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

[KC MCS]

Gotcha, thanks!

Based on their cost, I'll try replacing the o-ring first. I'm tempted to go with the ratchet strap method just because it's less to uninstall/reinstall and therefore faster. The only thing that concerns me is twisting the engine down like that - seems like not a very good idea, but the thread where I read about that method indicated it was suggested by a MINI SA.

[Mach5]

Is "put the car in service mode" just a euphamism for tear down the front of the car? Or is there something specific to the MINI about this?

[Minidave]

Well, actually there are two versions of service mode, one where you just move the entire front end forward, supported on some long bolts, but leave it attached to the car - that gives you access but doesn't mean as much work, and the access limits what you can do.

The second way is to remove everything like we did on Clint's car, that's the easier way to remove the supercharger and such.

[Mach5]

Well, actually there are two versions of service mode, one where you just move the entire front end forward, supported on some long bolts, but leave it attached to the car - that gives you access but doesn't mean as much work, and the access limits what you can do.

The second way is to remove everything like we did on Clint's car, that's the easier way to remove the supercharger and such.

Are the long bolts on the car? Is it designed for the nose to "slide" forward to permit access?

[Minidave]

No and yes.....

You need the bolts - you can get them at any hardware store that has metric stuff...

I don't know if they designed it to move forward or that was discovered as a way to work on the car, since it's so tight in there.

[Mach5]

No and yes.....

You need the bolts - you can get them at any hardware store that has metric stuff...

I don't know if they designed it to move forward or that was discovered as a way to work on the car, since it's so tight in there.

I'd never heard of this until I saw this thread. But I've not spent a lot of time on NAM.

[KC MCS]

I haven't done it yet myself, no need until now. Here is a nice how to guide from NAM that I plan on using:

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/fo ... d-mfe.html

[KC MCS]

Just finished replacing the crank sensor o-ring. Pretty easy. It took longer to clean off all the caked oil from all around under there than to put it in service mode and replace the o-ring. Here's hoping that fixes my leak!

[Mach5]

I haven't done it yet myself, no need until now. Here is a nice how to guide from NAM that I plan on using:

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/fo ... d-mfe.html

Just read through this (thanks for the link, BTW). I note that they said use 8x100mm. Can you use longer bolts to give yourself even more access? Or are you limited by hose and wire lengths? There is no mention in the article about the connecting hoses and such for the radiator, etc.

[KC MCS]

Technically you could use longer ones, however you are limited by the length of the hoses for the radiator and other wiring. I had to go to Ace Hardware to find the bolts and the ones I bought, although they are 8m x 100, did not fit. I don't think the threads were correct.

[Minidave]

It all depends on what you're going to do, for doing the o-ring or changing the cooling fan, you don't really need to move it any further out. But to answer, yes you are somewhat limited by hoses and wires and such. Each time you unhook something you get a little more space, but after a while you practically have it to the point of simply removing everything. If you decide to open yours up, do yourself a favor and take pictures of the details, such as where the fan wiring hooks up and where the wire go to the lights thru the bumper and such, it will save you some time later, assuming it's still the way it came frome the factory and hasn't been messed with already.

If you'll notice on Clint's car the only thing we didn't remove was the A/C condensor - when they work on one in a MINI shop, they evacuate the system and remove that too, but we don't have the equipment to do that so we carefully set it on something and work around it.

Depending on what yo're doing, you also need a few special tools - like the belt tensioning tool, those bolts (I actually have studs I use - made from all-thread, which is cheaper to buy) and If you ever decide to change your supercharger pulley, the new tool I bought from Craven Speed (which is the one Way uses) really works well and is super easy to use. If you ever need to change your crank damper/pulley, one of our club members made up a fixture to do that too. I also use a special tool to help get the plastic scrivets out of the wheel well lines, it's simply a bent screw driver with a split in the blade that goes under the rim of the socket of the scrivet and holds it so you can remove the center screw.

Removing the supercharger or even just replacing the water pump it's much easier to simply get everything out of the way like we did on Clint's car.

BTW, how is your power steering doing? Still working? Did you check the cooling fan? It'll be a whole lot easier to do it now while the weather's cool if you have to change it.

[KC MCS]

Well I might have an issue...today was the first day I was able to get the car out and about and I noticed something that is new.

When at idle and sitting stationary for several minutes, the fan kicks on and with it I now get a very loud buzzing or humming noise temporarily then it goes away but the radiator fan is still going.

