Back in August I picked up a 2011 Cooper S and boy have I learned a LOT since entering Miniville from a zero knowledge state. I've learned it's an R56. I've learned it's an LCI. I've learned that it not only has an N18 engine, but it's an "early" N18 so there are some things about it that were superseded in later, maybe even same-model-year, N18s (thank you to the independent Mini guy who pointed out to me that parts of it were kinda unique). I learned about CC-ID codes, the "half check engine light," the FRM, that the plastic in the coolant lines is not intended to stay in service after 6 years and 143K miles of use, and I learned how to stay on top of ALL that and more.

I also learned about the HPFP, including that there are three kinds of these buggers (mine is the Continental design -- thankfully I didn't buy any that didn't fit the engine). I'm also wondering if there is a way to rebuild these things. After all, I have four (4) of them.

HPFP #1 was on the car at purchase and was definitely failing. Pricing for a replacement HPFP in the secondary market went through the roof, of course, as I was working through logistics to buy the car. Oops.

HPFP #2 was a $99 eBay purchase pulled from a donor vehicle. I figured for $99 I could learn some things, and I was right. I learned that HPFPs don't necessarily conk out wholesale, they can conk out gradually, and the $99 HPFP was in conked-outville but less far along in that journey than HPFP #1. Courtesy of HPFP #2, I figured out how to finesse the vehicle through a drive cycle and not trigger the CEL, allowing for emissions testing so I could register the vehicle (yay).

HPFP #3 was a $400-ish eBay purchase, brand new (well, advertised as new, but definitely a reman), that turned out to have a Chinese manufacturer running product through a US warehouse to get around eBay buyers who were ruling out overseas sellers. The seller didn't properly pack/pad the HPFP so it got here having punched through the cardboard box and had been banged on the concrete, resulting in some metal deformation on a part that physically sits inside the engine. It may be cosmetic, may not, but there was no way I was putting that in my engine as a new part, which gets me to HPFP #4.

HPFP #4 is the replacement for HPFP #3, sent by the seller who didn't want any negative eBay feedback or other blemish. So they just sent #4 and left 3 in my hands, too. HPFP #4 is in the car right now.

Right now HPFP #4 is being wonky. In monitoring it with a scan tool, things look good, but under sharp acceleration it may momentarily drop out before immediately "catching up," causing hesitation and the half-check-engine light to appear with the old HPFP standby CC-ID 029. I have also noticed that on the bell-shaped whatever-it's-called on the HPFP, the HPFP appears to have be leaking oil. Not gas, oil. Not sure "from where" but in discussions with the seller about #3 they initially told me it was fine "as long as it wasn't leaking oil. So I'm eyeballing #4 and its oil, and expecting it to fail.

I have an Assurant warranty on the in-car HPFP. So I'm good there. But what I'm wondering is this -- I have enough HPFP part action going here to have literal spare parts. Does anyone know of a way to rebuild one of these? I'm curious to take it on as a project.

 

Somebody just posted in the last few days that he changed out some O Rings with success to this point. Do a search for that thread.

 

here: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...p-refresh.html

 

THANK YOU BOTH! That thread is awesome -- and at only four days old I obviously wouldn't have seen it in my searches prior to then. I think I'm going to tear up an HPFP and see if I can reproduce his results -- I'll go join the other thread