Working on the Mini

"StudyStudyStudy" (jesterjin)
02/25/2019 at 12:05 • Filed to: None

This weekend I dove into the new to me Mini Cooper S.

Nice little pile of parts to install.

First off was the hood shocks. Can’t work under in the bay if I have to support the hood with one hand the whole time. The process involved using a flathead to pry the spring retainer off the ball ends and putting in the new ones. Really really easy and highly effective.

Next was the dipstick. They used fiberglass for the stick which is new to me. Apparently they can fray and eventually fall into the oil pan requiring you to try and fish it out or drop the pan. You can see the discoloration on this one either where it is starting to fail or where someone glued it back together.

For a little more than double the price of a replacement you can get this nice aftermarket one that is all metal construction.

Next comes the strut top defenders.

The lack of a spare tire means the MCS came equipped with run flat tires. That combined with a very short stiff spring means the shock pounds out the shock tower, mushrooming it. This can cause problems down the road so best address it now. This kit is more expensive, but easier to install so I took the easy way out.

Hard to make out, but the bolts are definitely bowing out slightly already.

Hopefully problem solved.

Next point to address was the excess vibration in the car.

This was what the mount looked like. Compressed and some clear signs of hydraulic fluid leaking. Kind of a bummer it was not taken care of, but really I don’t mind getting my hands dirty.

New mount was ordered from amazon, then quickly ordered from ECS as they were substantially cheaper.

Mod Mini has excellent tutorials so I just followed along. Jacking up the mini was interesting as it involves side jacking as it seems there aren’t really any front and rear points? I’ll have to take a look underneath sometime.

With everything removed here is the mount, the mount is definitely sunk into the reservoir and freely moves. Definitely would explain the vibration as the mount has a thin layer of rubber sandwiched between metal when it fails.

And now the room with the new mount. I thought I was going to have to go around and squish and jam foam to keep panels from vibrating, but all of that is gone now.

Still have a few more basic things/faults to address, supercharger remote fill kit is being shipped and I may spring for an aluminum overflow tank . I have a rear sway bar and bushings on order, and a new shift knob and hand brake handle will be looked at . I think I’ll have to add something like an intake as I have grown accustomed to driving on sound and the Mini does not hold a candle to the Z. A pulley is definitely on the list as well.

DISCUSSION (10)

Gerry197 > StudyStudyStudy
02/25/2019 at 12:16

Nice, love these DIYs, keep up it up. Are you going to get or create a spare tire kit since I’m assuming it’s no longer on run flats?

I was looking at a few Minis as a weekend fun car, anything I should really look out for? I know the newer 6-speeds on the MKI is the way to go, but that’s about it.

StudyStudyStudy > Gerry197
02/25/2019 at 12:52

Thanks!

I thought about purchasing a spare and putting it in the rear seat area, with the Mini if you get a flat in the front and you have to change the tire then you have to take it off the rear and swap them around and it can be quite a hassle so AAA may be better. We will have to see how I feel once I get the new tires. My current car from the factory didn’t come with a spare and just a compressor and a can of fix a flat so maybe I can do something similar.

I’m really new to this, but I would say to t ry to get the 05-06 models. The 03-04 used plastic in the shifter linkage and when that goes you lose all the even gears and it is a bit of a hassle to replace. I’ve been told service history is really important so one with good records will be better . Clutch jobs are like 8-10 billable hours so keep that in mind if it is still on the original clutch. The common leak areas are the valve cover gasket the oil pan and the crank sensor o-ring. Make sure there isn’t any grumbling from the supercharger as that can be an expensive repair. Kicking the front tires is actually useful information on the Mini as it will tell if the control bushing has failed which can be a time intensive job if you do it the right way. Mod Mini has an excellent video summing up most things.

Gerry197 > StudyStudyStudy
02/25/2019 at 12:57

Gotcha, thanks for the info and the suggestion, checking out the site now.

Future Heap Owner > StudyStudyStudy
02/25/2019 at 15:32

Nice work, thanks for sharing.

When you replaced the motor mount, how did you support the motor? Did you jack it up by the oil pan with a shim to spread the load?

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > Future Heap Owner
02/25/2019 at 18:13

Just a wooden block on the floor jack is enough. Also, the driver side mount is not disconnected so between those two it works out fine. (FYI, I had unmounted the engine as well to change the SC pulley on my Mini )

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > Gerry197
02/25/2019 at 18:14

Clutch is DIYable if you are up for it.

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > StudyStudyStudy
02/25/2019 at 18:16

Nice! I just picked up Ferodo 2500 pads for mine. I’ll probably change them in a month or so.

I need to reinforce my strut towers. They have already mushroomed :(

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > StudyStudyStudy
02/26/2019 at 12:52

Aftermarket dipstick yo. +5hp

StudyStudyStudy > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability
02/27/2019 at 02:31

Yea, mine seemed to already be mushroomed a little bit so I figured I should try and put a stop to it.

I haven’t even looked at the brakes on the car, I probably should take a look sooner than later.

You got me looking at intakes and pulleys lol.

StudyStudyStudy > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
02/27/2019 at 02:32

It weighs quite a bit more than the stock one so negative 5hp yo, lol