1st Gen R53 Cooper S R53 Major Preventive Maintenance coming up

quite the list

I've got an '04 MCS with 129,000 miles and runs nearly as well as the first day (cannot remember that when i bought it new, so imagine it's lost a tad of that new car feel)....

the only major components replaced on mine were the control arm bushings (replaced with polyurethene bushings),oil pan gasket, hydraulic motor mount, and the power steering (known problem with Gen 1 coopers-- dealer took care of that). Done quite a bit of tuning to mine, replacing various components with upgraded ones.

I change the oil twice a year, plugs every 24 months. changed the manual transmission fluid, an about to change the fuel filter (according to BMW both lifetime, but nothing lasts forever).

Ya, bushings should be replaced, but replacing the supercharger, water pump and other components if not needed sounds excessive-- if it were my check book, I would put that money into suspension and exhaust.

Each to their own, and do not know what symptoms you might be having to warrant such a massive overhaul. Hope it works out well...

 

You can find How To's for the vast majority of this work in the M/A Library.

1st Generation MINI Cooper How-To - Library

For the Crank Pulley, the ATI will retain the harmonic balance, stock size and be a better long term part.

Bleeding the coolant system is not that difficult, it does require a bit of patience tho.

We are here to help and debate the pro's and con's. Please don't hesitate to ask.

 

A good PM list you have. Below would be some inputs you might consider.

Low Speed Fan Resistor swap or total bypass:
HS100 0R33 5% Arcol | Mouser

OEM Fuel Filter

plugs, coil & wires-OEM

supercharger and add the oil change/check kit.
water pump.....This discussion might interest you:
http://www.motoringalliance.com/forums/cooper-s-engine-drivetrain/19147-davies-craig-electric-water-pump-ewp80-anyone.html

thermostat and housing/coolant temp sensor-OEM

hoses (check rail vac hose,too) OEM

coolant-OEM

idler pulley OEM

tensioner-Gates/Litens + WMW tensioner stop or this might interest you:
http://www.motoringalliance.com/forums/cooper-s-engine-drivetrain/18681-now-i-know-why-belt-tensioner-stops-break.html#axzz2eOxfjzLf

belt- Contitech

harmonic balancer-ATI

harmonic balancer seal-OEM

crank position sensor seal-OEM

oil pan gasket-OEM

valve cover gasket-OEM

PCV valve-OEM

Change brake fluid w/ the now illegal ATE super blue


While installing Powerflex control arm bushings
Inner/ outer ball joints(Lemforders are OK), check all boots, PS hoses/clamps, clean PS fan. & Swap PS fluid as you'll have subframe & PS system down.

front sway bar bushings-Powerflex

air filter-K&N, DDM or DIY Dave F. Check these:
Hybrid airbox for a tenner (ish).....
Hobo Hybrid Airbox Part 2

thinking about putting a new gasket between the oil filter housing and the block, but I hear that's a nightmare.
-Tackle when symptoms arise

Bleeding the cooling system. I'm worried about the bleeding procedure and making sure I don't overheat the engine. MINI's tend to be unforgiving about that.
-As Nate said, not that difficult.

While I'm in there, should I snatch off the alternator and let an electrical shop install a set of bearing and brushes.
Should I pull the timing chain cover and inspect or replace the nylon chain guides?
-Both great ideas

 

+1 ATI crank damper (stock size) I got mine from WMW years ago.

Amazon belt tensioner - Amazon.com: Gates 38404 Belt Tensioner: Automotive

As for me anyone's "tension stop" are not worth a dime since the fail, make more noise and are more trouble than they are worth. Especially since you can get a whole new tensioner above for only $70.00 Vs the dealer at $200.00 +.

 

Call Way at WMW's and they will hook you up. WMW is an M/A vendor.

Call me at...... You have a PM reply.

