very strong on cylinder 1 and some on cylinder 4, but none on cylinder 2 & 3. Should I expect a cracked head? hopefully a cracked head gasket?

 

If there are exhaust valve issues I am wondering whether due to incomplete detonation the fuel and oil from the cylinder walls are building up on the head.

 

 

We are in Detroit: http://www.detroittuned.com/contact-us/

 

Where is the shop located at? I need my car to be fixed like yours.

Do a search for their location on google maps. Real easy to get to off of I75. Great people to work with, who will do the the work needed and advise you on what really needs done.