Most liked posts in thread: What did you do with your MINI today?

Over the weekend I finally got the R52 back together and out of the garage. New ball joints, tie rods ends, powerflex bushings, power steering pump, and alternator. I also replaced a !@#$%& 5A fuse that I know was good when I started this project. I also installed a pair of leather seats I picked up earlier this year, removed the Alta light bar and driving lights the previous owner installed, and replaced the melted battery terminal box.

 

So, today I drove John Lennon's last car, a 1979 Beige Mercedes 300TD Station Wagon. Another snoozer. But, Baby I just drove his car, I didn't get to drive it far, not likely that I'll be a star, but I did make some money. Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, yeah.

CD

 

Installed brakes and a sway bar.

Thanks, Chuck!

 

Sorry, I just saw your question today. No, it does not replace the own narrow band.

The Innovative wideband has its own new bung before the CAT on my RMW header and is wired directly to my ViPEC ECU. I replaced the OEM ECU with the ViPEC.

My Aquamist Meth kit is also directly wired to the ViPEC ECU and it also controls the meth system. I have twin maps now for just gas and gas + meth all at the touch of a button on the meth gauge while driving.

 

Drove from Savannah, GA to Hampton, VA, for the weekend. Drove excellent and hit 223,000 miles on the way up.

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That's a handsome car. More than likely it is much much better than when it rolled off of the line in Coventry.

 

Participated in the Auto Faire XXVIII-Amazing Rally/Tour today.

 

Put in the pump yesterday.
Old pump and new pump seemed about the same in function, except the motor on the old one ran
faster when tested with a 9V battery and with the car's 12V, and had 40 ohm resistance vs new one at 110
ohms from pin 1 to pin 4. Solenoids both worked fine, and heaters had the same 30 ohm resistance on both.
Can't seem to get the evap readiness code to complete despite doing drive cycles, but my scan tool does show
the new pump working and pulsing during a test period and no codes so far, whereas the code was
coming back pretty quickly with the old pump. Checked out the carbon canister well while it was out, too.
I was down to about a quarter tank so I did add 4 gallons to get it a little over half a tank and started with
a cold engine so that the evap test would run during a drive cycle.

Fingers crossed that it's fixed now.

Also got a couple of the lower radiator hose hanger clamps to hold it up against the radiator base as the
old ones were shot (actually one broken and one missing) and the hose was drooping.

 

Finally got the evap monitor cycle to complete and no CEL or even pending codes.
Next weekend has oil and filter change, brake fluid flush, and Powerflex yellow lower engine mount bushings on the list, weather permitting.

 

I photograph a lot of cars that sit for months (or years) in garages and warehouses. I have seen a whole lot of rodent poop over the years. I once opened the hood on a Road Runner 440 Six-Pack, and there was a nest on the intake manifold.

The worst thing is when they chew on wires in a car. A customer of mine had his Lamborghini Murcialago in the shop for weeks due to mice/rats living in the cavities of the undercarriage, and chewing up wires.

CD

 

Having returned from the Bacon Invasion and MTTS, we have decided it is time to replace the family car. The wife, thinking the MINI folk are so much fun, would like a Countryman. Cash is tight, so I am considering a mildly optioned F60 Cooper. or a better optioned lease returned R60 Cooper S. It's going to an automatic transmission, and if I am going to buy a truck, it is going to be All4. Any advice?

Keeping my R53 until death do us part.

 

Not sure I bought the MINI strictly for reliability. It is a fine balance between reliability, fun to drive, fuel economy, comfort, safety, handling, performance etc etc etc....
In my R53, I sacrificed some fuel economy and reliability for performance by installing a reduced pulley and 22mm rear swaybar. But the overall ownership value (which is subjective) is very high.
If I wanted well built and reliable, I would probably go for a Toyota Corolla, but the wife hates Toyota seats and the performance is abysmal. If I wanted strictly performance, I probably would have gone for a Corvette, or Lotus Elise or Cayman. But it was the balance overall of what I wanted that drew me to the MINI in the case of the R53.


We have been looking at other cars also. But the wife would like to stick to MINI or BMW because both our cars are closing in on 15 years old and the chassis still feels as solid as when they were new. Can't say that for many of the cars that cost a bit less and have a reputation for being "better built".

I've just recovered from a rear-ender. It was a joke the difference in damage between our BMW and the Hyundai Optima that hit us. Our car had some minor bumper damage, the car that hit us was barely driveable with a lot more front end damage.

 

Wow. MINI's are pretty well known for being able to take a hit with the best of em. I've seen a couple different cases where a larger SUV pulled out in front of MINI's and ended up on their side while the MINI's just had some front end damage. Aside from the reliability aspect they're built like tanks.

 

Safety is all about engineering. Race cars weighing 1,500 pounds crash at 200 MPH, and the drivers walk away. German automakers are the best at engineering safety into cars. MINIs are German engineered.

Here in Texas, people think a Chevy Suburban is what you need to be safe. It is a false sense of security. I'll take a small, well engineered car over a big, poorly engineered SUV any day of the week.

CD

 

I don't buy new cars anymore. I buy pre-owned, and let someone else take the new-car depreciation hit. I haven't had a car payment in a long time, either.

Good luck, and be patient. There will be another car you want at some point. There will be another good deal. After I sold my last car, I drove a rental car for about a month while I took my time shopping for a new one. I wouldn't have done that 20 years ago. With age comes wisdom... which kind of makes up for the aches and pains, belly fat, and grey hair.

CD

 

Going to wash it in the morning and go check out the cars and coffee meet in the morning here.

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Bought a right angle drill adapter to drill in to the bolt piece to use a bolt extractor but still couldn't get a good angle on it.
So, I used a dremel with a cut off disc to grind a slot into the fragment (and part of the tensioner), and was able
to back it out with a socket wrench/small screwdriver bit.
Somehow, getting the new bolt started took way too long, but finally got it in. Yeah!!

Looks better than having the bracket tied up where it doesn't belong.

 

Brought the car to my local MINI dealer for an oil change this morning. I use the dealer because they give me a discount price. Dealer just called and said the oil change is done and that my car is still in really good shape, especially with that much mileage on it. Said the serpentine belt might be starting to wear, but it still looks okay for now and asked if I wanted it changed anyways and I said it can wait until next time.

Other than that, we're good! Pretty happy that I've kept a good rapport with the dealer service center. Don't feel ripped off.