What's on the agenda for our next garage day?

[minicoopers43]

Well the last garage day was only a week ago but I believe there is still a few hitches and pulleys that need to be installed so I thought i'd just see what's on the table and then we can go from there as far as a date.

If the weather stays like it has been then the next garage day might not be too far off.

Here's my to-do list. parts will be ordered this weekend.

Passenger side motor mount
lower engine mount
upper engine mount
oil pan gasket
Crankshaft position sensor o-ring
Redline manual tranny fluid
ate super blue brake fluid
supercharger oil ***remove supercharger and inspect gears and refill oil
17% pulley kit (pulley, belt, plugs, tensioner stop) ***last to be installed

This is probably way too much to tackle in one day but whatever doesn't get done I will do another time.

What is on everyone else's to-do list?

[davester]

My nephew-in-law (BlueLightning) needs rear brakes installed --pads and rotors. It's a R56 so I don't know if it is different than a R53. Anyone know for sure?

[MiniX4 John]

I am almost done with Moxie! Hope to have her back on the road again soon. I would be glad to help with whatever I could. If anyone has hitches to install, I have experience (including removing bumpers). Also, Minidave and I just did the crank sensor 0-ring on RagTopDay's MIni.

[Minidave]

Crank sensor is super easy to do, especially if you already have the front end off! And I'll bet 90% of the oil pan gaskets that have been replaced haven't been needed - but were due to a leaking crank sensor letting oil run down to the pan and making it look like it's coming from the pan gasket.

As to the rest, that's a pretty full work load right there, if you haven't replaced the waterpump you might consider doing that while you have the supercharger off, cause that's pretty much what you have to do to replace it....

The rear brakes on the R56 are very slightly different, but the procedure's basically the same.

I'm up for it, we just need to gather up all the participants and schedule it out.

I have the new supercharger pulley tool now too.

I thought of another tool that would really be beneficial to the club, that's the engine support tool that suspends the engine from the front fenders so you can work on oil pans, motor mounts and such. Looks similar to this, and I'll bet Harbor Freight has one pretty cheap...

[eronning]

I can help on the rear.brakes. I also want to witness the crank sensor install. I may be a future candidate.

[Hagar46]

Thanks again for help with my rear brakes. I would be willing to help at another garage day but I'm good for now for my car since I rotated my tires, changed the oil, and cleaned my K&N filter this week myself. Also got a new windshield installed by Safelite Autoglass so my dog can see out the front!

[Minidave]

Sounds like you're ready for the summer HPT season, Hagar!

eronning, the hardest part of changing the crank sensor is getting to it! The sensor itself is held in with one bolt, and the seal is just an o-ring....

Pick a weekend, guys - hopefully a warmer one! What is it about Sat that it's alsways so cold?

[minicoopers43]

Crank sensor is super easy to do, especially if you already have the front end off! And I'll bet 90% of the oil pan gaskets that have been replaced haven't been needed - but were due to a leaking crank sensor letting oil run down to the pan and making it look like it's coming from the pan gasket.

As to the rest, that's a pretty full work load right there, if you haven't replaced the waterpump you might consider doing that while you have the supercharger off, cause that's pretty much what you have to do to replace it....

I was thinking the same thing about the oil pan gasket but it's only $30 and i'll already have the front torn apart so I figure replace it while you're there instead of finding out that it was leaking after its put back together and i'm sick of having an oil soaked piece of cardboard in my garage.

I'm still thinking about the water pump but whether i replace it or just take it off to swap the oil i'm wondering if i need a new water pump o-ring?????

Since everything i'm doing kinda goes together i'm hoping it goes smoothly and we can get most of it done but I know how these things go.

For a date, how does Feb 11th sound? Weather permitting of course.

[Minidave]

Yes, get two water pump o-rings, in case you mess one up - they're cheap and you can return them if you don't use one.

I know the water pump is like $150, but at this mileage and as much work as it takes just to get to it, it seems money well spent to me - they do fail. Your call.

