1st Gen R53 Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: Today's Job

The Broken Belt MINI Returns

This MINI has always been low, but when it drove up for maintenance, it was riding the bump stops. The middle coils on front springs were bound, and the rear springs sacked. The interesting thing about the springs is they're counterfeit Tein S-Techs, (fakes in the middle of the photo).




The shocks were bad too of course. One guide support was torn and the tower on that side deformed also.


I recently replaced the hydraulic engine mount, and it blew again. When I returned it for warranty replacement, one of the new mounts was leaking in the box. It didn't look much different than the bad one below.

 

Sorry, not much documentation for this job, just a description. My first thought when this R52 S Cabrio wouldn't start was bad fuel. David, the Cabrio owner, performed a thorough troubleshoot and made an accurate fuel pump failure diagnosis. I attached a fuel pressure gauge and confirmed it was not delivering fuel. David also checked the circuit back to the pump and all was good except for the pump.

We decided to replace the fuel filter while replacing the pump. Since the tank was recently filled (one reason I first suspected bad fuel), David siphoned as much fuel as he could. In the process a gate in the filler neck pinched the siphon hose, which limited the amount of fuel that could be removed. Extracting the captured hose was time consuming, plus serious and comical at the same time.

Precautions to protect the cabin from inevitable fuel spillage were needed. David had a mattress cover that was perfect for covering the area. Below I'm attempting to make a tight seal around the tank ports to prevent fuel drips from seeping in around the edges.



The fuel filter was mostly clean, unlike the black filters I normally find. The cannister didn't have black brackish fuel inside either.

Here's a very good how-to for replacing the pump & filter that will have to do for the photos. When it comes to removing the brown clip from the coupler (figure 13), try to attach it some way to the end of the tube. I put a wire twisty on it, but it dislodged when I put the new pump in and moved way down the tube in the tank anyway; retrieval was messy for me.

As it turns out, most likely bad fuel caused the pump to seize. The tank was filled at Costco a few days before the failure. David eventually received a notice from Costco that fuel pump failures had been reported during the same period when he filled up. He filed a claim and received reimbursement for the parts and labor.

 

Today's Job #2

My neighbor's MINI blew a spark plug.

It's not readily apparent, but there are threads missing in this spark plug hole.


He installed a new plug and it tightened down OK, but ejected also.

The MINI had enough miles to warrant a look at supercharger fluid while lots of parts would be off the car anyway.



Found a rodent nest between the radiator and AC exchanger.

Also discovered a leaking fuel injector body. The spark plug in that cylinder showed a lean burn too, plus the plug was loose. Blow-by soot lined the tube indicating it was about to leap; the threads were intact though.


Followed a large oil puddle under the car up to the oil housing cover; I haven't looked yet but the O-ring is probably chewed.


I've mentioned this before, when removing the camshaft sprocket to pull the head, extra marks on the camshaft sprocket and timing chain are handy in case the main index mark rubs off.

 

The oil filter cover O-ring wasn't torn, it was flat and hardened. It was from a made in China AutoZone filter kit.

A couple other unfavorable characteristics of this kit, note the opening of the aftermarket filter on the left below, it is too large for the feature on the inside of the cover that buts up against the oil filter housing's output tube (not shown), which would have allowed unfiltered oil to bypass.


The length of the aftermarket filter is also slightly shorter than OEM.


For whatever reason, oil in the housing failed to drain back into the block. Removing the filter & cover added to the big mess already made. Things didn't get better as I tore the new O-ring during installation. I've done this countless times and this was the first it's happened to me.

The supercharger had little fluid in the nose gear side. It's usually the water pump drive gear side that's low, but on the last two superchargers I've serviced the nose gear side had barely enough to wet the cogs.

 

Spark plug hole threads repaired with stainless steel insert, head and block decks prepped for installation.





The insert coil starts out oversize, the radius narrows as it's force threaded in the head, where it expands to lock in place. There is no risk of it backing out.

 

After tearing a second O-ring, I suspect a bur on the edge of the filter housing.


A swipe on the trailing edge of the indent feature above with the blade of a screw driver, and an application of tacky assembly lube, the third O-ring went home undamaged (I hope).

 

Today's Job #3

Starting a "fun stuff" job, OS clutch & LSD install (R56 JCW). But first, I have to contend with the broth past cooks have concocted. I'll spare the pitiful details and get to the messy parts.

Oil leaking at the banjo fitting on the turbo and at the line crimp.



Oil weeping from a plug on the rear side of the engine.


There is also weeping at other locations on the seam between the cylinder block and lower case, but the plug was the worst. It was only an eighth turn loose.

It's not easy to tell the warpage because I straightened it a little and wiped away the dust, but the filter cover had been incorrectly installed some time in the past creating a gap allowing dirty air on the clean side of the filter. The center tab was out, rather than in its corresponding retainer on the lower air box half.