This may or may not be new because I typically don't sit idle for long enough for this to happen, but I did twice today and heard it both times.

Anyone experience this?

[Mach5]

BTW, how is your power steering doing? Still working? Did you check the cooling fan? It'll be a whole lot easier to do it now while the weather's cool if you have to change it.

I did inspect the cooling fan and couldn't find anything visibly wrong with it. I did not remove it from the car, though. For the most part I haven't had any issues with the power steering since I got home. I did have a couple times when it went out, but since then it's been fine. It is real inconsistent about when it decides it doesn't want to work. At least once it did not work on startup after sitting overnight (i.e., with a cold motor). I've also had times when it went out and I'd park and restart the car and it'd be fine for the rest of the trip. It is definitely something I'll have to explore further when I have time and $$$.

I'm starting to develop a drip on the driveway and the last time I changed the oil I noticed a quite a bit of oil on the bottom of the car, so I suspect I have the leak you described elsewhere, as I couldn't see any obvious evidence of a leak around the pan or valve cover gasket. I also feel like the handling isn't up to scratch lately. I feel like I get more torque steer than I used to, and hear some clonking sound in the front, so I suspect I've got a bad bushing or two that need attention. I also think I need to replace the O2 sensor and it is likely time to replace the plugs (and wires?) as well. It is due for a coolant flush, too. In short, it has a lot of deferred maintenance.

[Minidave]

It's always sumthin with these old cars, isn't it?

Most likely the clunk in the front is the lower control arm bushings, if you buy them get them from Way, his come already pressed into the bracket, you just send your old ones back to him - saves a bunch of time and work. You should be able to see if they're cracked and/or torn if you put the car up on stands and look closely with a good light.

I would definitely do the crank sensor, that's just almost a guaranteed leak at this point, and the o-ring is cheap.

The plug wires might be OK with just a good cleaning where they go into the coil pack, also clean the coil pack terminals.... some people have reported a remarkable improvemement in their car's running just from this. When you pull the plug wires off the plugs, be sure to put some hi-dialectric grease on the end where the plug fits in, they'll be much easier to get off the next time - same on the coil end. If you change your plugs, remember you have an insert on one of them. We tried to change plugs on a club members car one shop day, and we could not get the new plug to thread into the head, turns out the insert was still on the old plug!

If you're not getting a code thrown from the 02 sensor, I wouldn't spend the money on it - they're quite expensive and unless it's throwing a code, it's still working fine.

I think I'd pull the power steering pump and just open up the electrical end and blow it out good with air, then just put it back together. I think that will do as much for it as anything - and while you have it off, put the hose ends in a pan or bucket and work the wheel back and forth to expell all the old oil out of the rack, then put the new stuff in - that will help the rack last longer. Be sure to use the green Pentosin fluid, you can get it at any German car store and maybe at a better auto parts store like O'Reileys - last I checked, with our club discount of 10%, it was cheapest to buy it at the MINI dealer.

Hardly a full days work at one of our shop days, but working by yourself you should probably have the Porsche running and ready as backup!

Good luck!

You should probably take advantage of the relatively cool weather right now, while you still have it.....

[Mach5]

It's always sumthin with these old cars, isn't it?

. . .

You should probably take advantage of the relatively cool weather right now, while you still have it.....

Right now, lack of money is the main problem. As far as having a backup car, but for the fact that I have to take the kids to school, I'd be better off taking the FIAT. The 911 has been sitting for a while and at the least needs a rear CV boot replaced.

Too many cars, too little time, and way too little $.

Oh and the reason I suspect the O2 sensor is because the idiot light on the dash (service engine) comes on and stays on whenever ambiant temps dip below 70. Once ambiant temps hit 80 it goes off. I haven't checked with an OBDII because I don't have one, but I can't think of any other reason for the light to come on ONLY when it's cold out.

[Mach5]

O.K., I ordered the abs sensors, because I've gotten the infamous 'trifecta' problem. I also ordered new poly lower control arm bushings and poly sway bar bushings for the front. Way didn't have the poly bushings pre-pressed into the mounts, so I bought them from Madness instead. I tend to like Madness' stuff more (though my adjustable rear control arms came from Way). My strut tower under-braces came from Madness.

