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General MINI TalkShared experiences, motoring minutes, and other general MINI-related discussion that applies to all MINIs, regardless of model, year or trim.
Did an oil change…. GAWD I hate the location of the drain plug on the N14/18 oil pan…. Does anyone know if there is an aftermarket oil pan with the drain plug relocated to a different position?
roof drains... they were plugged and you cleared them with compressed air? yes- my air nozzle is a 6” tube with a slight bend. Did you also secure the drain tubes to the sunroof cassette with clamps or wire ties? No I didn’t do that. Should I have? I don’t know what that is.
Short rubber hoses attach the drain tubes to the corners of the sunroof assembly/cassette under the headliner by slip fit and often fall off letting water leak into the interior. When they fall off in the front, water drips onto the fuse box or the body control module on the passenger side and can cause a lot of electrical issues. It’s recommended to secure the tubes with hose clamps (preferable over wire ties) to prevent this.
Did an oil change…. GAWD I hate the location of the drain plug on the N14/18 oil pan…. Does anyone know if there is an aftermarket oil pan with the drain plug relocated to a different position?
drain plug isn’t what I would be complaining about, location of filter and the coolant line different story.
X2! I've seen the plastic tee in the hose break apart when the coolant tank was moved to access the filter. Not as bad on the N/A engines, though.
that plastic t split on wife’s bf’s R60s on the dragon last weekend. Luckily lowes has the 1x1x3/4 pex brass adapter and hose clamps, boom that problem solved.
First post ever! Today I cleaned the block from my r55 mini clubman 2009 mellow yellow I love the yellow! The block needed cleaning before putting back together… I do have a million questions. The timing chain broke and the exhaust valves met with the piston. So I’m rebuilding and I have the short block left. And I don’t know what to do. So should I A. Take the cradle apart check the bearings. Or leave it alone. The oil was good nothing but oil no water in the oil. And no oil in the water. My dad passed and he is the one I would have asked. So u guys are my next suggestion.
I personally want to but, things I have noticed is if it isn’t broke don’t fix it but I’m so close I don’t want to not do it and have to later.
but what I noticed is there are ten bolts on the bottom and 2 are covered by a wonderful metal cap. Can those be replaced after it is split and put back together.
What all should I replace what should be fine the car had 98k miles on it driven by a young woman. But was taken care of besides the things that were oops and forgotten about immediately… like damage to the hood, the oil pan, the A pillar. The bumpers the wheel well covers.
I bought a mini 2009 2 door with 59k and a manual transmission but decided after splitting the yellow apart that the thing I was thinking of doing was impossible then realized after selling the 2door realized it wasn’t impossible.
so if y’all have any suggestions on what to replace I was planning on having the top reworked new water pump and system new head gasket new oil pan and gasket. New gaskets for everything I take apart. New valve cover.
should I replace the oil pump.
should I take apart the bed plate and the pistons out? The bearings?
I got a bunch of stuff from autohuaz and more coming for the transmission so it is in good shape. New seals and filter and such.
drain plug isn’t what I would be complaining about, location of filter and the coolant line different story.
Yes, filter location is much worse. However, with my 5,000 mile oil changes, I have relegated to changing the filter every 10k miles. That drain plug though… I can’t drain the oil without getting it all over my arm, tools, floor, etc.
Yes, filter location is much worse. However, with my 5,000 mile oil changes, I have relegated to changing the filter every 10k miles. That drain plug though… I can’t drain the oil without getting it all over my arm, tools, floor, etc.
on the n14 filter isn’t that bad, but yes same location on drain plug. I lift up just the driver’s side, I crack it open with tool and unscrew by hand, yeah I wear gloves and normally throw this first pair away. Only way I have found to stay somewhat clean, at least we don’t have to play the “hope I have it lined up game” and have oil shoot out missing the pan.
on the n14 filter isn’t that bad, but yes same location on drain plug. I lift up just the driver’s side, I crack it open with tool and unscrew by hand, yeah I wear gloves and normally throw this first pair away. Only way I have found to stay somewhat clean, at least we don’t have to play the “hope I have it lined up game” and have oil shoot out missing the pan.
I use this thing and it works great:
Seemed gimmicky at the time, but I was tired of fighting hot oil and playing the test-of-reflexes game getting the oil plug out without getting oiled. I unscrew the plug until there's just a thread or two left, slap tthe gizmo on and use it to turn from the side it a bit of "away" force. When the plug comes free, the tension pulls the plug clear and the oil runs free. It's up to $18 on Amazon, but I'm glad I have it every time...
