Hey Gang, For those who don't know me, my name is Chris and I work at a reputable European repair shop in NYC. I have been in the Mini scene since '05, after picking up a RHD Classic Mini 998. Shortly after, I bit at my first R53 and was hooked. After a few months, I replaced my first R53 with my current MC40, which to-date is my personal favorite production model (although a limited production coupe version could top it). I am going to take you with me on a road trip throughout the course of this thread. Along the way I will be sorting common issues on my MC40. There will also be some cool stuff and surprises in store, so sit back and enjoy. :beer Some background on the car: 04 Cooper S MC40, unknown number. Bought it in late '06 with around 16K on it. It has since taken across the country multiple times; back and forth to Florida, California, parts of the midwest and northeast, etc. It has also served as my dedicated track car and college commuter (about 65 miles round trip) for that entire time, and has since experienced just about every common issue and nuance the R53 has to offer. There are just about 125000 miles on the clock as of typing this post. My first project in the turnaround has been to overhaul the power steering system which has recently bit it. I changed the original rack about a year ago as it was seeping fluid through one of the boots, and repaired the little cooling fan a couple of times. It wasn't until about three weeks ago that I lost the pump completely. Components: Rebuilt my original pump (5 year warranty) New Fan Reservoir O-ring for pressure hose 1L CHF-11S Comparison of the old fan that I fixed at least twice, and the new fan: Cleaned up the bracket: Going in: How nice it is to have power steering back. Special thanks for this post: ModuleMaster for the pump rebuild :beer Greg T. for the images and support :beer
Hey Chris, I like your flush mount driving lights.... Keep all the power steering parts for when MINI finally gets around to making their recall for this issue....
The driving lights were one of those late night projects where you should really stop and trim the next morning...They look good from that angle, now that I am looking at it. I guess I am my hardest critic. Looking to replace the bumper with an aero, but probably won't flush mount them unless I find a bumper to cut on the cheap. I still have my original pump, it was rebuilt. I do have the invoices for all the parts. We will see if that crosses our border. It is really sad to see people get sticker shocked when the drive in with a bad pump. Some sell their cars after they've had enough. On the flip side, it creates a market for the DIYers or potential project cars. Same for the CVT cars as well. Cars depreciate, part prices don't. Episode two is in the works ...
Episode Two: Picked up my R56 rear trailing arms. Open the box, and to my surprise included the hubs, control arms, wheel speed sensors, bolts, and the coilover assembly. I will call that a win. We all know that assembly is the reverse of disassembly, so I won't put you through the removal of stock parts. Some parts had to be transferred. Here is the old headlight level sensor going onto the new arm: With the sensor in place, the upper arms were all set. Next is to install the trailing arms: Trailing arms with control arms: A little extra rigidity for the upper arms: All bolts get anti-seized Starting to look like a car: Special shout out to Way @ WayMotorWorks for the bushings below, which you will need when doing the trailing arm swap, as well as the M14 to M12 wheel studs: Unfortunately, the onset of a nasty migraine meant I had to speed up the process (which meant less photos, more work). With a new alignment, the car rides great (also set the front toe to 0 degrees). The weight difference is very noticable in the trailing arms alone, which is about 10 lb per corner. I needed some assistance removing the stock ones, and could install the aluminum ones without help. I set all bolts to final torque at ride height while on the alignment ramps. The R56 control arms weigh slightly less as well, although reinforcing the uppers probably cancelled that effect. On the upside, I now have a rear camber adjustment :smile5: R56 wheel speed sensors plug right into the body harness and are plug-n-play. My parts came from a Clubman, so you are not limited in the search if sourcing used parts. Special thanks: Chan for the assistance with install :beer Way @WayMotorWorks for the bushings and wheel studs :beer WeberBrosAuto for being thorough in the parts supplied :beer
Is this a special procedure, I didn't know that made a difference? ....."I set all bolts to final torque at ride height while on the alignment ramps"...... Nice thread, enjoying it.... Short of your migraine, pictures are appreciated...
:cornut: Thank you very much for all of this 'how to/info/photo.' Around here, you're going to get real popular, real quick. We loves 'show and tell'(alright,no comments from the virile peanut gallery please:devil::arf::biggrin5::ihih::lol Jason
The tightening at ride height is an Audi procedure. If you think about it, tightening at full droop (in the air) will clamp the bushings, which will in turn apply a rotational torque once the car is dropped. It might be on the books at MINI somewhere, although I have never known any negative result from doing otherwise. Probably me being crazy :crazy: Not sure if you're serious, but I hope you will enjoy TIG welding Aluminum and SS :smile5:
:cornut: Yes Sir I'm serious and I do enjoy all that stuff as in my career field, I've never gotten to do any of that. Jason
Episode 3, My new gauge pod. Blank radio plate, Mini OEM part: Stock (on an MC40) aux gauge harness and oil temp/volt indicators relocated to center harness: Added an oil pressure gauge to the mix: Center console install is in place. I am still waiting on the pressure sensor for the oil pressure, and will be swapping out the volt meter for cylinder head temp (my car has two volt meters :blush2. I bought the coolant temp gauge years ago and lost it :mad2: If anyone knows where I can get a matching oil pressure/coolant temp gauge with the grey background, please let me know! Otherwise I will be replacing the oil temp with the next closest match. I also banged out my clutch Thursday night, will get some pics up, but nothing overly exciting to report. Stay tuned!
Some shots of the clutch job, as promised. Bumper off The worst part of the job, getting the tie rods off. Subframe out axles trans trans out flywheel Old clutch, not bad for 100K and 30 track days. Old throwout bearing and guide sleeve compared with new New output shaft seal Lots of grease Back together Not too bad for a weeknight, starting at 7PM
Crank pulley out: New parts. Crank bolt, seal, and TEMPORARY 4% overdrive pulley (it's a band aid) Front crank seal needs to go as well: New seal in, compared with old seal: Still waiting on the more exciting parts to roll in the door
The mystery box remains. In the meantime, I started breaking down this nice 5k mileage lifecycle charger: All that peeling coating... Breaking down the Rotor assembly: Removing the coating: Looking the business: Ready to be sent out Monday morning :wink:
Started porting my M45 housing tonight, then was asked to build a front bumper support for Mr.Rictus' build in the VW scene. It's a 24V GTI with dual GT28R turbos and a water to air intercooler setup. The bar I made will protect the Water to Air heat exchanger. Bent at 35 degrees from some roll cage tubing we had laying around. Its bent from Mild Steel DOM tubing and TIG welded to the plates for the factory bumper support. I then mixed up some paint (Black Sapphire Metallic, a BMW color) and sprayed it. They now owe me big time for taking me away from my MC40 project