Bet the engine mount is bad if the motor is moving that much.....

 

What year car....
The mounts changed in 2005....
Switched the upper to an oil filled ball in a metal can.... With a bolt sticking out...
The rubber tears...a black too leaks out...engine moves...
With time the lower wears....then clutch issues can start...
There are a few diy's for changing the upper....pretty cheap part...usually less than $100 depending on the maker....can have a shop do it for about $200....but for about $20 in extra tools, most can diy it.....
Pre 2005 cars have a different mount....they still get sloppy....

 

car is an 04, has the huge metal can looking mount with the bolt on top.

It also has a really weird clutch noise at idle, sounds a bit like a diesel(only makes noise when foot isn't on clutch pedal @ idle). So its funny you mention clutch issues.

 

Newer style...http://www.waymotorworks.com/afterma...unt-04-06.html


and the older..

http://www.waymotorworks.com/oem-eng...4-r50-r53.html




and the lower...

http://www.waymotorworks.com/oem-min...t-r50-r53.html
http://www.waymotorworks.com/oem-upp...3-r50-r53.html

 

Clutch MIGHT be just a STUCK dual mass weights on the flywheel....
Sounds like chewbaccka when cold...then the weights get unstuck and it sounds ok.....
tends to happen as the clutches age..especially if it has been SLIPPED or HEATED up....

 

Definitely the newer mount up top. I'm going to have him order the upper and lower mounts to get the engine sitting right, so there will be little doubt as to if it will fix the angle of the engine in the bay.

I've already replaced the fuel filter, oil pan gasket, plugs, interior and engine air filter, leaky/torn cv boot. Learning my way around these cars slowly but surely. Still need to do the crank sensor o-ring though. Maybe one day this thing will be leak free.

Thanks for helping out!

 

Suggest you get the $4 bolt....if the old one leaked...it tends to corrode the old one.
Good luck...sounds like it is keeping you busy...

 

I replaced the upper and lower mount, with very little to no change. The upper mount dribbled a little oil on me when i replaced it, but it wasn't too bad. We went ahead and put on a new coolant hose too, but i imagine it will have to be replaced again soon if i cant get this worked out soon.

Is there usually some sort of spacer between the frame and the radiator?

 

There should be a ring that holds the coolant hose away from the motor, it attaches to the center bolt hole on the intake manifold. I'm looking at your hose in the pic, it looks very low. The hose should run just below (About an inch below) the top of the front fairing/fan shield assembly. Pretty Much parallel to the top of the radiator.

 

You might want to grab the VIN and zip over to real OEM. They have a great image drill down and allows you to see how some things are assembled.
I didn't know your friends car's specifics, so these may be wrong. But take a look to see if you can find things that are missing like the clamps (#7?) mentioned above

http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...33&hg=17&fg=30

(I'm on he iPad, I can't copy the image in here directly)

 

Thanks guys, he purchased the car in a dire need situation and didn't really do much homework before he bought it. The car was involved in a wreck prior to his purchase so it is completely possible there is something missing. Luckily the car has been pretty faithful given how he drives it about a thousand miles a week for work, without cruise control ( ouch!).

Here is another pic I had him snap. With the obligate zip tie...

 

Well...guess he is stuck with a fixed wreck....
Something just looks...er...odd...about that frontend....maybe having stuff pushed an inch or so out of place, and having some parts used to fix it that ....er...almost fit....will work...
I would do the best you CAN with a zip tie etc, and hope for the best.
Since oil came out of the motor mount...fortunately that was needed...
I would offer onecbit of advise...
Remind your friend that his mini REQUIRES 90+ octane....going with less might save $2 on a fill up, but will cost him $2000+ when he starts to get misfires from a burnt valve and the head must come off for a head job.
Driven nicely, and given regular matainance, they can be reliable cars...
But abused or neglected.... They are money pits.
Folks sometimes get into near religious wars about how often and what to change their oil with...but forget to Change the coolant (due every 36-48 months) then wonder why they have a plugged heater core, oil cooler, and a failing head gasket.....

 

Pull the front off and check the crush tubes. (The bottom two bolts on the bumper carrier are held in place by the crush tubes) 10 to 1, I bet the crush tubes are toast.

 

I have yet to put it into service mode, so i haven't been on the lookout for any major damage. I withheld the wreck part at first because i wanted to cover the usual suspects at first.

The condenser(in front of radiator) has a nice curve in it, so if it was the original one, the front crash bar would have indeed been pushed in 3-4 inches. If it isn't the original, its anybody's guess.

If the crash tubes are toast, are they replaceable or it is part of the unibody/frame?

 

engine mounts, oil pan gasket, crank sesnor o-ring, coolant resevoir... all things i need to stop/check leaks, but just so much of a pain for me to do.