The MINI I'm servicing today had a couple odd twists. The tensioner stop strap was broken at its base (preventing lock out) posing a challenge for removing the belt with the tension release tool in the way. Care had to be taken to prevent the strut mount from damaging the crankshaft pulley when tension was removed. Then there was the problem of getting the tensioner assembly off with a loaded spring ready to send the arm flying; tense moments. Being careful is not required if it's a case of a broken belt resulting in a crashed pulley already. I'm probably the only one that thinks this is interesting, but the bushings on the struts were hard and crumbling. I have failed tensioner assemblies stored outside in the elements for years and their bushings are still a little supple. Note the engine mount goop caked on the struts. This goop was embedded in the supercharger pulley grooves fairly thick also; first time I've seen that. Next task, find the source of the coolant leak. You would think it would be easy to find, but noooo. I'm at a stopping point so the answers will have to wait till tomorrow. For now it is fairly certain the water pump has a leak either at the seam or rear seal. Another issue is leaking fluid from the water pump drive gear case. The kind of formations one would see in a live cave. Although the supercharger wasn't making bad noises with the engine running, turning the pulley by hand produces creepy squeegee-on-dry-glass sounds.
<cringe> :eek6: Glad that car found it's way into the hands of a qualified mechanic. Keep the posts coming, things are slow around here in the winter months.
So much for predicted certainty. The leak was from an over active weep hole. I've only seen the external hole weeping before, this leak was from a hole I didn't know existed. In case anyone is interested in what the water pump internals look like. The new water pump has a black colored impeller, BTW. The supercharger fluid leak was from the fill plug, not the gear housing flange thank goodness. Both nose and water pump gear drive reservoirs had little fluid, so it was fortunate to catch it early.
An active weep hole usually means a bad water pump/seal in my experience, is that what you found too? what year/how many miles on this car?
I am fortunate that Mr. Eggleston is working on my vehicle, A 2005 conv with approx 65k miles. I do have the vehicle service, which is what found the coolant leak. I know my car is in great hands. However, the anomolies encountered are probably not typical. Every car has it's quirks, so whatever is found is "lessons learned".
No doubt the seal was bad, and the bearing probably shot too based on the noise it was making. Welcome to MA David. The supercharger intake duct always gives me a hard time refitting. On this install it wouldn't go at all without removing the by-pass valve and fitting it to the tube first. It's been a while since I've seen a poorly adjusted BPV, this one was way off, it was binding against the bore on one side. After an adjustment, this car probably gained a little boost today .
Thank you Keith. My car is has never run this well. I really appreciate your attention to detail and the cautious approach to your work. The results are great!
Today's Job #2 My neighbor's MINI blew a spark plug. It's not readily apparent, but there are threads missing in this spark plug hole. He installed a new plug and it tightened down OK, but ejected also. The MINI had enough miles to warrant a look at supercharger fluid while lots of parts would be off the car anyway. Found a rodent nest between the radiator and AC exchanger. Also discovered a leaking fuel injector body. The spark plug in that cylinder showed a lean burn too, plus the plug was loose. Blow-by soot lined the tube indicating it was about to leap; the threads were intact though. Followed a large oil puddle under the car up to the oil housing cover; I haven't looked yet but the O-ring is probably chewed. I've mentioned this before, when removing the camshaft sprocket to pull the head, extra marks on the camshaft sprocket and timing chain are handy in case the main index mark rubs off.
The oil filter cover O-ring wasn't torn, it was flat and hardened. It was from a made in China AutoZone filter kit. A couple other unfavorable characteristics of this kit, note the opening of the aftermarket filter on the left below, it is too large for the feature on the inside of the cover that buts up against the oil filter housing's output tube (not shown), which would have allowed unfiltered oil to bypass. The length of the aftermarket filter is also slightly shorter than OEM. For whatever reason, oil in the housing failed to drain back into the block. Removing the filter & cover added to the big mess already made. Things didn't get better as I tore the new O-ring during installation. I've done this countless times and this was the first it's happened to me. The supercharger had little fluid in the nose gear side. It's usually the water pump drive gear side that's low, but on the last two superchargers I've serviced the nose gear side had barely enough to wet the cogs.
Spark plug hole threads repaired with stainless steel insert, head and block decks prepped for installation. The insert coil starts out oversize, the radius narrows as it's force threaded in the head, where it expands to lock in place. There is no risk of it backing out.
After tearing a second O-ring, I suspect a bur on the edge of the filter housing. A swipe on the trailing edge of the indent feature above with the blade of a screw driver, and an application of tacky assembly lube, the third O-ring went home undamaged (I hope).
Today's Job #3 Starting a "fun stuff" job, OS clutch & LSD install (R56 JCW). But first, I have to contend with the broth past cooks have concocted. I'll spare the pitiful details and get to the messy parts. Oil leaking at the banjo fitting on the turbo and at the line crimp. Oil weeping from a plug on the rear side of the engine. There is also weeping at other locations on the seam between the cylinder block and lower case, but the plug was the worst. It was only an eighth turn loose. It's not easy to tell the warpage because I straightened it a little and wiped away the dust, but the filter cover had been incorrectly installed some time in the past creating a gap allowing dirty air on the clean side of the filter. The center tab was out, rather than in its corresponding retainer on the lower air box half.