So the ex's Mini Cooper S needs a motor. Why the crap are the turbo engines so f*cking expensive?!?! Is it easier to just throw forged rods and pistons in it or drop in a new motor? Price is a concern, she loves the car, but I'd hate to see her deal with slain bearings again if its a design flaw. Anyone recommend anything in the NW Ohio area?
They are expensive because they are basically BMW engines. The R56 turbo engines in particular seem to be weirdly problematic; timing chain issues, carbon issues, HPFP issues. Never heard of one grenading the mains like that though...what kind of mileage did it have, and was it exhibiting any other issues?
They're expensive because they're failure prone POS cars(sorry, no sugarcoating it). Pulling JY engines you're likely to get one that needs timing chain+tensioner right off the bat.
ugh that looks like a rats nest. At least the front end comes off in typical BMW fashion. Could the timing chain+tensioner be mistaken for rod knock? I haven't heard the thing run or knock in person. She said it was making the noise intermittently over the past year or so and got really bad over the past month. When she went and got her oil changed, they told her it was wasted. 89K on it.
Could well be the tensioner/chain. They get LOUD.
Listen to the valve cover chain area. Or pull it and check for slack. It gets loose then rips the top chain guide out then bends valves. It's deep like a bottom end knock but audible about everywhere.
beans wrote: So the ex's Mini Cooper S needs a motor.
Why is this your berkeleying problem? 
RealMiniParker wrote:beans wrote: So the ex's Mini Cooper S needs a motor.Why is this your berkeleying problem?
Seriously.
Now, now, boys, don't be mean. They may have parted on amicable terms.
I eventually want kids, she doesn't. I'm not fixing the car, just helping not get assraped by a "mechanic." Being a decent human being isn't detrimental.
beans wrote: ugh that looks like a rats nest. At least the front end comes off in typical BMW fashion. Could the timing chain+tensioner be mistaken for rod knock? I haven't heard the thing run or knock in person. She said it was making the noise intermittently over the past year or so and got really bad over the past month. When she went and got her oil changed, they told her it was wasted. 89K on it.
I can almost guarantee it's the timing chain. My wife's turbo S's chain guides self destructed at about 45k miles, sounded like a diesel engine when it did that. Mine thankfully was still under warranty at that point. I sold the car not long after that. That car was everything that people complain about BMW's for all rolled into one vehicle.
beans wrote: She said it was making the noise intermittently over the past year or so and got really bad over the past month. When she went and got her oil changed, they told her it was wasted. 89K on it.
She needs to get an appliance and not be driving a car that has higher than normal care and feeding needs.
Also who were the oil change people? A quick lube place? If so she should get a second opinion from a competent independent shop that knows BMW's or even the dealer. Some times it is worth paying a bit more to have a dealer do the diagnosis. The really big thing is that you don't want a shop or a dealer to scare her in to thinking it will be the end of the world if she does not fix it right there and then. For that matter I can see the dealers sales force pushing her to a new car.
Also is she the original owner? Does BMW have a 100k mile drive train warranty? I would be asking the dealer for some kind of help. Cars motors are not suppose to fail at less than 90K.. . . . That is unless she treated oil changes like she treated the sound coming from the motor. I suspect that had it been looked at sooner the fix would have been much less painful than it may be now. Does she have oil change records documenting that she took good care of the car?
flatlander937 wrote: They're expensive because they're failure prone POS cars(sorry, no sugarcoating it). Pulling JY engines you're likely to get one that needs timing chain+tensioner right off the bat.
I guess I'm lucky that the R53 is the only MINI I truly love, as they seem to be a lot more solid mechanically than everything that came after...I was briefly considering a turbo R56 at one point but gave up on that idea quick after hearing about all the issues they have.
The naturally aspirated models, OTOH, seem to be pretty sturdy (other than the ones with the garbage Midlands 5-speed, anywho).
FYI, people I trust say that the transmissions are a glass jaw as well...
Mad_Ratel wrote: FYI, people I trust say that the transmissions are a glass jaw as well...
