My 03 MCS is now over 10 years old, but it has less than 60k miles, so it's seen very little preventative maintenance. The idea of decade-old belts, fluids, and such is a little strange to me. Is there anything in particular I ought to be looking at doing based on age rather than mileage?

 

If you do the radiator hoses to be safe....they seem to last 100,000 miles and about 10 years, most of the other stuff SHOULD have been replaced....
The only belt, the sc belt is a 5 year item unless you have a pulley, then every 2 years with a 15%, yearly with a 17%...
The brake fluid is a 3 year from date of PRODUCTION ITEM....then repeat every 3....
Radiator fluid is 3-4 years....then repeat...
One thing not mentioned ( in the mini books) is manual tranny....but simple to do....
PS fluid....if you get the right stuff, changing it out might be good idea IMO....
You might notice, in the normal course of owning your car, many of these items might get done or freshened.... Just by doing a repair....so you could safely add a few months to many things....
Inspection II is likely due or almost due...it says to "inspect" fluids...so safe to say a change is OK....
You might want to do the cabin filter...often overlooked.

 

Check your rubber parts. PS hoses, axle boots, harmonic damper, stock bushes, etc

 

Two more suggestions:
Lower control arm bushings - You may not have noticed by even at your mileage they are prob gone. Best bet is the pre-pressed in from WayMotorWorks
Crank pulley - preventive, when they go they go. Look at the ATI also from WayMotorWorks

 

What about the ignition and fuel systems?

 

Nothing to do on the fuel system....could do a filter change...but with less than 100K..might be a bit early unless you have a reason to suspect an issue...it has no set life, and is quite large...early 2002 minis had to have the entire pump changed to get a new filter...newer is replaceable...but still...

Ignition system...solid state...just check the coil for corrosion on the plugs..common mini issue...wire should be OK if not cut..they are so short and miles so low, resistance is unlikely an issue, but can be checked with a multi-meter on the OHM setting....
Plugs....Yes I would do them...but be sure to use a TQ wrench to install new ones...and if they have never been changed, it might be wise to get a pro to do it..they ,might be kinda stuck after such a long time.....
Obviously, you may do what you want on your car....new wires look nice...add some color, and changing fluids early is fine, good preventive MX.
The cooling system and brake fluid flushes are the most overlooked item IMO.

 

Where'd you come up with this?

- Mark

 

"2 years with a 15%, yearly with a 17%".... is general consensus as "safe due to the extra stress of the belt, and the fact the LIGHTER aftermarket belts seem to wear a bit faster than the OEM-conti-tec belt...

The "5 year's" oem belt/pulley...a few mechanic have said regardless of miles (in a low MILE MINI) the belt should be done after 5 years...even if a INSPECTION 2 is not yet due.
Obviously, much more often on a car with more miles...the "book says to do it at every inspection 2, so 60,000 miles (about).

 

Yes to everything listed above, personally I swapped out the belt tensioner before it bought the farm causing major damage. I also swapped the damper out for a ATI damper not long ago. If able have your supercharger oils swapped out (snout and waterpump in back). We could go on but really all the things mentioned above and the few I listed are things to definitely check on an older 1st. Gen. such as yours.

 

Seems ridiculously conservative to me. Sorry, but I don't see any technical rationale that changing the pulley to one slightly different should reduce belt life by 60%. And that a VERY slight reduction further should mean you have to replace the belt 5x more often. Frankly, these sound like numbers pulled out of thin air.

I'll also point out that Mini has no calendar time recommendation for replacing the belts - just a 60K interval for the S and 100K for the non-S. So according to Mini, you can do this replacement just on mileage. I will agree that as a rubber part, it probably is a good idea to replace on calendar time if your utilization is low, but 5-years corresponds to 12K/year and a car being driven 5K-miles per year is not going to wear this belt at the same rate as one being driven 12K-miles per year. So five years here seems very conservative also - I would think something like a 7-10 yr calendar life for low utilization would be plenty conservative.

- Mark

 

One thing with a belt...
It costs $30 the buy a new one, 15-25 minutes to install...less if you combine it with a tire swap....but could cost you $500+ if it snaps....(takes out the damper, tensioner, and belt...IMO enough to then get a tow and a pro's help).
The thinking is the belt on a smaller pulley is making more heat, maybe slipping more due to a smaller surface it has to grip. Do what you want....but for $30....why not. My local mini guy (Pete down at greasys) considers this belt schedule to be a good idea...just like oil changes before 15,000 miles.
Some folks have reliable mini's cause we do preventative maintenance (and save $$), others just get their car flatbedded in for repairs and start a thread.....this stuff ain't rocket science...it is simple risk assessment... Risk vs reward....the same reason folks do early oil changes....

