Haven't really done much to the car since school started, just been giving it the regular wash/wax treatment on weekends and driving it to local Euro car shows when the opportunity arises. In the mean time my father and brother did find another 2005 Hyper Blue Mini with Chrono Pack, but a black roof, that had been slightly crashed by the previous owner (into a tree). The owner did not seem to understand the car at all and just wanted it gone so we now have a 2nd R53 in the household! I pulled the options list and it is heavily spec'ed with the LSD, chrono pack, anthracite interior, heated seats, xenons, no sunroof and more. It will be a fun project and is worth saving to keep on the road as our family beater. The plan is to get it driving again (has some front end cosmetic damage and some suspension damage, nothing major) and have some fun with it, possibly do a few autocross events etc.

Recently I have been adding a bit more oil so looking around I noticed that the oil cooler gaskets seem to be leaking and the valve cover gasket is also weeping. I've got a fall break coming up from school so we ordered a bunch of parts to knock out some maintenance.
We've got these parts on the way:

Both front axles (As recommended by Mod Mini on YouTube: )
Top and bottom engine mounts
Oil cooler gaskets
Oil filter housing gasket (might be leaking, the gasket is cheap and I'll be in the area anyway)
Valve cover gasket (with spark plug tube gaskets)
Camshaft position sensor o-ring
OE Dipstick

And that should be it for this round of parts. All of them (except for the axles) were ordered from FCPEuro, it is hard to beat the lifetime guarantee!

On the next oil change I will likely try Shell Rotella T6 5w40 since other NAM members have had luck with it reducing oil consumption. Since my engine is getting up there in the miles it probably won't hurt to try out the Rotella and see if it can curb my oil consumption. But I have a feeling much of it will go away after I change out the leaky gaskets/o-rings.

 

If you have your original MINI axles we can rebuild them as the OEM ones are always the best quality.

 

Thanks, I would definitely do that but unfortunately the axles in the car have already been changed out once and are aftermarket with torn boots (lots of vibration between 3-4k rpm).

 

That's a bummer, but not surprising for aftermarket axles. Hense why we can't rebuild the aftermarkets as the guts of them are all totally different.

 

That makes sense. We go to the Pull-A-Part salvage yards around Atlanta so if I find a set of OE axles I’ll grab them and keep them for rebuilding if I ever need to replace them again!

Good to know you can rebuild them locally for us!

 

We got the driver side axle and sway bar end link swapped out today. I pulled the passenger axle but ran out of sunlight before I could pull the oil cooler and oil filter housing. Here are some pics of the axle removed and new parts in place:




The oil cooler and filter housing seem to have made a mess everywhere on the bottom of the engine and the subframe. Lots of cleaning to do now, good amount of grease from the torn passenger axle as well.




It looks like these two made a huge mess on the bottom of the motor and the subframe so lots of cleaning is in order for tomorrow. Also the torn passenger axle threw grease everywhere, so will be lots of fun cleaning.

How I left the car for the night:

 

Alright, got everything back together. Replaced both axles, upper and lower engine mounts, oil cooler and oil filter housing gaskets and the camshaft position sensor o-ring. Also has new Meyle HD swaybar endlinks to freshen it up a bit.





On the first start, there was a massive exhaust leak. It turns out from changing the upper motor mount the exhaust must have flexed too much and cracked it right at the pre-cat.

So a quick trip to a local welder and it was all fixed up for $25.

 

Well I've got ~200 miles on the Mini since the recent work. Went to leave for school about an hour away and noticed a rather large puddle of transmission fluid on the ground under the driver's side(the car was parked at a slight angle). A quick inspection on ramps in the driveway and we found that the driver's side axle had come out slightly from the transmission causing fluid to come out.