The early Midlands 5-speed and (IIRC) CVT models aren't to be trusted, but the rest are actually pretty decent as far as I know.
There are now three different generations of MINI and they all have unique problems, mostly because there is not a whole lot shared between each generation.
In reply to dean1484:
My mom's '03 MCS was maintained by the dealer. That meant oil changes at the recommended 15,000 miles, or once a year, as it didn't get driven much. The motor E36 M3 the bed at 56k, when it was 7 years old. IMNSHO, these cars are money pits, once the warranty is up, which, IIRC, is 3y/36k.
pointofdeparture wrote:Mad_Ratel wrote: FYI, people I trust say that the transmissions are a glass jaw as well...The early Midlands 5-speed and (IIRC) CVT models aren't to be trusted, but the rest are actually pretty decent as far as I know. There are now three different generations of MINI and they all have unique problems, mostly because there is not a whole lot shared between each generation.
The words he used was "idiot engineering, waay too small of a gear for the power made"...
He does gladly take the money of owners that need a rebuild. (family friend that owns a transmission shop).
But I do not know which tranny that was. Just that he mentioned some local autocrosser having had it fixed twice...
I would check the timing chain too. When I had my R56 turbo, I heard about the issue over and over and over. They called it the "death rattle". It may have been recalled?
My brother-in-Law had the timing chain replaced under a recall.
I would check with the dealer before even opening it up to see if it applies to the Ex's MINI.
pointofdeparture wrote: They are expensive because they are basically BMW engines.
I thought the turbo MINI engine was Peugeot's fault.
Knurled wrote:pointofdeparture wrote: They are expensive because they are basically BMW engines.I thought the *turbo* MINI engine was Peugeot's fault.
Very well could be. I admittedly know very little about the newer MINIs as I only ever came close to buying R53s; the turbo R56 scared me off in a hurry.
To be fair, though, is it Peugeot's fault for building the engine, or BMW's fault for deciding on a 15k OCI spec for a car most people use for short city trips? 
Knurled wrote:pointofdeparture wrote: They are expensive because they are basically BMW engines.I thought the *turbo* MINI engine was Peugeot's fault.
IIRC, it was designed by BMW, then build in a joint plant with Peugeot. Similar to how the previous engine (Tritec) was a joint between BMW and Chrysler (pre M-B agreement). The current F56 engine is pure BMW and I believe is slated to be used in some pending FWD BMW models.
I wouldn't say the R50/53 models are any less trouble-prone. Just different troubles.
If the car was an autocross car, it was likely a R50 as those dominated H-Stock for quite a while vs. the R53 which did great in GS, but not as well in DS.
The MINI is a popular enthusiast car and there are specialist shops for them in just about every major region. If you are near Philly, I recommend Helix13.com.
pointofdeparture wrote: To be fair, though, is it Peugeot's fault for building the engine, or BMW's fault for deciding on a 15k OCI spec for a car most people use for short city trips?
Changing oil is a waste of oil. If the car breaks, you should buy a new car because new cars are cleaner and more efficient.
At least, this is the mindset as explained to me. Apparently new European cars are created by force of will and not through energy-intensive and often environmentally heinous manufacturing processes.
3/36??? Dam that tells me that even BMW has no faith in that car.
One clarification that is also off topic. The only transmission worth owning in the R53-R50 is the manual 6 speed. The CVT sucks and breaks (may coax some life with frequent oil changes), the 5 speed midlands sucks and breaks, the 6 speed auto in the S also destroys valve bodies and spins sleeves. They are all obscenely expensive to replace due to BMW prices and large labour bills. The motor is actually decently reliable and is a dream compared with the Prince turbo in the R56.
She used to manage an apartment complex and lived at the same place, so for the first two years or so of ownership, she'd have the oil changed once a year because she never drove it, changing oil every 3000 miles. She's maybe put 7,000 miles on it since she bought it around this time in 2012. Not sure if she has any service records prior to that, sounds like she bought it off a kind shady car lot. Since she quit that job and went back to school for her masters, she's been driving it daily 30-40 miles a day for the past few months.
You'll need to log in to post.