As for doing the lower control arm bushing replacement, I watched a video on youtube where they removed the lower control arm and then just pulled it right out. Seems like after you do that you can just undo the bolts holding the mount in place, replace the mount with the new one with the poly bushing, put the control arm back on, and voila. Not sure why you'd need to remove the subframe for that (admittedly they only showed the driver side, and the car was on a lift, but they were showing how to change out the bushings without removing the mount from the car). They didn't show having to remove the lower control arm from any ball joints -- it just bolted in place. Am I missing something? I don't have a manual and haven't yet had the chance to spend time looking at the set up to see what issues I might have.

I forgot about the o-ring you mentioned until I saw the post. Do I need to replace the sensor or can I just change the o-ring? I ask because I know that JB and I have a couple of plastic boxes with different sized o-rings. Might be a super cheap fix that way! EDIT: Re-read your post and you are talking about replacing the o-ring.

I also bought new oil and filter. I need to do a coolant flush, too, but have no place to store the old coolant. OTOH, if I let it run into the street, I might be able to fix a cat problem...(just kidding).

This car seems to have its share of electrical gremlins. Like the intermittent failure of the ps pump to work (it's noisy, too), and the previously mentioned check engine light that comes on when you drive the car in ambient temps under 80F. There is definitely a ground short somewhere, too, with the seat heaters, because the fuse keeps blowing after the seat heaters cycle. That or it has the wrong size fuse. But, its not like I really need the seat heaters here in Phoenix.

Oh, and if the car sits out in the heat (104F or higher), the power windows won't work unless I beat on the door. So, I need to deal with those, too, but have held off because it looks to be a PIA. I wonder if there is a specific part on the power window motor that causes the problem that I can fix, rather than having to replace the power window motors?

EDIT: One other thing...does anyone know whether 2nd Gen wheels will fit a 1st gen car? My friend's wife has a Gen 2 and she got new wheels because she tired of the hard ride from her run flats. The wheels and tires are in good condition and aren't being used presently. I'm thinking about putting them on my car for a while so that I can get my current wheels reconditioned (curb rash, brake dust, chemicals, etc. have taken their toll on the wheels and they're looking pretty shabby anymore) or replaced.

[Minidave]

The 2nd gen wheels fit perfectly, I ran a set of 2007 S lites on my '03 JCW, the same ones I have on my Clubby now.

The problem with the windows is the motors themselves, it's the same problem as with the power steering motor, the brushes have worn down to the point that they don't touch the commutator anymore, bumping the door panel makes them contact again and work for a bit. The cure is to remove the motor, blow out the dust, and replace the brushes with new ones (or replace the motors). Same with the power steering pump, although usually they just have so much dust buildup that simply cleaning it out often fixes them, I've done a couple that way. In your case, I think you have a bad bearing too (the whining noise when it runs). If you decide to tackle either of these jobs, you can find brushes cheaply on the interwebs, just get an accurate measurement and pay attention to the length and thickness of the lead, especially for the power steering pump brushes - they're pretty high amp - and they're soldered on. Bearings are easily available from your local bearing house, just read the number engraved on the metal casing and they can match it up.

ABS sensor is usually just the left front for some reason, check it first. Sometimes it's just greasy from the axle boot being bad.

To change the o-ring on the crank sensor, just remove the 6mm bolt (10mm socket) and pull the sensor out, don't bother trying to unhook the wires, just leave them on, you'll just break the clip. Some people also smear a big gob of RTV around the outer part of the sensor when reinstalling it. I don't, however I do put a good layer of thick grease on the o-ring to keep it from being damaged when you put it back in.

Having done several of the lower control arm sets now, I don't see how you can do it the way you described, when we did Don's car recently the bolts that hold the brackets to the subframe were crazy tight, and there is no room to get a long pipe and wrench/socket setup on them, especially the back one. Some people have taken the lower control arm out then removed the bushing from the bracket in the car, I suppose this is do-able, but you'll need to make up a puller to get the old bushing out of the bracket - it's a PITA and it's pressed in. Some have done this by taking a cutting torch and slicing thru the outer shell of the bushing, some have taken a body saw and done the same thing - that takes skill and finesse. I think by the time you've done either you could have the subframe out. If you drop the subframe, you don't have to do anything but take the bracket off and replace with new ones, I think that might be the easier way actually, especially if you're doing other work such as the o-ring on the crank sensor and you'll need it in "service mode" anyway. Likewise, if you drop the subframe, the power steering pump is very easily accessible, since it's bolted to the subframe and it's somewhat difficult to remove when the subframe is in the car. As long as you have it out......

