Hello I'm new to this site and new to mini's. I bought my 2010 mini cooper s about a week ago. When I first started it up at the garage/dealer it had a bit of a rough idle but smoothed out after it ran for a couple minutes, figured it was just because it's been sitting for a bit and the temperature was on the colder side. A little background on the car, it has a cold air intake, full exhaust, front mount intercooler, blow off valve and the JCW tuning kit. Car runs good but every now and then it has a bit of a idle flutter, usually when it's colder outside and a couple days ago the engine light came on with a P1497. If gone through some threads and a few said valve cover/gasket cracked leaking but I don't hear any hissing. Haven't had a chance to get it smoked to see if it's got a small leak. A lot of people complain it's loosing power but mine seems to still have lots of juice. Just wondering if anyone has much experience with similar set ups. I'd like to learn more about what I'm dealing with in regards to the car.
Welcome! Im still learning about these particular engines, so take what I say for what that’s worth ... One definite recommendation would be to not burn money on sensors until you know there no vacuum leak. Did the light come on while it was at operating temp?
Welcome to MA! Your Mini has an N14 engine. Sorry to say they have a bad reputation, but they are not that bad if you keep infant of them. I have a 2012 JCW coupe. The first and most important thing is how many miles are on it and do you know if it has had a walnut blasting? If you have over 50K and don't know or it has not had this done go get it done. If you don't you are asking for big trouble. It is a direct injection engine so no fuel is sprayed over the intake valves. Due to the way the PVC system is the intake valves build up oil vapor and will stick when it gets bad enough, then you bind valves. What you are describing is a sign it may be time. It could be other things but if you don't know the history I would start there. I recently got a clubman S with 70k it ran fine but I had it lasted just to make sure it was clean. After I got it back the shop said it needed it.
Where do you live? maybe one of our members can help with a shop that knows what they are doing. Unless you do your own work.
117K km, someone before me put a catch can between the PCV intake pipe, just can't be sure about how long it has been installed, I live just north of toronto, I will be doing some of my own work. As for the walnut blasting I'll leave that for someone else
I don't know anywhere in Toronto. The closest place I know to you would be Detroit Tuned. but that would be about a 3 hour drive. Chad really is very good. Their shop specialize in Minis.
Ok thanks, I'll keep him in mind but it is a little far, and with it running the way it is and if that is the problem I don't want to drive that far
The simplest idea first, check your plugs. If it's got a tune it's possible it has the wrong plugs to keep up with the raised demands of the tune, a cooler plug may be necessary for longevity. That code looks to be a throttle air leak, check your charge pipes all the way back to the throttle body for any loose connections or cracks. Does it have an actual blow off (to atmosphere) valve and not a recirc? That could be the cause of your missing air. If it's got a rough idle it could be a few things. If your full exhaust is missing any cat's that could cause an air/fuel problem. I don't think the intercooler could cause any issues from pressure drop unless it's like an ebay intercooler and is just too big. As for the valve cover gasket, just look around the valve cover for any leaks as they're very easy to spot. It's a simple job to DIY. Swap in some fresh fluids ASAP. MINI's need fresh fluids, they're a bit finicky ESPECIALLY those equipped with the N14 engine. When you're under the car look for any oil leaks, specifically around the oil cooler and filter housing. It's good to stay ahead of the 8 ball in an early R56.
You can also easily check your intake valves for any buildup. OCC or not, there can still be build up on those valves. The manifold comes off very easy, shine a light down the ports and see what the valves look like. Be sure to get new gaskets, might as well replace them if you've got it apart.
Good advice thanks, can you recommend a plug I should use, the shop/dealer I bought it off didn't know much about it and knew even less about mini's. All I know is he said it was a go fast blow off valve.
Another thing I didn't mention was there's a stamp/badge on the valve cover with JCW tune and a sticker in the door jam saying this vehicle is equipped with the JCW tune and need to change the plugs every second oil change. But along with that is a manic performance tune obd2 adapter in the glove box. Are these the same ?
No those are different. manic is an aftermarket tune. It would be nice if you could talk to the previous owner to find out what all has been done.
Ya no luck, the shop I bought it off bought from a VW dealer that got it from a trade in, it would be nice if I could find a good mini specialist close to me so I could bring it there and have him look it over
Yes, your Manic "adapter" should have a rotary "SPS" switch with a guide on the back showing what each switch position does. The "stock" tune should be your JCW tune. The adapter works be connecting it to the OBD II port, rotating the switch to the desired position, then listening for the adapter to "chime", indicating the selected map is in use. It only takes a couple seconds to change maps. Typically, map "A" is the lowest performer, "B" is the street map and "C" is the highest performer. Performance will most likely depend on the plugs and fuel used with each map. I use map "B" almost all the time, and when using "C", add 100+ octane fuel, but in my case, that's overkill. You might try contacting a tuner that's familiar with Manic to determine which "stage" tune you have.
All I know is they should be colder if you're running a tune. Hit up the guys at DetroitTuned.com, let them know what you have and they can help you out. I think JCW requires new plugs at half the miles an S does, so 30k? Not really sure.
Yes there's a switch with numbers 0-9, I looked it up online and it says 0 and 5-9 aren't used, 1 is stock, 2 is 25% increase, 3 is 50% increase and 4 is 100%. Do you know of a way of finding out what is actually in the car. If it has the JCW tune and if the manic tune is in there?