Hi all. I'm pretty new to the forum, having just bought my '02 MCS w/108k miles five weeks ago, from a private party. It had some normal cosmetic wear for a high mileage car, but ran great. I bought the car as a toy, something to motor around town in and bring to a handful of HPDEs per year. Unfortunately, the result of my first HPDE with the car was not so good.

I'm no mechanic, so forgive me if I get any terms wrong...

As I was accelerating through a turn, the Service Engine Soon light went on, and the car went into limp mode. There weren't any noises when this happened, and I did not over-rev the engine. I pulled into the paddock, and the engine was running very roughly, as if it was only on 2 or 3 cylinders. I had it flat bedded to a local shop, which read the OBD codes and ran compression and leakdown tests. The OBD codes were P0300 and P0302, for random multiple misfire and cylinder #2 misfire, respectively. The compression in cylinder #2 is 25psi, and the leakdown test showed the cylinder won't hold anything. The spark plug was also covered in gas.

The shop has told me it'd be 5-10 hours of labor to take off the valve cover (and maybe head?) to determine if the problem is fixable without having to replace the engine, and that they think it's probably the valve in cylinder #2. They said more than likely an engine replacement will required. They quoted $8685 installed for a remanufactured engine ($4915 for the engine, $360 for misc gaskets and things, and $2750 for labor).

I plan to contact my local MINI dealership tomorrow, to ask them for their input and a quote for an engine as well. I only paid around $10k for the car, so it seems like an awful waste to spend anywhere near $8k to replace the engine...

What do you guys think? Does anyone have a recommendation for a MINI expert in the DC Metro area? What do you think I could get for the car if I just sold it as-is?

Thanks in advance!

 

I say the labor charge is on the very high side for a non dealer shop that will not have a two guarantee on an engine replacement, also 10 hours to remove the head is quite outragous, its a pitty you are not close to Philly then you could have Eric at Helix work on your without fear of being ripped off, who knows it may be even cheaper to rent a U-haul and take your car to Helix, there has got to be a reputable shop in the DC area that will not try to rip you off

 

Part of the quote is may be due to the fact that they aren't MINI specialists, maybe not.

It cost me $150 to have it flatbedded 55 miles from the track to the shop, at that rate it'd probably be $350 to have it flatbedded up to Helix...or there's the U-Haul option.

I guess I'll be contacting Helix in the morning, too.

 

If you are in NoVa, try MachV or Lucky Dog, if you are reluctant to go to Sterling.

 

If it is only a valve and head gasket, then the entire engine need not be replaced. You could get a new/used cylinder head, after market or stock and save.

 

Thanks, that's what I'm hoping for. I'll be calling around today to decide if I want to move the car to a different shop to remove the head. I'll let you guys know where I end up and what they find.

 

What a bad situation...Anytime you have to have your vehicle towed to a shop, they know (or at least think) that they've got you by the dangly bits and the bills seem to quickly get nutty. Sometime someone should do an experiment where they tow one car to the shop and get a price quote, then get someone else to drive a similar vehicle in with the same problem and see if the quote for the vehicle that was towed is way higher! I think it would be!

 

If you need a head I have a JCW head with complete valve train and cam with only 19K miles on it ready to go all you need is a gasket and new bolts and you would be good to go

 

Thanks, will keep that in mind.

 

With all that money spend , you can rebuild you a nice motor. Similiar thing happend to me and the dealer wanted 7 k for a new motor. I called up fireball racing , and brian gave me a good price on re building almost the whole motor which made alot more sence to do.

 

Why do I see so many posts like this? It makes me very nervous with my Mini!

 

we just did a "used" engine with low miles on an 03 cooper s, parts and labor about 4,600 dollars. that labor price is outrageous ! unless they're charging you to rebuild the engine. just drop a low mileage used engine in.

 

Ok, someone must have used my computer........I put the used engine in, not redwyle?? must not have cleared the cookie. Anyway, putting in a low mileage used engine is a good option, you may want to check it out.

 

Well he said it had 108k miles on it, and he was racing it...

-Cody

 

True, it does have relatively high miles for a MINI, although it's unmodded. It was its first time on the track, and just to clarify - it was a drivers school, not a race, so not quite as hard on the car.

I must say I was surprised to have it happen. Being a current and past owner of BMWs, I'm more used to engines that'll go 200k miles if they're maintained.

The joys of used cars...

 

You may have burned a valve (unlikely) or popped valve seal (somewhat more likely). If you did, please DO NOT replace the head, just have a complete valve job done. If the bottom end is still OK it's great chance to get a better (lighter) valve set. Rebuilt heads are done mass assembly style by unskilled folks but if you have someone good do your valve job, and they do it with parts of your choosing, you'll end up with an even better MINI and a few more dollars in your pocket.

All of this depends on the bottom end being OK, of course.

Good luck.

 

Who ever had it before he did raped the s**t out of . Just because a mini has 100 plus miles does not mean the motor is ment to blow. Especially the 1st time at a track.I have been driving my car hard since day one and almost have 50k on the motor and it still runs like a champ. Does this mean my motor is ment to blow around 60-70 k since I had done driving like you would at a track many times before ? The owner before did not know how to drive and shift at the right times.

 

Thanks. Will let you know what they come up with.

 

Just a quick update - I'm going to be moving the car to Lucky Dog Garage on Friday. They said they can pull the head and give me a definitive answer on what the problem is for $350.

 

good luck - keep us posted

 

I heard back from Lucky Dog today. They pulled the head off the engine and found two broken valve springs.

(phew, it's not blown)

The basic fix is to replace the valve springs, valve seal, cylinder head gasket, spark plugs, air filter, thermostat, etc. This would get me back in running order, for about $3k including the diagnostics they've already performed.

An additional option is for some preventative work - good things to do for a high mileage engine that's already torn apart. It includes timing cover, oil pan gasket, timing chain, chain rails, cam gear, crank gear, etc. This would run an additional $1k or so.

 

May as well do the PM work as well while they are in there if you can afford it.

 

I totally agree here. There's been so many people tell my so many times that on my other cars I would need new motors and that a low mileage used motor would be the best way to go. But, being set in my own ways and always up for a challenge, I rebuilt the motors. Ended up being cheaper in the end.

edit:

Quote:

Originally Posted by naffets

May as well do the PM work as well while they are in there if you can afford it.

That'd be a worthwhile thing to do. I'd have them take a look at the tranny, as well, just to be on the safe side. I've heard that the MC tranny isn't the most reliable part on the car. Whether this is true or not, I haven't any idea. But, I'd rather be safe than sorry.

 

Right, I'm thinking I'll go with that route. Now I just need to win the lotto to help with the finances

 

Have a garage sale. Or get a loan. Think of it as another small car payment.