MINI Cooper upgrades

[TSR53]

Were you able to check the M45 supercharger oil level while you were in there? Looks like access is easier when the MFE is moved away. Pretty nice how that goes away. Did you have to loosen the drivers side at all?

Amazing how the housing cracked. Some what of a stressed part? I wonder where the shock and or load came from to stress crack it? Might have been transfered right on up through the suspension is my guess or when a passenger side motor mount may have gone south.

[brownMINI]

My 2007 MCS just had the timing chain tensioner replacement done. On the early R56 Cooper S, the hydraulic timing chain tensioner wouldn't tension enough when cold, causing really nasty sounds at start up.

The work order mentions dropping the oil pan and removing the bits of timing chain guide that had broken off and wound up down there, and some in the oil pump intake.

So... don't buy first year cars.

[DaveP189]

Didn't get a chance to check the blower oil level , the alternator arrived faster than I planned. Definitely on the to do list, soon. One good thing about it is there's GM dealers all over the place (recommended source for the oil). Research has thus-far told me I don't need any replacement gaskets to remove the water pump from the back of the supercharger - necessary to access the rear fill plug, which is the worst culprit. Also trying to fab up some kind of magnet to fit thru the fill hole to check for metal, before I get it open :fingerscrossed: ...

The MFE is loose as soon as the 'real' aluminum bumper and those plastic mollies attaching the fender liners (four, plus one small bolt, on each side) are removed. Only other thing to disconnect is the holder/clamp for the top rad hose for more movement, but gotta fab me some of them threaded supports. The only reason to have to unbolt the subframe extensions is because the flanges interfere with forward movement. Pulling out the MFE gives an extra 8-10" of room to work (from, well, 0 inches ), and is then only limited in travel by the fog and front lights wiring harness. No kidding, another couple of these issues and I'll be ripping the front end apart as fast as Joey rips into a Subie . The main advantage, of course, is not having to pull the rad...

The alternator bolts pretty solidly to the block, I'm pretty sure it vibrated itself to death from the rear bushing going bad. Thinking back, for a while it was making a slight rattle somewhere 'down there' when first started; it's packed so snug in there, with a lot going on (it's under the supercharger and the intake manifold, right above the a/c compressor, so plenty of noise to deal with already) and with it being the rear of the alternator, the noise was tough to source (the old "drive it 'til it breaks" diagnostic). The tensioner 'hold-back' strap breaking during the belt change prior to SLMP III and the corrosion probably didn't help...


(pic after the 'new' one arrived, before the pulley swap) (easy, Nathan, it's OEM)

Jason, that sucks about your T/C tensioner - was under warranty, right? Especially since it's not a new engine (sourced from Peugeot); but who knows how much BMW re-engineered it. I firmly believe a two year old used car is the best deal - but with the use (or lack of) some of these MINI's get, I'd like to finish the 'learning process' on this car, get a few other things in my life straightened around and start looking for a low-mileage 2006 MCS for a longer term 'investment' (time and mod.s) - last year of the superchargers, and all my parts will swap (saved everything I removed for mod.s). It's much better to have time to really shop - had to buy something after my 300m was totaled, and literally stumbled onto this MINI the next day. Has happened twice in my life, and the previous time (Jan '86) I bought my GLH Turbo (new) - pattern, maybe?

I consider myself pretty lucky so far: bought w/ 47k, owned it 25 months (now 68k), 5 AutoX's, 3 SLMP w/ends, an afternoon @ Napierville, spirited driving in between, and all I've had to fix are the wiper motor (my fault), the alternator, and the LCA bushings (jinx!)...

[brownMINI]

The only reason to have to unbolt the subframe extensions is because the flanges interfere with forward movement.

Those are some of the many parts that were deemed "non-essential" as the brown MINI was put back together. There's a surprising amount of stuff that just never made it back onto the car. The benefits of this are that there's less stuff to get in the way when working on things, and when you have to actually remove something, there's less to remove. Lots of the plastic shrouds in the engine bay are gone also.

