Car: 2006 R53 MCS Manual, 153k miles. (Build date 05/2006) (recent mods/fixes include: new a/c compressor, new starter, new belt tensioner, new timing chain tensioner, 17% pulley and 2% crank pulley, colder plugs, r56 brakes and SS braided lines, fan relay repair, oil pressure sensor, power steering pump and hoses, Serviced the S/C and added a new T-stat, parking brake cables, one brake line, rear brake calipers, crank position sensor o-ring, new fuel filter, CravenSpeed strut tower indurators, both rear wheel hubs)

Issues: A few leaks that are hard to reach and it's easier to pull the engine. (stupid oil filter housing!)

Plan: Pull engine, reseal everything. Also thinking I'll drop the sub-frame and redo the bushings, ball joints, etc. I am going to also pull the injectors and send them out to be rebuilt.

There is nothing wrong with the way the car drives or handles, but I suspect that everything here is original for the most part so I am going in to do a complete refresh. This will likely include new shocks and springs and any other odds and ends that might be worn. The idea is to make the car trouble free for next 150k miles. For example the clutch is fine but I'll check it and replace it if it's starting to look worn... Side note, exhaust is still stock (with the rusty mufflers). This car is used for DD duty and the occasional long drive (a few hours). No track time. Just would like to maximize the sporty go-kart feel of the car.

So, I am hoping fellow NAM members might chime in with ideas of things that they might do if they were in the same position. So little things like replacing the few rusty valve cover bolts, cleaning the block, replacing the front and rear main seals, the oil pan seal,etc. are some of the the things I am thinking about. Maybe, just maybe I may be inclined to swap in a Quaife LSD while I have everything apart- depending how much I end up spending... The sway bars are stock and there are no additional support braces.


Right now, I have a good idea of what seals I'll need and I am looking at the suspension stuff. My other mini got the Bilstein B4 shocks and we kept the stock springs. It rides fine, but it sits a little high and does not feel as "planted' as some of the other cars. So I was thinking B6 or B8 (If I could find them) and maybe an H&R spring?

Trying to get some opinions and maybe a few resources as to where to find all the bits I need at reasonable prices. My usual "go-to" is FCP, but I am willing to look elsewhere for a decent deal.


Please chime in. Any thought on what "you would do" while going in are helpful as I am sure I will miss something.

If people are interested I can take pics and document the fun.

 

Maybe check compression? If I was to pull my engine, my priority list would be rings and clutch. I've already done my head gasket, but this would get you a new head gasket too. Easiest time to do any of this stuff is when the engine is out of the car. I know next time I go in, I will also be replacing the thermostat housing with an aluminum one.

Anyhow, when I eventually pull my engine (when I need a clutch, probably), that will be my plan. Will really clean the block really, really well and repaint it, new oil pan and gasket, and the stuff above.

Pics, when you do whatever you end up doing, of course!

 

Good ideas. I did not consider the t-stat housing. I did have issues with the plastic ones on my 5-series E-39 some years ago and did switch to aluminum, but have never had an issue with the plastic Mini one. I'll add it to the list

 

In your very long list of things you planned to do, you missed:
- coolant expansion tank. Considering your goal, upgrade to the aluminum one.
- engine mounts. The 2 upper ones are probably fine (and you can easily inspect them), but if the car has been leaking oil, some very probably landed on the lower engine mount and compromised it. It's cheap and easy to replace. You'll get a good look at it when you drop the subframe anyway.
- power steering fan. Disregard if you inspected it during the PS pump change, otherwise it might show its age at some point, and it would be a shame to have the PS pump overheat because of that fan.
- radiator fan resistor. They commonly fail, leading to a loss of the low-speed fan. There is no upgrade to it, and it isn't worth replacing if it's currently running, but it's something to keep in mind. Some people bypass it so that low-speed transform into high-speed to remove that point of failure.

