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Stock Problems/IssuesDiscussions related to warranty related issues and repairs, or other problems with the OEM parts and software for MINI Cooper (R50), Cabrio (R52), and Cooper S (R53) MINIs.
Glad you are getting a short break. I did my undergraduate in a 5 year combined technical and business program. Full technical degree course load plus all the mandatory commerce degree credits. We had the highest credit hours of any undergraduate programs, and better yet, the program was brand new so not yet accredited at the time. We were the guinea pigs.
The broken drain back valve definitely explained your misfortune. You have to buy the entire housing. eBay has a lot of them. Evidently it broke likely from the PO using cheap aftermarket filter that does not have the plastic ring to prevent the paper filter from tearing out the drainback valve.
It's been 10k miles since previous owner had the car. Fairly certain it's my own doing. :( Regardless, I'll take note and make sure I get the updated filter housing and correct filters moving forward. Was using oem filters without a ring.
Yes, you will need filter above, it all started when MINI changed the housing and filter back in the day. You cannot get the old housing style new, just in junkyards and used.
Happy weekend to all! Time to tinker.
A couple updates for you guys:
1. Hot.Damn was super awesome and is shipping me out a used filter housing. Great guy to work with, huge thanks to him. Turns out I was using the correct filter, by the way.
2. PelicanParts promptly fixed the shipping madness with UPS and expedited me another box via Golden State Overnight. All my parts came! Started cleaning stuff and doing seals today. Whoohoo!!!
3. Got the supercharger serviced and cleaned last night, and separated the horns. Since it's going to be a week or so before I can reinstall the filter housing and motor, I'm going crazy detailing and painting stuff. I think I'm going to paint all the cast bits in the bay candy white to match my roof. Thoughts?
4. My brake master was leaking under ~7psi of pressure, and when I replaced it this last week and flushed the fluid with ATE TYP200, I tried to clean the rusted paint and made it worse. Should I pull the master, sand it down, and repaint? Does it make a big difference? Will it rust through?
I'm going crazy detailing and painting stuff. I think I'm going to paint all the cast bits in the bay candy white to match my roof. Thoughts?
Since you ask for thoughts here are mine. You've got biggest fishes to fry why bother. They do nothing except likely more work down the road if the paint does not stand up. I would not bother with the booster which paint has been stripped by brake fluid either unless you plan to take to the Pebble Beach to be judged. In AZ the booster housing without protection from paint will very likely outlast the diaphragm inside.
Good paint job takes a lot of work and is messy. I avoid painting at all cost, probably I've done more house and car painting than most.
You should spend more time going a good job on what counts, and I think you have a rather big plate to chew.
Candy white in the engine bay could look pretty amazing! Looking forward to seeing it.
Originally Posted by r53coop
Everything I can find says the thread is a 3/8" British Pipe Thread and not NPT as what is being sold on this side of pond. What did you order from Summit? I checked with the them and they said they have no BSPT fittings.
I think you (r53coop) had already seen it but, we did a short write-up on this issue I wanted to reference here for anyone else: NPT vs BSPT
I am a worshipper of German (or any other countries) rational design pioneered by Bauhaus. Form follows function sounds pas·sé, I know. Anything that embellishes without a functional justification should be examined and questioned.
In my view, Mr. Stephenson had done an incredible job on styling of the Gen 1 Mini and maintaining the lineage to the classic mini Coopers. Most gravitate to the fancier sell-up limited productions but I do like the base models a lot because I know they are under his close guidance, more so than those suffered the influence of the MINI marketeers and bean counters.
How did you get your s/c and horn so clean? I tried but didn't get close to what you achieved. Congrats.
About three hours at my kitchen counter, two glasses of **** Creek bourbon, the remaining quarter bottle of supercharger oil, some shop towels, and a pick tool for the hard-to-reach areas!! Time is the best tool.
Originally Posted by CravenSpeed
Candy white in the engine bay could look pretty amazing! Looking forward to seeing it.
Aww shucks thanks cravenspeed. I'm glad this is as controversial of a topic as it seems to be, because I already started cleaning up my manifold! I'm about 4 hours in with a wire brush and a drill. Currently deciding if I should go ahead and use my heat-resistant Rust-Oleum rattle can, or get it properly powdercoated. I don't want to spend more than $50, so I'm currently gravitating towards rattle can. I have two spare manifolds and charger horns, so if it doesn't look good, I can always go back to stock in like, an hour.
Originally Posted by pnwR53S
^ I respectfully disagree. If I were in the market for a pre-owned R53, I will walk right away seeing all that embellishments in the engine bay.
BTW, what do NPT vs BSPT, or r53coop has to do with this thread? Barking up the wrong tree is my best guess.
