Most liked posts in thread: Is this the timing issue I hear

Thanks for responding.
The parts that were replaced are rattle free and I welded the complete exhaust rather than use clamps. I also discarded the OE turbo shield and the AEM head shield has ceramic coating on the bottom and is tight and safety wired.
Since I did get the Mini from the original owner I have all of the paperwork associated with the car from the delivering Mini dealer which was Mini of Loveland, CO and the original dealer which was Mini of Concord, CA. It even has the "Certificate of Adoption" which is dated 4/21/2010. Interestingly it still has the paper stencil for painting the floor of the garage that says "For Mini Parking Only".
I have all of the service work done on the car and the two things that were replaced...one by the Mini which was the water pump..this was done in 2012 and the battery in 2015.
Since the nearest Mini dealer is over 60 miles away I'll give them a call. I was worried about the timing chain rub rails breaking although I know you replace the tensioner I didn't realize there was an updated one.

 

Thanks for the part number.
I think I may just change the complete timing chain and parts and get it out of the way.

 

It's an automatic.

Also, took it out and drove it yesterday since it was a beautiful day and whenever I come to a stop, the motor looses rpm, then regains it again almost like a carburetor would if the floats weren't set correctly. Since this car has been siting for a month or two at a time and has only been driven 6900 miles in 7 years I'm going to run some injector cleaner through the tank. The other thing I noticed when I installed the CravenSpeed dip stick is that the oil level is beyond the last hole...I will be draining the oil and replacing the filter.

One last thing, when I started it up to put it on the ramps for the oil change I let it idle, opened the bonnet and while running I unscrewed the oil cap on the valve cover...as soon as I opened the cap I could hear a very pronounced knocking/rattling noise. When I screwed the cap back down I could hardly hear it...is that the vacuum pump?

Thanks for your help.

 

Up until a couple of years ago this is what I worked on and raced. A single 850 cfm carburetor ontop of 408ci Ford...turned 9.80's in the 1/4 @ 136mph. Made about 655hp/554lbft at the flywheel.
If you were born during WWII then you can say you're older than dirt...just like me.

 

It's a 1970 with 36,000 miles on the speedo before it became a drag car in the late 70's. Actually was a participant at the 1979 Winternationals in Pomona in B/SM...at that time it had a Boss 302 and Liberty 4spd. Behind the 408 is a much modified Powerglide with 5000rpm stall converter.

 

Thanks, I'll give the Mini Dealer a call since I live about 75 miles away from him. We have a BMW shop here although they don't work on Mini's.
I bought the OE filter...bought 5, with rubber gaskets and crush washer for the oil pan...when I changed the oil along with the filter is was almost exactly 5 quarts...to my knowledge the car has never run low on oil, although I think it was overfilled a little.

 

Just thought I'd do a short update on the rattling issue.
I changed oil for the 4th time in 6,800 miles of the Clubman's life along with the filter. I cut the filter apart and found nothing...took the valve cover off...which is certainly a lot more labor intensive than taking one off a Chevy or Ford...and found nothing wrong. I didn't check the tension on the chain although everything looks as good as you would expect a 6,800 mile motor to be. Put it back together and started it up...noise was still there. I unplugged the vacuum pump and the noise went completely away...I did this 2 or 3 times and every time is the same...the noise disappears. So, is this just the way the vacuum pumps are, noisy, or should I change it?
I would love to redesign this system of driving the vacuum pump off the cam, that's just bad engineering. I could take the electric pump off my ATS-V. Guess I'll have to sit down and figure something out...the motor would be fairly quite without the pump rattling away.
Thanks for all of your help.

 

Thanks for the links, it is appreciated.
I've got all the parts and tools now to replace the timing chain although I don't think mine needs to be changed...at least from I can see. So, as soon as the rain stops I'm going to go out and it enjoy it and not worry about any engine issues...at least for now!