I know this typically happens with the cheaper axles, but these DTA axles are pretty well reviewed on Amazon and Mod Mini has run these in multiple cars without issue. When installing the driver's side I had a nice "pop" sound as it seated into the transmission. The only thing I can think of is that we changed the upper engine mount after installing the axle, and its possible that pulling on the engine (it dropped slightly when lowering onto the jack on the oil pan and did cause the exhaust manifold to crack) caused the axle to work its way out a bit and driving around had caused it to work loose. Luckily these axles have a warranty so if it is defective I shouldn't have an issue getting a replacement.

 

I have noticed around here in the Northwest, there are quite a few people, not just Mini folks having this happen. A few that I am aware with had shorter than stock axles, which also popped out! On top of this, the length of the manual is different on the auto cars. It is most important to have the trans topped up, or changed when you get this worked out.
Remember this too: Many counterfeit auto parts are coming out of China and India these days.
Best of luck and let us know how it is going!

 

Thanks Wayne! I will make sure to keep this updated. I am hoping it just needs to be re-seated and no other damage happened.

 

This is a wonderful thread, you've put a lot of love into Stitch... and lucky you finding an R53 that had been (more or less) loved by the previous owners as well. Subscribing. Motor on!

 

Thanks! It has definitely been well-loved in its past. I am enjoying every minute behind the wheel and love working on it. These cars are are super fun to work on since everything seems modular and straight forward. I can't wait to take it up in the mountains, might try and make it to Minis on the Dragon in 2020.

 

I envy your proximity, I've wanted to do that for a few years now but I'm 2,500 miles away. Hope you get out there, and keep us all posted!

 

I changed the oil out today after about 4k miles. I didn't like how dark it had gotten after this short interval. I think I'll be changing it out about every 3,500 miles. It's possible the most recent previous owner's shop wasn't extremely honest and didn't change the filter or oil as often as they should have.

I ended up going with the Liqui-Moly again and the Mann filter via FCPEuro. It's hard to beat the lifetime guarantee, it really makes these oil changes super cheap.

I noticed that after the change my valve cover gasket seems to be seeping a bit more and I can smell it off the exhaust manifold. That is the last gakset I have left to change out, so it will go on soon.

 

How can you tell if they are original or not?

 

I believe both of my axles had "rebuilt" labels on them. I'm not entirely sure if the OE axles would have some special branding on them or not.

Well the axle went back in with an original Mini clip which helped it fit much better. Still keeping an eye on it for now to make sure it doesn't back out again.
I believe I may have traced the oil lack to the rear of the valve cover gasket. It makes such a mess that it can be hard to exactly pin-point, but I am just hoping it is not the head gasket leaking externally (See below pics):







Are external head gasket oil leaks a common issue on the R53? I'm hoping mine is just the valve cover leaking in a place that I can't see making it all pool around where the upper engine mount is bolted to (circled in red). It sure makes it look like a head gasket leaking but I really hope its just the valve cover

 

Right below that, is the cm chain tensioner and that needs to be tight, or will leak oil, and there is full pressure oil at that point!

 

Thanks for the heads up Wayne! I did change the tensioner a few months ago so I'll take a look at it and make sure it is not leaking.

 

I just want you to know, it can be changed from the top, without removing anything, so tightening it is even easier!. You will need a socket, short extension and pivot head long handle ratchet. I have done over eight like this!

 

I have the same car and love it, I feel the same that every time I jump behind the wheel it is a fun time. I see that you have protected the strut towers but I wonder why you have not invested in a good strut bar yet?

 

Nice looking car! I wish I had the Xenon headlights on mine; that is the one feature I miss from my E46 that the R53 does not have. I haven't done a strut bar because I thought my Cravenspeed tower defenders don't leave room for a bar or even a point of attachment. I also think the car is pretty stiff as is up front (its got a 27mm front sway bar). Is there a way to attach a bar to my tower defenders?