 

My advise...
While doing preventive work is good....sounds like you are rebuilding your car...
Some things can be run till they fail...very safely cause they might last a long time...
The alternator you mentioned.... Should be a Denso unit on a S...have had several go 200,000+ miles on non mini's....most recently a highlander at 215+k....(lower rpms yes, but have done 270+ on a Honda with a denso...)..the location is not especially problemtic due to heat etc.....IMO, run it till it dies...you hear lots of just'a coopers loosing valeo/bosh alternators, but S's are kinda rare.. I would contend that sometimes you could create more of an issue with some things...
Folks get can't get a bit OCD with reading about mini issues....and rush the tear their cars apart to "fix" items that are waiting to fail....only to cause more issues....
Enjoy you car...do fluid flushes, repairs on things that are worn/broken/failed, but drive your car, enjoy your car, and know when it has a failure, you can THEN fix it.
Looking at the list of fixes...and hearing worries of bleeding a cooling system kinda tells the story IMO.
Know about the failures....know the symptoms and failure modes...know the sound of a failed timing chain tensioner... Catch it fast, guides are usually OK (if the car has always had good oil psi)....
Some items...leaking oil filter housing gasket might be "common"...but not epidemic... Meaning one in ten has an issue...but not one in 3.
And some things are good till they fail...
Oil pan gasket....the new one could leak next week....just like the current OEM one....
Sorry for the rant....but it sounds like you just need to drive, and remember WHY you LOVE YOUR MINI!!!

 

That was no rant, Zip. Just sound advice.
Rare & unfortunate, I & 2 other friends are amongst the few who've had our Denso alternators fail at very low miles. 1 was at sub 20, mine at around 40. The thing w/ Densos, you don't necessarily need to extract from another MINI in the salvage yard. Many Toyotas & other Jap imports share our amp rating & specs but not the shell. Should rebuilding time come, slap new brushes & bearings on. The 3 alternators were transplants from Densos of other makes w/ exact same cores & amp rating, just different shells/bracket holes. They fitted & worked perfectly.

The fuel pump? That's pretty solid on ours, unfortunately not so on 2nd gens. Run that til it dies. Should you get my leaky hose fault, you can isolate that fix.

As for tensioner stops not worth the dime, they were made w/ the intention of avoiding collateral damage when our belts snap. Once the belt snaps, the tensioner has a tendency to hit the crank pulley. You won't want that to happen on your new ATI.

On the crank pulley bolt removal, here's a very simple effective trick:
[ame="http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7G-adEVjfWI&feature=relmfu"]Crankshaft Pulley Removal Trick - YouTube[/ame]

Like Zippy said, don't get overly anal & paranoid. Just enjoy your MINI. Our 1st gens aren't difficult to work on anyway....Unless, your idea of fun is tinkering, then, by all means, carry on.

 

Yes the ATI damper is the one you want as it is the best by far.

Now for all that other stuff most of that is up to you as it looks like you are replacing a bunch of parts for the sake of replacing them. I love to sell parts but I don't like to see people spend money they don't need to.

Powerflex for the front control arm bushing is best.

For the tensioner bushings us our WMW delrin bushings as they won't fail.

For the rest of the parts we pretty much stock all of it and then some.

 

Check the upper radiator hose while you're in there. Sometimes they rub on the fan shroud.

Did anyone mention motor mounts?

 

Yeah, motormounts=Vibra-Technics

 

Rawhyde if you go with the plan we talked about on the phone the other night you will be driving that MCS for a nice long time.

Hope to see you at the Dragon next year for MOTD.

 

Why do everything at once? Find joy driving, tinkering, modding, forging friendships.
MINI ownership, like life itself, should be a journey, not a destination. Enjoy!

 

If you want to split is up and take care of each job in phases I say go for it. That way you can enjoy your repairs along the way as you complete them. Plus you have a beater car.

Some find huge projects can become overwhelming after they get started and they feel like they never get anything done. Go at your own pace and enjoy the new lift.