About six months ago before I blew the motor we were discussing oil pressure gauge adapters to troubleshoot my oil pressure light, and how summit only sells NPT adapters!
As far the embellishments, I'd usually agree. However, this isn't my first rodeo. I absolutely RUINED my last 53's engine bay with questionably-painted bits, and I'm not about to repeat my mistakes. I've done a good bit of research, and I really do think this will be pretty classy when it's done.
Originally Posted by AoxoMoxoA
Here's my thought since you asked.
I'm not sure that anything painted white would remain white for very long in an engine bay - unless you plan on making this a show car only...
With this, I agree. However, I'm planning on selling this car and getting something RWD in a year or so, and I think having some classy color match would increase value to the right buyer. I'm also color matching a harness bar and door panels. I'm trying to build the perfect "buy and track on day one" 53.
Anyway, time for weekend updates. I went crazy last night with simple green and white brushes in the engine bay. Got all the crud off of my chassis!
Also replaced those damn pesky shift cables. Take note of which cable bushing blew out! That's why we buy OEM for the important bits, sawdustman. The cable from 2002 is still good...the one from 2016 is broken.
Final update before my boss castrates me for taking too long of a lunch: I finally got my flexpipe in for my blown magnaflow manifold!!!! I should have it back on friday from a e36/s chassis tuning shop up the street that's going to teach me how to weld. I'm stoked to get this wrapped up and get back to tearing up mountain roads. I'll keep you guys posted, and as always, happy motoring!!
Well, it's been an intense week. Got a second job sweeping the floors at the tuning shop up the street (in exchange for free welding lessons), which has cut down on my weekday tinkering time quite a bit. Thought about pulling the brake booster, but after pnw's advice, looking at that brake booster thread, and a diy, decided to forego the hours of work to get a non-rusty booster. Screw it!
On Saturday, I finished getting the manifold bits cleaned up, and decided to not powdercoat them either. Went with some automotive ceramic paint and a few coats of high temp clear for the horns, left the manifold brushed aluminum, and decided ill powdercoat my second set of bits if I like how it looks.
On Sunday, my friends convinced me to give myself a break an go camping for a night. We went to tortilla flats, one of my favorite roads in AZ, and found a nice spot off the beaten path. Saw an insane sunset, made a fire, enjoyed some quality refreshments, and camped out in our 10 person tent.
Woke up the following morning to a beautiful sunrise, and hiked around, picked up trash (found exploded fairings from two wrecked motorcycles less than a mile apart), and explored the area until my buddies woke up. Really wish my DSLR didn't get stolen last semester, it was beautiful. Hopefully you guys can still live vicariously through my crappy cellphone pics!
Point being, when we finally got home, I was charged up!! Went crazy getting the motor in and connecting everything. As of 10pm last night, all I have left is wiring harness, front clip, fluids, and airbox!! THE END IS NEAR!!!
Hey, thanks!! Although, the paint already got dinged up from wrestling with the motor/trans during installation, so I'm definitely going to have everything powdercoated eventually. I have a roll bar, other mounts, the manifold, and other little bits I'd like to match too, so I'm going to just get my car running, save up some money, and then make the move at a local powdercoating shop that said they'd hook me up. Will keep you guys posted, as usual, but for now, I just want to get the thing running perfect before tackling all the little projects that have been building up over the last six months.
Originally Posted by CooperSAZ
Wow, you've been busy!
Great pics!
With all the fun you are having now, I will come to you with questions! lol
Haha, don't get ahead of yourself, coop. I'm still a clumsy, mistake-prone child when it comes to the world of automotive modification. Speaking of which, I think you'll get a kick out of this:
I got the car assembled last night at like 2am, and tried starting it.
. It seems to be coming from the bell housing area, and it dies very quickly after cutting the motor. My intuition says vacuum, my fears say something clutch/flywheel related, although I have no idea what could be wrong there, I torqued and aligned everything.
My shifter cable that handles the fore/aft movement from the shifter is broken almost the entire way around where it seats into the transmission bracket, so it's barely hanging in there. Getting it in gear requires quite a shove, which is making me nervous. Drives great in gear though. Anyone ever had to temporarily hold shifter cables in place? What did you use? Can't afford shifter cables atm.
Otherwise, hope everyone's enjoying their Sunday. I know I will be. Troubleshooting issues on a driving car is way more fun than troubleshooting issues with sitting parts.
01-01-2018, 10:14 PM
In AZ the booster housing without protection from paint will very likely outlast the diaphragm inside. 
of German (or any other countries) rational design pioneered by Bauhaus. Form follows function sounds pas·sé, I know. Anything that embellishes without a functional justification should be examined and questioned.
my last 53's engine bay with questionably-painted bits, and I'm not about to repeat my mistakes. I've done a good bit of research, and I really do think this will be pretty classy when it's done.