 

That is a question I would have to research. (www.ecstuning.com) I missed that you had an upgraded from sway bar, when I did mine I only upgraded the rear but when I was modding the front suspension I added camber plates and an M7 strutbar, it comes with tower "defenders" as part of the kit. Not as beefy as the Cravenspeed but they do the trick. As it is I only notice the difference the bar makes when I am turning at speed, for example, hairpin turns on mountain roads and the like. In town, I don't notice a difference. The other thing that I did that made a big difference was swapping out the stock LCA bushings with Powerflex polyurethane bushings(www.powerflex.com)(www.fcpeuro.com). Something you should consider when the stock ones quit or next time you need to drop the front subframe. They also have swaybar bushings etc to upgrade all the suspension with. It really stiffens up the steering and makes it nice and crisp without making it harsh. I did not go for the "race" bushings but if you feel the need They also make bushing sets that will "fill in" the stock rubber mounts and bushings to stiffen up your steering and engine mounts as well. Not the Minis are any kind of slouch in the handling dept. stock. It just seems like you are a modder and have fun doing it.

 

Yep! I love maintaining and modifying where I can. My car has the Powerflex LCA bushings already, but I will have to drop the subframe this coming spring because my passenger side swaybar bushing has completely disintegrated (less than 40k miles on it). Unfortunately the new H&R bushings are $60 for two and it looks like no other brand makes a 27mm bushing. I'd be willing to try a different 27mm bushing to see if it will last longer. The other option is go back to the original sway bar but the handling the 27mm bar gives is worth it

 

Over the winter break from school I was able to knock out a few items on the R53. Before starting any work my brother, father, and I made a day trip up to Deals Gap (Tail of the Dragon). This was my first time driving the Mini on the road and it was very impressive. I wasn't pushing the car too hard since it was very cold outside, but the car performed flawlessly! With the current suspension modifications it turns instantly and really has gobs of grip; the ability to make minute steering adjustments mid turn really make this the ultimate street legal go-cart! Here are a few pictures from the ride:



Of course we had to stop at a classic lunch restaurant! My dad's M roadster is at the front and brother's '95 E36 M3 at the back.



Once back from the trip I began taking apart the R53 again. I first did the fuel filter and assorted o-rings (no pictures). The old filter was caked in dirt and looked like it needed to be changed a few years ago
Next up was the valve cover gasket. I found a few interesting things once I pulled the cover. The first was that the rear timing chain guide had a small piece of plastic broken off of it. This is likely from where the previous owner was driving around with a sticking chain tensioner (only stuck on warm starts). I will need to plan to do the plastic guides sometime this year before Summer; I'll also pull the oil pan and check for pieces of old chain guide there. Good think I still have the spare oil pan gasket



Next up I found some interesting wear marks on the camshaft. Does this seem normal for an R53 with ~140k miles?





And the valve cover gasket replacement itself:


I found the perfect way to remove the old spark plug tube seals was using a flat screw driving and a rubber mallet to pop them out from the top of the valve cover.


Finally, I was able to install the black JCW style grill that my brother gave me for my birthday. I think it looks awesome!

 

So I started off the day going to a local car meet and found my rear right brake to be sticking! It wasn't until my brother following behind me called to tell me it was smoking out the rear wheel that I even noticed
I pulled the emergency brake a few times after it had cooled thinking that maybe the brake wasn't fully disengaged and it seemed like that had fixed it until I got home earlier this afternoon. I took a few short rides after that and still heavily smelled brake pad from the rear right so I had to park the car for the week while I am at school until I have time this Friday to take it apart and see what the problem is.

Before this happened I was able to do some data logging on my R53 as well as the family beater R53 (backup car). I came up with some interesting results below. The "Modified R53" plots are of my car with mods listed in my signature (~141k miles), and the stock R53 is literally completely stock (~132k miles) without a single mod just maintenance.


I still haven't pushed my car to its full limit so this data does not display the car's full potential.




I thought these were some really cool metrics to share with the community of the typical mods R53 owners make and potential gains. I wasn't really pushing my car to its full potential in the above, but the stock car was being driven as intended :D

In other news, I see the R53 and R50 share the same rear calipers so worst case scenario I will run to our local scrap yard and buy a R50 caliper to get my car ready for the weekly commute again next week.