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Hey all. So unfortunately my mini has died (AGAIN). The first timing chain fix was done wrong, it failed and prompted another timing chain (first mechanic wouldn't fix his mistake). After two weeks I unfortunately had a lower coolant line blow when driving and by the time I noticed and got the car puled over and turned off, it wouldn't start. I'm thinking a blow piston.
I would love to fix it but do not have the money or the luck with this car and am looking to unload. It is in great condition other than the motor. Dealerships of course only want to give me scrape value since it doesn't run but if someone put a new/used motor in it it would be a great car.
No rust,
some rock chips (nothing bad),
missing piece of grill trim and hood scoop trim,
front windshield cracked
When the timing chain got done the first time (~10k ago) a lot of stuff got done for preventative maintenance. the water pump, oil pump, thermostat and housing, O2 sensors, oil pressure sensor changed. The head was taken off, machined, and rebuilt, obviously new head gasket.
I bought it at ~98k and have tried to take great car of it since, used as a daily for work and school. Washed weekly (more often in winter due to snow and salt). Paint was upkept with hybrid ceramic/wax coating, clay barred when needed, and 303 used on the trim. inside was vacuumed and cleaned weekly as well and is in very good shape. mainly only interior issue is cracking on the left side of the drivers seat from getting in and out (was there when i got the car and hasn't worsened). rims are not in great shape, curb rash and one has a small crack but doesn't leak air or seem to cause an issue. I also have a second set of rims, decent shape other than some curb rash.
If y'all need more pictures I can add more. I'm mainly just looking for ballpark estimates, but if I only can get scrape or a little more than I will just probably keep it until I time that I can afford a new engine.
Its says it on the side of the door..lol All joking aside.
If the mechanic messed up i would get them to fix it right. Sounds like mechanic messed up and might have caused other issues.
I fixed my 2007 R56 Cooper S and it has been fine, You just need to knock out chain, coils, plugs, thermostat, waterpump, HPFP and a couple other small things then they are fine. Most that we have in lower cost options.
I would try to get things running good and then you could sell it. Selling it with major issues you might get nothing for it. Worth a shot on quotes. I saw 5K on a MINI 008 R56 MCS with 86K on it and a bad engine. Thats what they were asking.
I do think the mechanic probably did cause other issues, but the coolant line failing was due to some debris in the road (although I do not believe the line was properly connected and was slightly lower than it should've been. Said mechanic was a "friend job" and he wouldn't even admit to the timing chain even with the typical chain rattle on n14s. So unfortunately that is not an option.
looks like MINIs in my condition but working engine would go for like 6k atm. I know to do a whole new (used) motor mini quoted me ~11k. Ill keep looking at the market, as much as I would love 5k for it I don't think its reasonable to ask. I know I'm way underwater as is selling this so i wouldn't want (and currently cant afford) to spend a few grand just to maybe break even
I had my lower coolant line go once, but the car went into limp mode which gave me just enough time to get it pulled over before any real damage occurred. Since its not turning on at all, maybe take a chance and pull the valve cover to see if you can pinpoint the damage?
What exactly do you mean by it won't start? Will the engine crank with no fire up? Or is the engine unable to crank over?
If it cranks over, I would pull the spark plugs and run a compression check. This will tell you a lot if there's internal damage or not. Most cars these days will shut down before there's damage as a protection.
I had a code for overheating, though it wasn't due to overheating and would not start. Went into MINI Enhanced Mode on my scanner, cleared all codes, and it started right up. It was due to a bad temp sensor giving the incorrect readings.
If you disconnect the battery for an hour, this is supposed to clear codes, but I don't always count on that. Some codes go as pending and require the engine run for a certain time to clear out. Others are hard codes that will stick until a code clear is completed.
@cDecker32 Yeah unfortunately didn't knw the line went and car didn't go into limp mode for a long time, by the time it started to act wonky and i puled over it finally went into limp mode. it got HOTT valve cover was melted on the underside when i took it off.
@Cybie257 Sounds like no compression, although I haven't checked. so I'm guessing piston or head gasket. as stated the engine got HOT and caused some issues. When I took started digging in the engine bay to access damage the valve cover was melted and I believe the heat fried the turbo as well, as the turbo doesn't spin as freely as it should. overall a lot of effed up parts I think.
after I felt the turbo having resistance and the valve cover was melted I kind of just gave up. Finally have some free time and can stand seeing the car again so today I went down, cleaned off the dust, and I think I'm going to start digging into it deeper.
That stinks, i figured if you push back they could fix those things. I would look for a low miles motor and maybe swap then. Otherwise its a rebuild.
complicated story but i pushed back and all I wanted to a full diag of the parts he messed with, and if anything he did was wrong then he should fix it. they doubled down and said they weren't even touching the car again.
Valve cover melted? That's a LOT of heat. And based on turbo comment, I am going to guess that there's an issue with oil. Maybe the oil pump went and didn't allow cooling through lubrication? Water pump could be an issue, but shouldn't allow you to get to the point of melting a valve cover. Granted, it's plastic, but the type that can handle quite a bit of heat. If it got that hot, and the turbo is having issues spinning, you may be looking at a new motor and turbo, which at that point, you could be looking at it being not worth the expense, unless you can do it all yourself. Labor costs are what usually kills your wallet to the point of giving up and not making it worth the money to fix things these days. The job I did on the head of an R55 I picked up for cheap, was about $800 my cost, including special tools, and other parts I replaced while it was apart. A shop would have charged at least $3000 for the same work.
If you can share some pics and other findings as you dig into it, that would be good to know.
yep. im kinda at the point where its not worth the expense hence the trying to sell it as is. local shop would put used motor in for like 3500 but that's not including turbo or any other issue that might arise. looking to potentially trying doing stuff myself. if anything i waste money on parts but cant make the situation worse lol
Valve cover melted? That's a LOT of heat. And based on turbo comment, I am going to guess that there's an issue with oil. Maybe the oil pump went and didn't allow cooling through lubrication? Water pump could be an issue, but shouldn't allow you to get to the point of melting a valve cover. Granted, it's plastic, but the type that can handle quite a bit of heat. If it got that hot, and the turbo is having issues spinning, you may be looking at a new motor and turbo, which at that point, you could be looking at it being not worth the expense, unless you can do it all yourself. Labor costs are what usually kills your wallet to the point of giving up and not making it worth the money to fix things these days. The job I did on the head of an R55 I picked up for cheap, was about $800 my cost, including special tools, and other parts I replaced while it was apart. A shop would have charged at least $3000 for the same work.
If you can share some pics and other findings as you dig into it, that would be good to know.
also, yeah I didn’t think it would let me drive it to the point of that much damage. Didn’t go into limp mode immediately and didn’t come up with overheat or anything
09-16-2022, 08:30 AM