The swaybar bolts directly to the top of the control arm bushing's bracket, if you have the subframe out, those bolts are very accessible, in the car they're impossible to remove unless you lower the subframe several inches, as they're about 4 inches long. Once you've done what's necessary to do that, you've practically done everything needed to remove the subframe.

One thing's for sure, the higher you can get the car off the ground, the easier it is to do these things.

I flush the coolant down the toilet, that way it goes to the treatment plant instead of into the ecosystem.

Removing the steering shaft from the rack is dead simple, you remove the thru bolt, and the end of the shaft just folds up out of the way, you'll understand as soon as you undo it.

We also found removing the inner fender liners made it much easier to get at all the various nuts and bolts. There are plastic clips, to get them out you have to hold the outer part and unscrew the inner, once you have one out you'll see. I just stick a small screwdriver blade under the edge of the outer part to hold it while I unscrew the inner. If you break some, they're inexpensive and avaialble at the dealer.

I can send you my Bentley manual, but the shipping will be spendy and I don't remember it being that helpful.

Oh, and make sure you have an 18mm 1/2" drive socket - you'll need it. If you have a Northern Tool store in your area, I think they'll have one available singly and for less than $5.

[Mach5]

Oh boy. Sounds like more than a weekend's worth of work, if only because I'd have to get parts out, find the replacements, and reinstall. I could potentially drive the 80 X since the kids are out of school and I'm just driving to and from work. The 74 X and 911 are in my garage, though, so that means doing the work in JB's garage, which likely means moving the 80 X out of the third car slot, putting the 124 spider back there and then putting my MINI in his garage next to his wife's. But for the fact that she'd probably kill me if I forced her to park her car in the drive, I'd leave my MINI disassembled in their garage while I got all the bits to fix the PS motor, etc.

So far only one of the parts orders has arrived, so I may not be able to get around do doing this work yet.

OH WAIT!! I just remembered that JB's wife and daughter are going out of town this weekend. Hmmmm....

EDIT: Well, I've been resistant to putting the car in service mode, but it sounds like I don't have a choice. Have you done a clutch slave cyl replacement in your MINI group yet? I hear that's a bit of a PIA, too. Mine supposedly has a small leak (leaves a small drop on the drive). Funny thing is it never had a problem until MINI pointed out that it did.

I also need to replace the windshield...again. That's the lovely thing about living in AZ; if you drive on the roads long enough eventually someone will hit a rock with a tire and it will slam into your windshield. The guy that did the work the last time (and independent who uses the local MINI dealer's garage) did a great job. Hopefully he's still around.

[Zack]

I'll be there. What time is it at again? I didn't notice the time. I don't have anything to work on this weekend other than the engine mounts but I'd love to give a hand and get my hands dirty learning more about these cars.

[Minidave]

EDIT: Well, I've been resistant to putting the car in service mode, but it sounds like I don't have a choice. Have you done a clutch slave cyl replacement in your MINI group yet? I hear that's a bit of a PIA, too. Mine supposedly has a small leak (leaves a small drop on the drive). Funny thing is it never had a problem until MINI pointed out that it did.

I also need to replace the windshield...again. That's the lovely thing about living in AZ; if you drive on the roads long enough eventually someone will hit a rock with a tire and it will slam into your windshield. The guy that did the work the last time (and independent who uses the local MINI dealer's garage) did a great job. Hopefully he's still around.

Replacing the slave cylinder is the easy part, getting the new one to work is the hard part. You have to either borrow the special tool or rig one up to push the slave cylinder piston back into the slave cylinder to bleed it completely, otherwise it won't and it won't realease the clutch far enough. It's a PITA too.....just like most everything else on this car.

The windshield in the Clubby has a big ol crack in it too, but fortunately I have $100 deductible on windshields, so if I need to get a new one every couple of years, it's worth it to get rid of all the pits.....

You might take a shot at just blowing the power steering motor out and reinstalling it and see if it cures it. I think the whine could be a bad bearing, but of the four or so I've taken apart, none has needed bearings - so maybe just cleaning it out will do the trick? Don't forget the green Pentosin PS fluid, nothing else will work. You can get it at any German car dealer, but the last time I bought it it was cheapest at the MINI dealer - you might find it at an auto parts store too, but make sure you get the right stuff.

[Zack]

Now that I think about it, if we have time, I'd like help installing my Detroit Tuned Tensioner Stop.