 

You make good points, but there has to be some reasonable common sense and technical rationale behind these decisions. Changing a belt 5x more often because it is wrapping around a pulley 17% smaller is WAY out there. This is a whole different level of conservatism than simply doing 7.5K oil changes vs. 15K changes.

And as to a 15-min belt change, you should work in a Nascar pit. For the average guy taking it to a mechanic (there is a special tool involved), it is going to be a $150 charge or so.

- Mark

 

in terms of preventative maintenance, I'd not dispute any of the above items (and all the other usual consumables such as blades, tyres, pads and discs, often sadly overlooked) but I'd also add the gearbox oil, bypass valve for the R53, and also consider the battery (especially in the cold countries)

 

FWIW: On my 2005 MCS with 15% pulley, I had my second serpentine belt break at about 100K. When the belt breaks, the belt tensioner slaps down and hits the crank pulley which typically breaks too. I suggest a belt replacement NOW!

Check your motor mount. I just installed my third one at about 120K.

 

Motormount? Go vibra-technics!

 

Lol...
I seem to get about 35,000 miles per OEM oil filled mount...
It leaks a black, corrosive liquid when it leaks/tears....
Car drives, and shifts much smoother when it is replaced if the old one is bad/empty.
You can find OEM ones for $75-100....about 30 minutes to install.

 

You're lucky w/ your OE fluid filled mounts lasting 35k, Zip. I've seen em dry up sub 20k. Just upgrade to Vibra-technics. They might be pricey, but they work & last.....wish they were cheaper though like the ATI vs OEM damper.

 

I fitted the Alta protector for just this event; stops the belt tensioner dropping down onto the crank pulley, and I also carry a spare belt in the correct size in the car, in the event it does snap...

 

Yep. I replaced the belt tensioner AND added the Detroit Tuned tensioner stop. Good investment!

 

Alright, here is what I'm about to order from Way. What's missing?
Belt
Tensioner stop
Plugs
Tensioner bushings
ATI damper pulley
Crank bolt
Crank seal
Belt tool
Redline MTL
Oil filter & drain plug
Oil filter socket
Bentley manual
LightInSight (not maintenance-related, but I need it if it works!)

I will buy water wetter and oil from NAPA.

 

Stock some cheap OEM O-rings & Gaskets for the ff:
Crank position sensor
heat exchanger
Oil Filter Housing-Block
Oil Pan
Thermostat
PS Fluid reservoir cap

Axle & Steering Boots

Check your tensioner damper(pretty sure it's dead). Just replace w/ Gates you'd find in Amazon. And, don't bother w/ cable type tensioner stops. Even the stronger slotted plate stops fail b4 belt actually snaps. They just offer you false peace of mind. Way may have an improved version of the slotted-plate stop. Google: "Now I Know Why Belt Tensioner Stops Break..."

 

Way has a slotted-plate stop (http://www.waymotorworks.com/wmw-tensioner-stop.html). Is there a good way to check my tensioner's health without removing it?

Are any of those O-rings and gaskets you mentioned notoriously problematic, or is that more of a shotgun-blast approach to replacing potentially worn items?

 

Stock those cheap O-rings/gaskets & replace when(not if) they leak. More due to age than miles.
They're not too difficult to do. The crank position sensor O-ring might need car on service mode.
Tensioner damper is just held on by 2 bolts. Remove & Check. If resistance is gone, buy the whole Gates assembly around $70. Same as OEM except for price & oddly, cheaper than the Stabilus damper itself if you can source 1. Those damper bushes fail, too. Way has both Delrin & Powerflex replacement bushes.
Talk to Way on the stop. Alta's design was ok, just needed to be thicker, I guess. And it's pretty noisy due to vibrations. I'm happy w/ my 4month test results of Alta's other design- the Adjustable Tensioner Stop. This is best paired w/ Stretch-Fit Belt of stock size, if you can source 1.

 

Another item to watch out for: if your high speed fan cycles on & off every few moments with A/C on instead of having the constant low speed..... It's the dreaded low speed fan resistor. The fix/upgrade sticky is above where this thread is (Stock Problems).

 

10 years old but low miles:

are you on original tires? rubber does begin to break down after a while and 10 years old is past "a while"

skip the factory oil drain plug and do yourself a favor. Buy the Fumoto.