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

This car gets a fluid filled damper from PRW as replacement for the wobbling early model damper. At 8.5 lbs it is no lightweight, but it does satisfy the need for a lower price point than other crankshaft vibration dampers. The PRW damper body will never separate as is possible with the stock elastomer based damper.

 

About $100 less costly.

Hard to believe, but there was a little luck in the timing of this service visit. All the spark plugs were loose, one in particular was about to jump. The grey coloring is from combustion gasses; the tube and plug boot were also covered.




The oil on this plug probably came above, unfortunately there was also oil in the combustion chamber. We won't be looking into that right now.




Broken insulator here. I'm not too sure about this "air-gap" technology used in this design. BTW, there was no center electrode remaining within that gap on two of the plugs.

 

I've tried a few different approaches to filling the first generation coolant system after a total coolant evacuation with varying results; this method has been consistently successful. I siphon coolant mix into the upper bleed port on the radiator hose, when coolant back flows, the cap is replaced, and additional coolant is added to the expansion tank to below the max mark. After the engine is brought up to operating temp, allow to cool, slowly release pressure from the expansion tank cap, then open the bleed screw till fluid escapes, add coolant to the expansion tank to reach the max mark. Before the first drive of the day after a complete cool down, check the coolant level in the expansion tank and add if needed. I've never had an air gap in the system when using this method.

 

Today's Job #3 Revisited, Again, and Again, and Again...

Another diverter valve failure.




This time we're attempting a fix with the inner workings of a VAG BPV, transplanted into the body of the MINI BPV. The VAG unit is rated to handle much greater boost than the 22 psi Gene's modified JCW produces, and its elaborate Escutcheon eliminates the problematic MINI DV diaphragm.




I contacted Stelios Alexandrakis at Etuners some time ago about this upgrade, but haven't had the opportunity to try it until Gene lost another stock unit recently. It would be great if the VAG were a direct bolt-up, I've read the coil is a bit quicker than the MINI DV, however, the bolt holes don't line up. The good news is the connectors for the VAG body and the MINI harness are available, in fact the jumper supplied with the Forge unit has both ends. Perhaps someday a different turbo might be needed that has the VAG bolt center diameter.




In the mean time, Forge supplied us with an updated BPV body, which has an additional nipple that would connect to the previously open port on their solenoid. If the hybrid MINI/VAG unit continues to function as it should, we may not need it.




The software connection with the root cause for these repeated failures is also being investigated.

 

Yes