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

Nice pictures. Not a fan of any of those new Alfas, but oh man those old ones sure are nice.

My fave is the Giulieta Sprint. Sweet car & my guess for the priciest.

 

Not really, look at the red GTV with the white strip, notice the doors, then think over 100K in asis condition. It is a bit of a rat.

 

The MINI stayed home today. The past weekend when I had her up on a lift I was getting the front left brake duct and associated panels snapped back into place. It kinda pops out once a year or so since I bought her. While I had the wheel well pulled out I noticed a bunch of moisture on and around the trans area. Turns out she's got a coolant leak. It's in one of the hoses that run over the top of the gearbox but couldn't really see where it's coming from or which hose it is. It doesn't piss out when she's hot so I can't trace it that way either. Gonna take everything out tomorrow when I'm "working" from home. Is there a common R56 coolant hose failure I don't know about? One of the hoses running over the trans looks like it could rub but didn't really notice any issue where the possible rub spot may have been. All hoses are still in good shape, thermostat, coolant reservoir, and that little T splitter under the reservoir have been replaced so it's none of those. (Also ordered some new tires today. Got some Conti TrueContacts.)

 

You dodge a bullet there. No temp gauge in an R56 to warn you early. Justa gotcha light.

 

I started my car and let it warm up for a 1/2 hour today. Damn it was cold today.

 

I don't like having others do work for me. The fact that I'm an old fart comes into play. Some things I can do & others I can no longer do. I have made sure the mechanic's who do work on my cars are the best available. So far they haven't let me down.

 

Mileage on the motor has little to do with how fast the plastic bits dry out and become brittle.
On the other hand, MINI has been very good at addressing common problem areas with our cars. When they noticed a trend, such as the R53 power steering fan issue, or the 2007 chain guide issue, or the high pressure fuel pump problem, they recalled the cars to have them fixed. I can tell you, I am totally blown away by how well MINI has treated their customers in comparison to other car brands that I have owned, including BMW.

Also, the plastic bits for MINIs that need to get replaced are not terribly overpriced in comparison to other car brands. Most of the time, you might be able to get cheaper aftermarket parts, but at your own risk of quality and fit. There are some after market parts that are very good.

 

Don't kid yourself that MINI did those recalls from the goodness of their heart. They were made to do those recalls & did you notice how long it took them to implement some of those recalls? The longer they waited the fewer cars they'd have to fix.

 

Today I put my MINI back in the garage and on the battery tender. My full detail of a 2017 Honda Type R was picked up / delivered.

Customer was very happy, yes it is very quick & fast and handled great.

 

I love the way BM'rs look! My MINI has ruined ever owning another BMW product for me. And that sucks because I'd love a new-ish 5 ('17) series. Thinking of going down the gauntlet of German cars over the next 10 years. Not set in stone but that's where my head's at currently and I've been looking almost daily. Still not sure if I'll keep Bitsy or sell/trade, can't really get anything for her so may just keep her. She'll be used only for MOTD and not much else going forward once I get a new DD.

In MINI news, she's been great since her hose replacement. She got a bath and Rain-X treatment last night as well as some WD in all her hinges.

 

Winter shoes are on the Countryman and the kids Cooper. They were on my R53 2 weeks ago (and still on). Oil change on the Countryman today. Coolant had been checked on all three cars. Winter floor mats installed. Now we wait and see if the winter is going to be cold or not in the Pacific Northwest.

 

Had some new tires installed this AM, she need them.

 

Good that you found you had a water cooled battery. Given enough time it would have become a real mess.

 

Took my R50 to MAG today for an oil change and fluid check...WOW...first time EVERRRRRRRRRR that they didn't find a thing wrong other than the oil change!

 

Amen to that.

 

Played around w/ BCM options thru NCS. Tried to keep the interior light off when door opens....to no avail, but was surprised both windows had auto-up option.[emoji106]

Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk

 

Got her rear strut bushings replaced with the Power Flex version. The old OE's were shot! No more clunking in the rear, she sounds new again

 

Covered, on the trickle charger, in neutral and park brake not engaged ready for hibernation.

 

Hello folks. I've been putting on more miles in rental cars lately than my MINI. Another #$%&*# gearshift knob top broke off yesterday. All four tabs sheared right off. GRRRRRRR.

I did get to drive a new GT350 AND a new GT350R today. Not mine, and can't afford to bend one, so I didn't go nuts. Here is the GT350. The GT350R was black. Not dealer prepped yet, so the front splitter is in the front passenger seat instead of on the car.

 

The MINI was on day four as my camera gear hauler. Day five is tomorrow. There shouldn't be any stop-and-go Dallas traffic on a Saturday, so I won't be cursing my manual transmission choice.

Soooo Dave, how would you like to detail a polished aluminum car? Lots of fun to photograph.

(BTW, it is a real AC/Shelby Cobra, and yes, I drove it)



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