I just had the inside of the hood on my 2013 R56 JCW spot-painted for the second time in less than a year, because the black plastic cap on the air-conditioning fill line mounted to the plastic radiator support rubbed the paint away to bare metal. The rubber fill line has about a 6-inch aluminum fitting to which the cap attaches, and there's enough flex in the line (and lack of gripping power from the plastic bracket that holds it) that the cap moves around against the underside of the hood and wears the paint away. The resulting bare-metal spot, up to the size of a dime, can rust. I tried pushing the line down and padding the cap, but neither worked. The solution from the tech at my MINI dealer was to move the bracket down a couple of inches and fasten it to another hole in the plastic radiator support. He also said he's never seen this problem before - but found the same thing happening to 6 other Rxx models that were in the shop that day. :eek6: The photo below shows the line after being relocated; yours will be a couple of inches left, more vertical and closer to the front of the car. I thought this was a small thing and was just going to touch up the paint myself, but I really got pissed off when I found the same thing happening at the top of the hatch, where the corrugated plastic tubing containing the CHMSL wiring rubbed the metal jamb bare at the top. It's been spot-painted too, and covered with a strip of Xpel protection film. In addition, most of the clear plastic dots for the rubber bumpers on the hood and hatch were coming off and now have been replaced with Xpel material. These areas also are susceptible to rust if left unfixed. I know the 2nd Generation MINIs are brand new to the market, but small design defects like these are pretty hard to believe. :frown2: So, if you've got a 2nd Gen. MINI, check it!
I know, and I wasn't even wearing rose-colored glasses when I posted it. :biggrin5: There's no other place here to post a message here that will reach all members who own a 2nd Generation MINI. :wink:
Hah.... This was one of my first mods.... If you reach down with your hand and follow the flex refrigeration hose it eventually becomes a rigid curved aluminum tube... I just put a little extra bend in the stock bend and that tends to pull the black cap end lower... It probably gets distorted a little when the line workers are slamming the parts in place at the assembly line...
We tried that the first time. It worked for a couple of weeks, but the hose eventually returned to its original shape and position. Of course, your hose may be different than mine. :eek6:
The R60 doesnt have this issue... Plenty of space in that area. However I will probably be flipping the bracket that holds it around, and moving the line... More room for a downpipe with it moved over a little.
I put a little extra bend at rigid aluminum tube where it attaches to the compressor... That pulled the entire hose lower at the upper bracket... Close to where the circle 17 is in the diagram...