:cornut: Thanks I needed that. Being previous: always in the gutter, combat veteran, gallows humor, E.R. staff, and Army SF, my thoughts ran to something a little more beastial which........................................:eek6::frown2::devil::arf: would've gotten me barred forever. Jason
I guess it has finally paid off that I keep all paper work involving my MINI. The extended warranty for the high-pressure fuel pump is 10 years or 120,000 miles from the original in-service date. On N14 turbocharged engines. Anyway, I had my car at the dealer on 12/14/12. They replaced this for free. Now I'm not sure if they did the labor for free as I was already in there for other work. (I wouldn't think the dealer would just do labor for no cost.) I'm also not sure if they covered this work because they pulled a fault code. From reading other threads it seems like dealers are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get.
New update. Mini is being serviced right now (new water pump and turbo oil feed line) and just got news that my cat is indeed clogging. What's some suggestions for deleting vs replacing and the cost involved in both.
Deleting your cat is a pain in the butt if you want to sell it or get it inspected. You can add an O2 simulator, but any inspector worth his salt will see immediately (and smell) that you don't have a catalytic converter anymore. And if you want to sell the car, you're going to tell the buyer that you've pushed this expense off onto him or her. Replacing your cat is simply expensive. That's it. So it comes down to which is the lesser of two evils. If you live in a state where inspections are more of a formality, go for it. But it's not a 30-year old car, and there's a certain expectation that your car will have a catalytic converter. So unfortunately I would recommend ponying up for a new cat. And you can do a half assed job and have an exhaust shop weld in a generic cat, but it's always going to be butt-ugly.
I've used Seafoam for a topside valve cleaning and later half a can in the gas tank. noticed an improvement in idle.
Fortunately there is no inspection here to worry about so that is the least of my worries. Also I plan to drive it til it dies and then some lol. I wasn't sure if I could put a generic one on although I do know it would be ugly I'm more worried about what its body looks like than what's underneath. On the mini that is heh. Thank for the input. Anymore are welcome
My first suggestion would be to find out why the cat is plugged up and try to make sure it doesn't happen again. The cat should be covered under the emissions warranty so no cost to you to get a new one installed.
Because that's what cats do? Lol. I've never liked the stupid things. Got an OBX downpipe cat delete on the way already.
Ummmm.....no they don't. Especially only after a few yrs. There is a reason it stopped working, find out why. With the finicky MINI ecu, I would just get a new cat installed under warranty. Why mess with trying to get it to work w/o one?
This isn't the first vehicle I've owned that it happened on. Idk why it clogged and don't much care, I'd rather just do the delete anyway and I doubt my dealership would do it free. I won't be the one getting it to "work without one" I have a certified Mini mechanic for that.
Even if you go catless, it'd be nice to have a brand new catalytic converter in a box, for if you ever decide to sell your car. Especially if you can get it for free. Dave
You do have a point there. Would I be able to bring them my old one and ask for a new one under warranty? Although I don't see myself ever selling it...life does happen
Called em. They said the only way they would do anything is if they knew why it clogged. So its a no go on that. On a positive note. Downpipe will be here Tuesday and the MINI comes home Wednesday.
The second generation MINI has two O2 sensors they each have different part numbers. The first generation MINI has a single O2 sensor with a different part number from the two in the second generation MINI. So, I'd say that they are not interchangeable. You can check for yourself at the Real OEM website. RealOEM.com  Online BMW Parts Catalog Dave