I agree, once you have it down so far, doing the pan gasket seems a no - brainer. But I'll bet you a coke it's not leaking!

Feb 11th is good for me.

[MiniMax]

I have a hitch to put on my clubby. Feb 11th works for me.


Max

[boxer]

I'm in with couple extra hands. I now have a new tool. Purchased a digital torque wench. Love to put it to work.

[minicoopers43]

I thought of another tool that would really be beneficial to the club, that's the engine support tool that suspends the engine from the front fenders so you can work on oil pans, motor mounts and such. Looks similar to this, and I'll bet Harbor Freight has one pretty cheap...

Here is one at harbor freight for $75
http://www.harborfreight.com/1000-lb-ca ... 96524.html

[UltraQuik]

I would love to do a 16% pulley on my Mini if possible.

[Minidave]

OK, I'll start a new thread for the Feb 11th shop day.

[KC MCS]

When I changed my belt over the weekend I saw evidence of a leak somewhere. I posted on NAM earlier today and the crank sensor was one of the things folks mentioned, also the oil pan gasket and the valve cover gasket.

I'm not setup to post pics on here, but I did post a couple in my NAM post, so here's a link to it so you can see what I'm talking about:

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/fo ... -leak.html

What do you guys think the root cause is based on your experience?

[minicoopers43]

That looks like childs play compared to mine.
Since yours isn't bad you might be able to tell where' it's coming from. If it's coming from the front of the engine then i'd bet it's the crank sensor. Mine is so hard to tell if it's one or the other so i'm replacing the crank sensor o-ring and the oil pan gasket at the garage day this saturday.

02062012308.jpg (157.36 KiB) Viewed 19806 times

[Minidave]

When I changed my belt over the weekend I saw evidence of a leak somewhere. I posted on NAM earlier today and the crank sensor was one of the things folks mentioned, also the oil pan gasket and the valve cover gasket.

I'm not setup to post pics on here, but I did post a couple in my NAM post, so here's a link to it so you can see what I'm talking about:

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/fo ... -leak.html

What do you guys think the root cause is based on your experience?

I'm not sure, but I don't think it's the pan gasket. Could be the crank pulley seal - take a good look at the crank pulley and make sure the rubber hasn't deteriorated.




You don't need to do anything special to post pics here, exept make sure they're not too big - 600X800 works great. Just use the attachements tab below....

Man Clint, I wish it was going to be warmer so we could take a pressure washer to that pan before we reinstall it.....

[KC MCS]

I looked up under the front clip last night and could see some on the pan like that too. I wiped it off best I could and I'll check it when I get home today to see if it is back.

To see the crank pulley seal do I need to pull the pass tire and peel the wheel well back or can I see it just by jacking up the front and sliding under?

I've never put it into service mode, so this should be...interesting.

[Minidave]

I don't remember if you said or not, have you replaced the crank sensor o-ring yet? That's the cause of most oil leakage on these cars....IMHO of course.

Minicoopers43 and I have a bet on whether his pan gasket is leaking or if all his oil is coming from the crank sensor - there's a coke riding on it too!

Looking at the pulley, I'd think it would be easiest to see it if you at least pulled the wheel.

[KC MCS]

I haven't replaced anything yet. I did see the 'ratchet strap' method to gain access to the crank sensor, and I'm no mechanic, but that just seems sketchy to pull the engine downward at an angle.

On the other hand, if I have to put it into service mode, then what other things should I replace while I've got it there? I just recently rolled 66K miles and I'm probably 90% highway.

[KC MCS]

I went ahead and picked up a crank sensor o-ring, crank pulley gasket, and oil pan gasket at Baron this morning after I got my new tires mounted/balanced and the alignment done at Shore.

I also have new brake pads for front/rear at home waiting to be installed, 4 new rotors on their way to my house and they should arrive Friday, a full can of ATE super blue, 4 new plugs, new plug wires on the way (also should be here by Friday)...some fun times ahead - and hopefully a job well done celebrated with a Crown and Sprite!

