First post here ! 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.

 

I wouldn’t touch the bottom end, I think in most cases the valves bend and that’s it. So just replace the top end stuff that is knackered. Wouldn’t replace oil pump either. Keep costs low where possible.

 

thanks for ur input. After 24 hours I gave up on waiting for a reply. And I took out the crank bolts and although I couldn’t split the two halves I already started. And glad I did finish taking it apart. The bearings are in great shape although they were bone dry and were in desperate need of some grease so they can survive start up.

 

Nice! Looks like the galley needs to be cleaned up good, too. And, by "Grease" you mean "Engine Assembly Lube," correct? You don't want to use grease on those bearings, as that could hinder the flow of oil at initial start-up. Engine assembly lube is designed to flush away once the oil starts flowing. Grease might not do that....

 

IMO if it's down and there are any questions/possible issues lingering in your head, tear it all down! Then again, I'm all out rebuilding my whole car so my opinion may be biased 🙃