Engine Drivetrain 1st Gen Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: Powerflex engine - transmission mount bushing install

Thanks again Aaron (agranger) for the great Library article. I finally got around to installing my transmission mount inserts -- they've have been sitting on a shelf in my garage for a few years -- and thanks to your write-up and an essential assist from my Bentley manual it went without a hitch. I'm adding some extra hints, etc, below, mostly to help any other non-S owners who do this but also in hope of adding a bit more detail for those who crave it.

Unfortunately I ignored this bit of advice...

My experience was a bit different. I used the inserts from Ireland Engineering and they definitely take up more space than the stockers. In fact trying to wedge the bracket back down over the inserts was when I most noticed the aforementioned heat...sweat was pouring off me in rivulets while I struggled with it.

However, I did have the same sort of difficulty getting the bracket (cradle mount) repositioned to get the bolts in. I think my brain was overheated by then because it took me a few minutes to realize I needed to raise the engine a bit more to allow it to pivot back into position.

Amen, and for those of us with Coopers (non-S) there are additional fiddly bits to consider. Hopefully the following will help my fellow Justa owners with this upgrade. My step numbers are really from Aaron's article and only here to aid cross-referencing. Steps not mentioned below needed no comment.

Step A: Go to the article and read the disclaimer...ditto.

Step 1: You're going to need to be able to get a floor jack under the front end to support the engine. I have a low profile jack but still need a bit of additional space to get it under there so drove it up on ramps, but a couple 2x6s might do the trick for most.

Steps 3-5: Non-S owners need to remove the stock airbox, no question about it. If you have an aftermarket intake (I have an AFE) you'll probably need to remove that as well. Use the pics below to decide whether you have the clearance to get at everything, wrestle the bracket back into position, etc.

With my AFE intake housing minus the cone filter (red arrow). That filter housing must be removed. As will become clear below the battery box (green arrow) also must be removed to allow you to shift the fuse box (yellow arrow) out of the way.



It will look the same with your stock airbox removed as it does with my AFE filter housing removed. Mine is an '02 Cooper and I think the later Mk1 Cooper's airbox has a different shape but I suspect the lay of the land beneath looks pretty much the same. Eagle eyed viewers will note this pic was taken after the bushing inserts were replaced. Hey, I didn't think to take most of these pics until I was reassembling, so sue me! Note the bolt at the red arrow, this will need to be removed to allow the battery box removal.



Take off the cover and pull the battery. It's not time to pull the battery box yet because that box also contains the DME control module (red arrows). It's wired in there so it needs to be disconnected before the box can come out.



If you look down into the box along the ends of the DME module you'll find a peg at each end (green arrow) that will allow you to release the module (push in direction of red arrow) so you can lift it to get at the connector locking mechanisms.



Here I've lifted the module and already pulled one of the locking mechanism (red arrow). You can see the handle for the other locking mechanism (yellow arrow). Note the connector will rise when you pull/release the locking mechanism and will draw back down when you re-lock it. If, when you reassemble, a connector doesn't draw back in (down) when you push the locking mechanism in, try again, and try pushing down on the connector as you lock it.



Once you've released both connectors the DME module can be removed. You can leave it in the battery box but I set it aside elsewhere because I felt it was safer that way. FWIW, here's what it looks like.




Now the battery box is completely empty and can be removed. Here you see a green arrow pointing at the hole where the external bolt was that I mentioned in a preceding photo. Remove the bolts at the blue arrows, shift all the cables/connectors out of the way and lift out the box.



The battery box is gone but we only removed that so we could move the fuse box (yellow arrow) out of the way to get at a hiding bolt (Step 8, green arrow) holding down the transmission support bracket.



Pull this bolt (blue arrow, also mentioned in Step 8, one of the red arrows) and its twin at the other end of the fuse box...



...and then shift the box so you can get at this bolt (red arrow, also mentioned in Step 8, green arrow). There's the pesky devil that forced you to go through the whole battery box removal biz.



Step 9: I don't have a 12" extension but had no trouble with my 10" extension.

Step 10: I found no reason to remove this bolt.

Steps 12: Here's a closer look at the openings the insert will fill.



For reference, here's a look at the parts removed.



Step 13: I also found lube essential here. In case your inserts don't come with their own lubricant, remember some lubes apparently aren't so good with poly. I use Super Lube Synthetic Grease (super-lube.com).

Step 19: The IE inserts made things tight and made it difficult to force the transmission support bracket back into place and line up the center holes. I therefore found it easiest (in fact, essential) to deal with the center bolt first (only partially threaded to hold it in place) and then rock the bracket and raise/lower the engine as required to get the other bolts to line up.