I just bought an '03 Cooper S with 78,000 miles and and need a little guidance b/c i hate to fix stuff and find out later there was a better or more desirable option i didn't know about. Questions are below. I'm planning on doing an oil change and coolant flush asap b/c records were iffy. Ill use mfg spec'd fluids. The ppi indicated a very worn clutch and the passenger side front shock tower (bushing ?) is cracked. The rubber piece that you can see looking into the shock mount hole from the top. The metal is not cracked, but I haven't checked for "mushrooming".

1. How important is it really to use a "mini" mechanic or shop for maintenance (oil changes, etc)?
2. How about for bigger jobs like clutch?
3. Besides oil change and coolant flush, is here any other maintenance items that should be completed asap?
4. Is there any recommended clutch kit that's a matching bolt up like the oem, but improved somehow?
5. Is there anything else that should be looked at, replaced, upgraded while the clutch is being done (yes we'll look at the flywheel when its open)?
6. Should I replace both shock mounts or is that not really necessary?
7. Does adding shock mount reinforcement plates all it takes to remedying the cracking/mushrooming issue? (I already tossed the run flats...)

Thank you.

 

Avoid like the plague a dealership, find a good/reliable independent in your area. Check with other MINI people or a nearby club or try this URL to locate one. My main wrench could tell me the sky is orange and I wouldn't have to look. That's the kind of guy you want. If there's more than one in your area, go to the one with a brew pub nearby.
https://www.minirepairshops.com/
It sounds like you've got a good game plan in mind.
The strut tower bushing, do both and add plates while you're at it. They won't mitigate bushing wear but will prevent mushrooming, a weakness in 1st Gen models.
Set a firm interval for replacing fluids and normal wear items and keep good records.

 

Thanks for responding. Is there a generally preferred plate or are they all basically equal? I read on another forum about a clutch kit that has the crank seals, clutch and flywheel and that there are you tube vids demontrating these installs are driveway mechanic friendly. Does that sound right ..... that the clutch and shock mount could be installed by a driveway mechanic?

Thank you.

 

Thanks for responding. Is there a generally preferred plate or are they all basically equal? I read on another forum about a clutch kit that has the crank seals, clutch and flywheel and that there are you tube vids demontrating these installs are driveway mechanic friendly. Does that sound right ..... that the clutch and shock mount could be installed by a driveway mechanic?

Thank you.

 

The Mini isn't an extremely difficult car to work on...There's just a whole lot to remove when doing work on the front end of the engine. A clutch replacement can be overwhelming for some. Once you do the job, you'll understand why they charge a good chunk of money to replace.

Shock mounts can be replaced by a driveway mechanic as long as they know how to disassemble a Mac-Pherson Strut assembly.

It's hard to answer the question regarding the driveway mechanic without knowing what they cant/can do. I wouldn't trust just anyone with changing out the clutch on my Mini.

 

Fair enough. Im going to drive around and get some quotes. Thanks.
​​​​​

 

You have purchased a car 14 years old and with mileage that unless maintained properly, allot of items have seen better days. If you are not able to do the work yourself, then depending on the price you payed, there is a very real possibly that will put more money into the car then you will ever be able to recoup. Even subtracting labor values, the cost of parts can also you put you over the top.

1. How important is it really to use a "mini" mechanic or shop for maintenance (oil changes, etc)? Learning curve come to mind here. Is a Non-Mini shop going to pad the labor estimate?
2. How about for bigger jobs like clutch? I can turn wrenches and have done allot of work on my cars over they years. There are certain things I will not do and a clutch is that type as I do not have a full car lift and I am not going to attempt the work with the car up on jacks. Some may, I am not.
3. Besides oil change and coolant flush, is here any other maintenance items that should be completed asap? Belts, belt tensioner, all fluids (brake, coolant, power steering), crank sensor o-ring, water pump, t-stat, power steering hoses. With the year you also have the early model harmonic damper/crank pulley that is not the best.
4. Is there any recommended clutch kit that's a matching bolt up like the oem, but improved somehow? Opinions come into play here and some will comment, I am not going to. We have vendors here that also have full garages mechanics. Pretty sure that some other members will chime in as well as a couple shops like Way Motors or Detroit Tuned.
5. Is there anything else that should be looked at, replaced, upgraded while the clutch is being done (yes we'll look at the flywheel when its open)? Depending on the area the car was driven, the rubber portions of the suspension may require replacement.
6. Should I replace both shock mounts or is that not really necessary? If the other mount is not cracked, you could hold off. What is your budget?
7. Does adding shock mount reinforcement plates all it takes to remedying the cracking/mushrooming issue? (I already tossed the run flats...) Tower reinforcement plates cannot hurt and considering the mileage on the car and metal fatigue, I would put on. Remember that "below mount" plates change the camber setting.

 

Thanks for the detailed answer. I had a mini certified shop perform a ppi and most of the soft parts (belts, hoses, etc) are good so ill deal with those as they need it. Ill look into the tensioner and dampener. Its an older car (but pretty fun to drive) that will be the back up to my Defender when im done restoring it so i dont mind spending money on maintenance items. At least they wear as used - imo, better than blowing $ on a payment and insurance for all of about 3k miles per year and a bunch of driveway time. Anyway, I need the clutch so im more concerned now with the parts that can only be accesed by pulling the trans. We'll look at the trans mounts when we do that work and i think the engine mounts. Are the tower reinforcement plates the same as the shock mount plates? I dont really want to change any of the engineering unless its very highly recommended for preservation purposes. Thanjs. This was helpful.

 

Hello, thought we would chim in. you need a clutch asap so we highly recommend this one: http://www.detroittuned.com/valeo-mi...tch-kit-gen-1/ you will need a few other things that are linked in the description. Also here are some great strut mounts: http://www.detroittuned.com/mini-cooper-strut-mount/ they are the OEM ones with out the OEM prices. also be weary of cheap aftermarket ones. they will fail so quickly that they extra dollars spent on the good ones will make it well worth it. you might want to do both and think about shocks at the same time as they normally last 100K or so on the MINI but every shock manufacture recommends 50K Miles. give it a good look over.

as for DIY or a good MINI only shop, it all depends on how good your are and he conditions of each part your going to install. like shocks, on the MINI it's not a big deal as they are not under a lot of pressure. but take a care like a ford focus, they are under extreme pressure and you need a spring tool. some MINI items are so hard to do unless you have a special tool that it might not be worth it to DIY it. or what is your time worth? we try to keep our prices fair for most jobs. like that clutch is 800 labor ans we have it done in a day, while you might take all weekend or even 2 weekends...not seeing your friends/significant other, bleeding, asking friends for that favor, special tools that no local place is going to have, etc. it COULD cost you way more in time, parts and stress than 800 dollars in labor ( whole job is normally 1200-1600 depending on parts). We always help out where we can, but it's always have a trained Tech/MINI Person look the car over to make sure your replacing the right parts and not adding extra costs. we get calls all the time like i am replacing part x, what do i need...replay: "we never have to replace Part X, how do you know it's bad.....long pause..." so there is a benefit having a MINI shop look it over and or do the work. we have tricks on parts that need to be done and if it doesn't you end up having a very bad and long day. Hope that helps.

Chad
Detroit Tuned

 

Wish we had a local indy MINI shop on NAM that posted great info like Detroit Tuned! There are some shops but either they don't have time or interest to post or they are crazy expensive.

 

Good advice from Chad @ DT. Had head work done on my MINI by them. Great advice on what exactly needed to be done, and how much it would cost. When my clutch needs done I will be taking the MINI to them.