2nd Gen Most liked posts in thread: R56 owner new to the site

Went poking around today in the intercooler pipes. Took the bottom off the right side intercooler and all was well. Dry with no debris. Putting it back on together on my back with the car raised on jackstands was a beast though. Took the top of the hot side intercooler off and the inside of the pipe had a decent coating of oil. Not sure if that is normal, especially ocnsidering the tube from the air filter to the turbocharger is bone dry.
I will do a more detailed inspection next week when I replace it with a Forge hot side intercooler pipe. I also ordered the newest version diverter valve which was suppose to arrive today but didn't.

 

and now a new symptom. The car smells like rubber or electrical burning coming from the vents upon startup. Disappears after ten seconds or so. So I guess I will pull the intake manifold and look for rubber pieces in there. Not sure where else rubber pieces might be stuck that are causing a burning smell to be pumped into the cabin on startup. Still have the MAP sensor pressure improbable code and rough idle as well.

 

No dice there 00Mini. I recently had the intake side walnut blasted so it is squeaky clean.
Just one tour vetsvette twenty years ago. Then onto firefighting in Washington DC and other things. Now unemployed in Chicago looking for something to do. Nothing out there quite as fun as the old days though. As far as the car goes I understand not getting the temps up high enough on short trips but the milky froth wasn't there the first months I had the car. Maybe it is this bloody cold Chicago winter causing it though.

 

Running late on a Saturday morning?
Will post some pictures once this cold goes away and washing my car wont freeze the windows and gas cap shut.

So the only upgrade on the car is an NM air charge pipe.
The PCV pipe was broken a while back so I replaced it and it is fine now though it brings up something I forgot about. Lets see if I can explain this well enough. When I replaced the intake manifold there was a little white plastic piece inside that faced up and diverted the air coming from the PCV tube to the manifold. My new manifold did not have an opening big enough for me to put this piece in. I suppose I could have drilled the hole bigger but I just skipped it and put the plastic piece in storage just in case. So now the PCV pipe enters the manifold with a small hole and no diversion piece. I wonder if this could be my issue.
As far as the catch can goes I have one for the turbo side(BSH) but am waiting for my manometer so I can check crankcase pressure with it on and without. I want confirmation on how it works since I can only find conflicting information regarding blocking the PVC port and pressure at idle.

 

and now for some hard data.
Compression test:
Cylinder 1 - 160psi
Cylinder 2 - 156psi
Cylinder 3 - 162psi
Cylinder 4 - 172psi - Oil on spark plug threads

Crankcase pressue test:
I believe spec is 38mbar but that is from online as I cannot find it in my Bentley manual.
At idle 55-70mbar
At idle with PCV plugged - -5 to +10mbar

So the compression test looks good to me except the spark plug gasket on cylinder 4 is failing or failed. Could the leak on cylinder 4 cause the frothy oil and bad crankcase pressure? I am thinking about doing an oil pressure test or testing the fuel injectors but don't know if they would be useful.

 

The plugs were just replaced by a mechanic I trust. I replaced the valve cover gaskets a few months back and that is when the frothy oil started so that's why I am thinking #4 is leaking air. What makes you think it is the torque?

Any ideas about the crankcase pressure? Such a huge difference from spec, to my idle, to idle with the PCV plugged.

Can any of these issues be due to the timing chain?

 

The engine does have a rattle but it is so diificult to tell where it is coming from in the Mini as it always rattles from the lifters. I have only had the car for 7,000 miles so I cannot compare it to anything. I wish I knew someone else with an R56 so I could compare sounds.
No dice with the valve cover as I just replaced that.

 

Just went out and started her up. Sounds like a diesel but when I put my ear to the plastic it sounds stronger in the middle of the valve cover than over the chain. The sounds does not disappear after the engine is warm. Maybe I will make a recoding tomorrow and post.
I do not understand your question @MCS02

 

I made a video of my engine running to see if the sound is the lifters or the timing chain. I would really like to figure out why my crankcase pressure is so odd.