Jason, that sucks about your T/C tensioner - was under warranty, right?

Yup. They even covered the rental car I needed since it was a multi-day job to replace the timing chain, guides, sprockets, etc.

A 2006 MCS is a good idea, but I think that once the early issues are worked out of the R56 cars, they'll be an even better option. The engine in the R56 is so much better than the R50/R53. More power, smoother, and better mileage. I'm looking forward to the time when I can make my R56 into the track car. I know that leaving the engine etc stock is the smart way to go, but the prospect of having 2x the power of the brown MINI is pretty enticing.

[DaveP189]

Hmmm, nice day today - must be something to do outside ...

"Before" and "After" - they really are worth a 1000 words


(Not shown: front > springs only)

[STI NICK]

nice..hows it handle now?

[DaveP189]

I've been trying to pin down the proper "wow" -type adjective, but the one that keeps coming to mind is "stable" - based on normal driving (my normal ) the car just seems less dramatic, more 'planted' at the same speeds in the same, um, favorite sections of road I'm used to, w/ the swaybar on the softest setting...

I was concerned about ride deterioration related to the extra spring stiffness (Hotchkis says 15% stiffer), but it seems to have remained very similar - I noted the front springs were actually thinner than the stocks (!). The VHP from the 1" drop didn't hurt, either , although now the front spoiler is 2" off the ground, so I expect a trim-octomy of that in my future.

When's SLMP?

[DaveP189]

The 'drop': (looks better in person, but good for me )


Now out to re-assess after blowing out #3 plug Saturday :sigh: , a not uncommon issue w/ these special little cars - N.A.M. post: http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/fo ... ost60.html .
I'm thinking the engine got jealous about the attention the suspension is getting, vice versa from the initial engine work that led to the LCA bushings crapping out. Like trying to keep a wife and a girlfriend happy at the same time ...

[DaveP189]

So, the 'results are in', so to speak, and the MINI and I have broken into the magic under-1-minute-lap at SLMP. I credit that to (1) the suspension upgrades, (2) driver improvement (marginally ), and a tip from Julie (in my case Green Day or AC/DC turned up to about "8" ) (thanks again, Julie)...

During my quest to further improve my times, I experimented with further weight reduction, removing the MINI's front passenger seat for a couple of turns out on the track (which makes it Class 2 +7, btw). Man, I knew it was a brick, but still heavier than I thought - and a couple others who lifted on it will back me up on that - no motors, but airbag and heaters add up, I guess. Curb weight is listed at 2553#, so the F&R seat removal should get it under 2500#

- - - - - - - - - -

So on to the next issue with this "special little car":

After re-installing the seat and making sure all 4 plugs (!) were re-attached, it's showing an airbag fault light. After trying to reset via the old remove battery terminal for 5 minutes (unsuccessfully), I did some www research on the MINI forums and discovered that the light can only be reset with a special diagnostic tool (supposedly only at a MINI dealer - yeah, right). A regular OBD II reset tool will not work.

If anyone has or knows of one of these to borrow or rent, please let me know. FWIW, a couple of posters had mentioned that they had just taken out the bulb, but supposedly all the airbags become disabled if a fault is shown in that system, and as it's also my DD I guess I should get it taken care of. Thanks in advance...

[8valvegrowl]

OOoh, yeah. I had a similar thing happen when I pulled my drivers seat out to install my 4-point. Turns out that you have to disconnect the negative of the battery BEFORE removing the seat harness, or it trips the Airbag/SRS system until factory reset. I feel your pain. I had to go to the dealer to get mine reset, too (and I only go to PJ's on pain of death.)

Unfortunately, I don't know of any MINI specialists in the area that might have the tool (Snowfire in Waterbury has a lot of factory ECU type tools, VAG-COM, TechII, etc. But I don't believe they have MINI stufff, although you could give them a call.)