1st Gen R53 Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: I NEED HELP!!

ok so HUGE UPDATE!!!! ITS NOT LOCKED UP!!! LIKE AT ALL!!!! i had gotten in it and outta bordem tried it and the starter spun!!! but its not running.... so after it turned over we checked the plugs and they had never been changed... do i got 4 new ones and put them in and tried it. nothing. so i changed the ignition coil. nothing. pulled the plugs, motor has great compression. we didnt actually test it . but it blows your fingers outta the cylinders. it does how ever look like there is water in the cylinders.... so we think it was runn really hot and over heated! HOPEFULLY the heads not warped. were gonna compression test it tommorow, and leak test it. and maybe pull the head and take a look. hopefully nothing rusty or wet. but it did look like water weas in the cylinders and theree was no coolant when i first got.

 

heads off! water in the 3rd cylinder. cylinder walls have a little surface rust. pistons look decent. they all spin. timeing chain looks fine no play. so im think head gasket. it was pretty old and grimey looking.

 

when i drained the oil it didnt look like there was any water. but when we took off the valve cover there looked like some water in the oil. there was no coolant in it when i picked it up ...

 

if the head is bad. should i cut to the chase and just get these Cylinder Head Refurbished - R52/53 Mini Cooper S

 

nope. my cousin drove it and it jsut died he said. so thats all i had to go. the more i dig though. the more i find

 

it didnt look like a milkshake. it was a little milky. there wasnt a ton of water in it. it was just enough to discolor it. im trying to find an engine shop that will pressure test the head.

 

UPDATE!
so heres the news. the head is out at the engine shop. 150$ the guy said hell pressire test it , resurface it and clean the valves up.
so im gonna order a gasket and probably exhaust and intake manifold gaskets and head bolts.

i was told i could put brakekleen on a rag and wipe the inside of the cylinders. theyre not actually rusty its justt sorta tarnished. or what should i do.

doesn any one have the torque specs for the head bolts?

 

is it worth it for the ARPs i dont nessecarily wanna go nuts. i dont have plans of putting that much boost into it.

 

so after haveing the head rebuilt and gone over. which was warped. ran a real compression test and cylinder 2 and 4 have really low compression. 1 and 3 ran about a 115 the other 2 ran like 60.

so heres my deal. this car is running me outta money haha. but i refuse to sell it. so should i splurge and get a new engine or have the engine cleaned up and rebuild it.

 

i have been looking. im trying to find an engine with less miles then the car. its only got 70,XXX they all have more then that. and none of the salvage places around me dont have any.

 

so just to clear it up, just rebuild it or go wild and get a stroker haha. should i rebuild the entire thing? and just have honed and new pistons and rings?

 

so since the engine is screwed. should i replace the pistons that have no compression? i feel like thats the better idea. or replace the all. the other 2 have awesome compression. or should i just change the rings onthe 2 bad ones?
i have a hook up at BMW USA and i cant get an OEM piston,rings, and wrist pins for 700$ when there normally 1097.52 (even the service guy thought that was a lot)

but rebuild kits are on 53$ a piece. but i can probably get it cheaper.
so im stil at a stand still
i do have accsess to a full shop. with all the tools you could think of.
so ill probably do most of the engine work my self with help.

to clear it up this would be more of a commuter. i am in college. and i commute like 40 mins.but my dad really wants to drive it up north to vermont haha. and i wanna go to canada