 

Im in the process of doing the same thing. I am almost finished, just down due to some shoulder surgery.
Replace all your coolant hoses and clamps. Especially the ones in the rear connected to the heat exchanger and replace the orings to that also on top of the oil filter housing.
If your car isnt tuned for that pulley swap then your not getting the full power out of your ride, also you need bigger injectors with that set up. I went with 550 just to play it safe.
Like they said above, check compression first, if thats good then no reason to do head gasket or rings.
Front top motor mount is first to go, get a new stock one and get the nylon bushings to go with it for more stiffness, I also added the bushing to the trans mount and got an aftermarket performance lower mount.
Definitely do the front and rear main seals! While its out, get all new timing chain and guides.
Replace your valve cover gasket along with all new bolts (because they come with new rubber also) and they cheap.
Do the oil pan gasket.
I also went with aluminum thermostat housing and new gaskets
Get the oil and gaskets for the supercharger and do the oil change in that.
Check your clutch lines on the trans mount, they may need new bushings also (mine fell apart when removing)
Some vacuum lines may need attention, inspect when disconnecting them, be careful when removing the plastic parts break easy!
I also did the lsd swap, with new bearings, plus I put new axels in while pulling them out, they came completely out of the basket and the boots were tore anyway. ( they are a lot cheaper then you think)
Replace your clutch and flywheel while its out and do the rear main seal at the same time, if its leaking or not.
Inspect your idler pulley, mine was toast.
I replaced my clutch slave cylinder anyways while out, just for peace of mind.
Also now would be the perfect time to do a header upgrade and exhaust if you want, again get it tuned with all those mods.
Don't go cheap on a gasket kit either, spend the extra few bucks for a good one.
Take your time and inspect all plastic and rubber parts, if you have to question it, just replace it.
If you drop the sub frame with power steering attached, mine as well do all your bushings, I did not do this yet, they were all in fair condition due to the massive oil leak it had for long time LOL.
When the supercharger is out, inspect the blades and shaft for play, if you have some play side to side then it will be due for a refresh of bearings or get used one.
There is a member on here selling a new bolra cat back, I would jump on that if I were you, I love the sound of mine! It drops a lot of weight off the car.
When you have the oil filter out inspect the spring plunger, they always seem to break, I got the 3d printed one and replaced it.
One more thing, Fuel filter, replace it if you haven't yet, its easy and cheap to do.

Im sure im missing some things. Pre spray all your bolts so they dont break the heads of when removing.

 

Lots of good info. Engine is still in car as we moved slowly yesterday and had rain to contend with. Didn't really think compression test was necessary as the car runs like a top. Wiring is all disconnected. All that is left is to pull the axles...

I am thinking about the injectors and considered the 550cc, but I am not competent to tune anything and I do not have access to a tuner in my area. Last time I tried to mess with tuning software, it would not connect AND "bricked" the laptop. SO, I'll leave that to the experts. My understanding is that I can upgrade to 380cc without a tune. So unless I can find a tuner locally, I'll probably stay with parts that don't require tuning to work. Of course I want good power and handling but this is a daily rig, no track or anything like that so I don't need to go too crazy on the expenses (at least I would prefer to not go crazy on the expenses as all the little pieces add up quickly)

In the pics, it is not necessary to pull the SC to pull the engine. At least that's not been my experience, but that stupid little 2.5" hose at the TB was just too much of a PITA so we pulled the SC to make it a little easier. It's not a rush, but rather a leisurely project.

Some pics of the beginning stages: (yes I use the green coolant as opposed to blue as I cannot always find the blue. No issues ever over thousands of miles)

 

While looking at the Quaife LSD, I saw that they (the manufacturer) use a special Titan fluid. Will the Redline stuff work with this? I think I still have some that I can use or I can hunt down the preferred stuff.

If anyone thinks of anything else they might look at or do while in this deep, please post up.

 

http://store-revolutionmini-com.3dca...tors_p_73.html

I got the cam tune package from here, Jan is awesome to work with to remote tune your car! I downloaded mine and installed last week. The software worked flawless on my laptop.

 

I tried to use simple INPA and f'd up my laptop. I'll leave tuning to people who are more technically savvy. I'll just turn the wrenches.

 

Everything here except this. Yes, Borla 'race' systems are the best sounding exhaust for the R53 hands down, but the price that guy is asking is in line with what you could buy one for new, AND probably 30% of the price of a new Borla exhaust is in the million mile warranty. I replaced my Borla under warranty a few years ago - I installed it new in 2004. Couldn't have done that on one I bought second hand. New, these systems still go for around 1200. $1100 is NOT a deal considering you will not have that 1,000,000 mile warranty. Who knows, you could end up using it! If you do brows that ad, I would offer no more than 800 for that new in-box Borla system sans warranty.

 

Yeah, Milltek is like $880 resonated and $801 non-resonated with free shipping and lifetime warranty. When I do the exhaust, I'll probably go in that direction. Right now just trying to refresh all the little odds and ends and get the best bang for the buck and not break the bank with some of these crazy prices...