I'll have to research how to replace the crank pulley gasket, I already found the step by step for the crank sensor o-ring and the oil pan gasket.

Don't know if I'll get to all of it this weekend or not, but if I have issues, I will probably post on here for some of your collective expert advice!

[KC MCS]

I was able to finish everything I needed to get done except the crank pulley gasket, the crank sensor o-ring, the oil pan gasket, and a coolant flush.

I changed out my rotors all around, put on new akebono pads all around, flushed the brake lines, changed my spark plugs, replaced my ignition wires, and changed my oil. Add to that the new Conti DWS's that were put on last Thursday, along with the alignment, and the new serpentine belt I put on the weekend before, and that's a lot of maintenance!

So I've got a few questions for you all...

First, who won the coke? Was the leak coming from the crank sensor o-ring or the oil pan gasket?

Second, are there any gotchas I need to be aware of when I go to put my MCS into service mode to change the crank sensor o-ring? I guess I might as well consider doing the crank pulley gasket at the same time since I bought one, and hindsight 20/20, I should have waited to do my oil change so I could do the oil pan gasket as well - but maybe I'll be lucky and it isn't the source of the leak!

Third, how much time would you estimate it will take for me to put her into service mode and change the crank sensor o-ring (I know it's a 1 bolt quick swap) and put her all back together?

Finally, are there any special tools required to change the crank pulley gasket?

Thanks!

[Minidave]

You keep calling it a crank pulley gasket, do you mean the seal? It's #5 in this pic..


To replace that seal you need to remove the crank pulley (aka crankshaft vibration damper), be aware a lot of these have failed - once you have it off if you see evidence that it's cracked or going bad, you don't want to put it back on the car - do you have backup transportation for while you wait for a new one? I have not heard of these seals failing, so I wonder why you think yours has? I have the tool you'll need to pull the crank pulley if you need it.....

I think before I changed any of that I'd do the crank sensor o-ring, clean it all up with a pressure washer if possible, then watch it for a while. See the big "gear" looking thing (#7) on this pic of the crankshaft? That's what the crank sensor is "looking" at - it sits at an angle and that gear throws oil at it as it turns - that's why they leak so much oil when they leak, that oil migrates along all the horizontal surfaces of the engine and gets blown all around when you drive, so it can look like oil is coming from places that it isn't - hence my recommendation to change the easy thing first then see if that's all it was.



Here's a pic of the cranks sensor and o-ring, see how it lines up with that gear in the pic above? It's #8....



If you look there is a procedure to replace the crank sensor without putting the car in service mode, I haven't done it but it seems completely do-able to me, and would save a ton of work. (Edit: I see you've already looked at it - sorry for the repeat)

As to the coke question, we didn't answer it for sure, but the crank sensor was most definitely leaking, and to me the pan gasket appeared to be good, it was still pliable - not hardened - so I doubt it was leaking. I could not believe how clean that engine was inside for 170K!

I don't know of any gotcha's for putting the car in service mode, there are a lot of fasteners to take out, and you need to pay attention to what went where, but it's not that hard.

[KC MCS]

Sorry, yes I do mean the crank pulley seal (#5), it was one that you mentioned earlier as a possibility, so for as inexpensive as they are and since I was at Baron anyway to get the crank sensor o-ring and a couple of oil filters, I grabbed one, so I do have one on hand.

Dumb question, but you weren't suggesting that the crank pulley itself is failing folks and that I needed a new one of them on hand were you? I'm pretty sure you were talking about the seal cracking and failing (which again I do have a new one on hand).

Are you talking about using the ratchet strap to tilt the engine downward to get to the crank sensor o-ring as an alternate method rather than service mode?

[Minidave]

Yes, and yes....

The crankshaft vibration dampers have a rubber core that cracks and can fail - usually from all the oil.

Yes, use a ratcher strap to rotate the engine so that you can get your hand up in there to take the sensor out and replace the o-ring. For a first timer, I might consider going ahead and putting the car in service mode so you can see what you're doing....

I added some more info to my post above as you were typing your reply...