I have a 2010 Mini Cooper S Clubman with around 68k miles on it. I normally can hear the turbo when I shift or take my foot off the pedal. But tonight the zing was so faint I could hardly hear it. There's no CEL and car drives fine. It seemed to happen overnight. So I was trying to think of anything that I'd done in the past few days. The only thing I can think of is I added a quart of oil. Is it possible that when the oil level is low, the sound of the turbo is louder? Is this a sign something's going on or am I just losing my hearing? (Either one would suck!) My mechanic said, because no CEL yet, make sure all fluids are filled to proper levels and see if a CEL comes on. He thinks it might be the diverter valve.



What do you guys think?

 

Do you have an aftermarket intake? Any modifications? OEM diverter valve?

 

It has a JCW kit and I put in a CAI filter, OEM diverter valve. no other mods. I had the oil filter housing gaskets replace a couple month ago, while in there he changed alot of the lines as well.

 

I haven't ever noticed any sound from my turbocharger, I have a stock intake with a foam air filter.

 

*update* last night on my way to work going up a hill, I tried to give more gas, and it started to bog down. When I released the gas it went into limp modeL. all the way to work it felt like it was going to die on me. Once I got off the freeway at a stop it felt like it was going to die. I had to keep my foot on the gas otherwise it would keep sputtering. It feels like theres no power at all. and If I try to accelerate too quickly it will bog down. Dang thing had to happen on a Sunday when every show I know of is closed. Does this sound like a diverter valve gone bad?

 

All issues taken together could be a blown diverter valve. If the car went into limp mode, there will be codes. Need the codes to make determination.

 

I have an appointment with my mechanic first thing this morning. will update later. Asked him to change the fuel pump while he was in there too.

 

Unless there a problem with it, there is no real reason to replace the fuel pump. It is a pricey part to throw at it, just because. If it’s going out, you will notice.
The codes will help point to the issue, it is tough from a distance to just hazard a guess. But there isn’t much point in replacing a part that is functioning properly

 

Hey thanks for the advice. This car has had a lot of problems that I've been slowly getting fixed. One thing that bothered me was an intermittent rough start. Its pretty random. Sometimes with a cold engine, more often when I drive somewhere, stop for a bit and get going again it'll have that rough start. It was hard for my mechanic to recreate it, but a couple months ago when he replaced the oil filter gasket he experienced it both before and after the job was done.

Whats something like this going to cost?

 

If it’s not covered under a warranty extension still, the fuel pump will cost probably around $1000 for the pump if you buy a brand new one. Plus about an hours labor to install. They are ridiculously expensive! I just had mine done under the warranty extension, thank god! It does cause cold start issues, but usually it’s ok once the car has been warmed up for the day. They usually watch the fuel rail pressure on a cold start to test it, I believe. Depending on if it received the update, at idle you should have either around 750psi or 1000-ish psi.
When trying to diagnose mine I was very confused by my fuel rail pressure being much higher than any of the literature said it should be. Luckily I stumbled across an old post by Tigger2011 where he mentioned that they did an update that raised the fuel rail pressure, probably to forestall pump failure or something like that.
I have basically the same fuel pump as you do. The early N18’s had the Continental pump until 3/2012 when they switched to the newer Bosch pump (that still fails too). No it’s not worth trying to retrofit the new pump, from what I’ve read.

 

My mechanic was hoping it was covered under the extended warranty but it isn't. Something like missed it by just months. We'll see what happens. I'm about to drop my money pit off at the shop soon.

 

Just got back from the shop. Bad news....1st mechanic said the cylinder head was damaged. They took a picture of the #4 cyl and it shows a chip inside. He said they don't do this kind of work and told me to take it back to the other shop that specialized in Minis. Just from what I relayed to mech. #2, he painted a grim expensive picture. Will give me a better idea whats next when they open her up. after waiting 2 hours for a tow and picking up a rental car, I'm d.o.n.e!

 

:( sorry to hear, post up some pic of it.

 

not a great picture. I don't even know what I'm looking at but this is the #4 cylinder.

 

From my mechanic. Not good

 

Damn, I’m sorry to hear that. If the valve is burnt, yeah better do the chain while the head is off.
Its probably going to be expensive, but look at it this way, when it’s done you have a whole new top end and it should last for a good long while. Keep us updated.

 

And so it begins.... The cylinder head is at the machine shop now. Injectors, fuel pump, valve job, timing chain, intake and exhaust valves on #1 poss all. Mechanic said "basically we should refresh whatever doesn't look healthy. Its going to be in the 5K range no matter which way we look at this. It would be wasteful to skip certain questionable or worn parts when its coming back together."

 

Ok yesterday was the day! Mechanic called to say she was all put back together.....BUT...the footwell module had stopped working for some reason. Puzzled him because it had nothing to do with the original problems. And they didn't even touch it. He said he'd try and locate a replacement part and get back to me. And also went over the costs, so far. $2500 labor, $4000 parts, $770 for the machine shop who did the valve job and now around $400 for a new FRM. And just to mention I live on an island, if the part ain't here it could take a while for it to get to me.
He texted me later that night and said, we were able to get her started. purring like a kitten and sounds like a brand new engine.

Question now that we got all this new stuff installed, does anything need to be done to the computer? I have a JCW kit installed.

 

If you got the JCW kit upgrade from the dealers then most likely to have the upgraded ECU tune already, if not then you'll probably need the ECU tuned for the JCW kit.

 

I bought it used and I'm pretty sure it was upgraded at the dealer. thanks

 

Same here about the flash and the dealer should be able to read it if the flash is still there.

 

Well she's home! Feels solid, sounds different too. not as "clicky" and the sound on acceleration sounds different too. Even just idling it sounds....hmmm manly! haha
So my last question. Since the top end is basically new, do I need to break it in in anyway?