 

Yeah milltek is what I went with also. I haven’t had the chance to hear it yet tho lol. Still putting everything back together.

 

Think I may skip on the exhaust for the moment. Don't want to go down too many rabbit holes (as I am prone to do) because I will never finish. I am planning to be wrapping up in a few weeks. *hopefully.

Just serviced the S/C and the oil was perfect. Good color and the correct amount. Cleaned all that up. Adding new oil and cleaning up the exterior and maybe treating it with a coat of paint. Maybe a new water pump to finish that piece and that will be shelved while we do other bits.

Also started cleaning the t/b. It's a little grungy.

 

There was a little more progress yesterday and I may need to rename this thread or relocate it to the "builds" section. I anticipated that this removal would be as quick and easy as the 04 we did a while back. It was not. There were a few new things that popped up, but we still managed to get it done. We also dropped the subframe to do a refresh there as well.

While working on removing the carriers (spindle/knuckle) the pinch bolts snapped on both sides!!!! So, I can attempt to spend hours drilling or source new ones. Ugh.

Then discovered CV axles are worse than we imagines (so new ones will be installed)

Starting to look like I'm building a new car! :(

The PS pump fan is relatively new and working well. I am planning on sending out my injectors for a refresh (If I can source upgrades I will consider that)- I wanted to go 550cc but there are no local tuners and I cannot trust myself with a laptop on my car. If there's anyone local to me in KY that can do this, please let me know. I am happy to pay for expertise.
There's lots of odds and ends to account for and since this was sort of a PITA (we do not have a lift and we're working outside) I'm thinking we go full boat and do as much as possible so as to never have to mess with this again (at least not for another 150k)

Here's some of the progress:

 

Here's what's left of the pinchbolts:

 

Some engine pics. I'm going to try and degrease it a little before separating and then put the block on a stand and the trans on a bench to inspect and maybe upgrade.

As the valve cover bolts are all rotten, I have some new ones and a new gasket on order. Since I'll be in there to do a new timing chain and guides, maybe a upgraded cam is in order? Thoughts???

In these pics I can see and want to note that the main tensioner is new (from FCP- don't but the cheapies, ask me how I know). The starter is new, oil pressure switch is new, the t-stat is a few years old (still working fine), I think the idler pulley is also relatively new as well.

There are a few things I need to address and need to find the names or part numbers for: The small elbow hose that attaches to the throttle body (it's like 4" long)-mine is dry rotting. The white square plastic piece on the shift linkage attachment/selector piece (not sure the name). If you look close that the pic part of the plastic is cracked off and missing. Not sure if it's affecting anything as there was no issue with the shifting. maybe rebuild/reseal the oil cooler???

 

The grungy sub frame:

Already ordering new Lemforder ball joints. Ordering Powerflex for the bushings. The PS pump is a new reman on my bench and I have new hoses for the reservoir. Maybe a new swaybar and bushings? This one looks pretty stout. Not sure what I should be looking at in terms of upgrade... Thoughts?

 

you def had oil filter housing leak and crank position sensor oring leaks. Maybe some valve cover leaking also. Front main seal possible leak. I was going to say rear main too but it look like axle grease splatter.

 

I would wire wheel all that rust off sub frame and re coat with something to prevent the rust from spreading.

 

I'm going to degrease, wire wheel and coat everything with some fresh paint or POR. Once it's complete, I also have some Amsoil Heavy Duty Metal Protector that I will spray the entire underside of the car with.

Just need to start working on the list of parts and seals that I need to source.

 

Since I've torn into my 06 MCS (in the "I'm going in" thread) I think I bit off quite a bit and figure I will try and handle everything I can while I'm in there. What I am looking for is some input from the R53 community to rebuild this a little better than it is. There are the general housekeeping bits I will attend to but I am looking for opinions on what you would do or what you have done to get some more performance from your R53.

I would like to keep it budget friendly so looking for the best bang for the buck odds and ends that you all can come up with. Budget is subject to change but really trying to keep it in check.

Right now, I am looking at new shocks and springs, maybe a new exhaust, Quaife LSD ($1k right there), cam?, injectors?

Give me some ideas folks!

 

Two sites that helped me out with my refresh.

https://www.ecstuning.com/

https://parts.seattlemini.com/produc...imlevel=161988

 

Good lookin' out. They were on my list

 

Should consider replacing those rotors with blanks or slotted only. crack-drilled rotors aren't really a thing anymore.

 

^^ I had no idea. Thanks for the input