Yes, filter location is much worse. However, with my 5,000 mile oil changes, I have relegated to changing the filter every 10k miles. That drain plug though… I can’t drain the oil without getting it all over my arm, tools, floor, etc.
looks interesting but knowing my luck that would get scraped on something. On our falls run during MSSD I scraped the front plastic lip a couple of times.
looks interesting but knowing my luck that would get scraped on something. On our falls run during MSSD I scraped the front plastic lip a couple of times.
I have a GP2 front under tray. As long as it will fit in between the oil pan and the tray with a little bit of room to spare, I should be good.
My wife asked my son to design a tattoo for her that would represent me. For some reason they chose a dragon……lucky for me, a fellow MINI buddy took it and did my sunroof too! This is a special sunroof graphic for so many reasons! Huge thanks to my son and buddy!
How many days until MOTD 2022? Lol
My wife asked my son to design a tattoo for her that would represent me. For some reason they chose a dragon……lucky for me, a fellow MINI buddy took it and did my sunroof too! This is a special sunroof graphic for so many reasons! Huge thanks to my son and buddy!
How many days until MOTD 2022? Lol
I was getting a warning light (CC ID 134) for the rear right brake light. The bottom bulb holder socket's foot was melted away and it was looking like a fork. Then I wrapped it with a copper wire a few times (a bit loose). Now it works. Let's see if it will melt itself or the board.
Also, my condenser radiator is coming apart piece by piece. It is losing its fins, starting from the bottom and climbing up. And the reasons are the small stones thrown into the ice and snow (combined with salt) in Sweden, Gothenburg, and large grill openings. Probably it will destroy itself in some time. But to extend its and the radiator's life which is behind it, I installed a grill mesh with 12mmx6mm honeycomb mesh size behind the lower grill, locked in place with 2mmx100mm zip-ties. To be able to place it on the backside, I needed to remove the upper grill and fiddle my hand in. In the end, it is still stealth. It would lower the amount of air fed in. I am monitoring the status with an OBD reader. But hey, here is quite cold anyway. If it blocks too much, I am planning to drill several tiny holes into the upper grill with a rotary tool.
The rear brake light bulb holder connector fix still works. And the car is still able to cycle up and down regarding the temperatures.
I also did, intake muffler silencer thing delete with a flexible 70mm inner diameter flexible reinforced rubber hose. Installed chrome strips here and there. I am also thinking about blocking the heat transfer from the expansion tank to the intake pipeline. That line literally wraps around a heat source, which is just a packaging problem. Please find the attached photos:
And here, it is wrapped:
Last edited by omuroff; 10-25-2021 at 03:27 AM.
Reason: Correction
-replaced brake rotors and pads EBC redstuff, all the way around
-replaced left front brake caliper that apparently has been seized for a while...I thought I had a suspension problem and that's why it sometimes vibrated and seemed to pull to the left a little
-had dealer diagnose and replace faulty oil sensor switch
-made faces about occasional check engine light (2884) that might mean my turbo is going out (yeah yeah yeah, I'm at about 95k so that might be the life span...maybe an excuse to get a bigger turbo though )
-vacuumed out all the leaves
-finished my homemade rear seat delete (which is awesome BTW)
-installed AEM cold air intake kit (and even cleaned off my grubby fingerprints from the hood)
❤️❤️❤️
Last edited by margiemollymjo; 10-31-2021 at 09:34 AM.
Reason: Proofread!
Replaced my front strut mounts again today. On my 4th set in less than year. I went OEM from MINI. I tried Amazon brand , KYB, Lemforder all failed. So I will see how these hold up 🥺
Replaced my front strut mounts again today. On my 4th set in less than year. I went OEM from MINI. I tried Amazon brand , KYB, Lemforder all failed. So I will see how these hold up 🥺
What is the failure? If the same failure, after the second set, I would have tried to figure out if there was an external influence why they were failing. Maybe something else is going on with the car…
Hopefully the OEM mounts work out a little better. Have you tried getting warranty replacement for any of these? Were they all pushing up like that? Which springs and struts are you running?
Very odd. Our 2004 R50 had about 60k miles on it when I replaced the shocks and the OEM mounts were still good. I know, only one data point but I also have not seen a lot being said on NAM about failure of these. You might want to consider a set of IE fixed camber plates (link). These are made from a heavier duty BMW strut mounts which should be a lot more durable than what you have used. I have had these on my R56 track car for 10 years now, with a lot of track “abuse” and have had no issues with them. The added camber is a joy to have on a street car, with no noticeable increase in tire wear.
10-17-2021, 11:37 AM
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