Was going out to town yesterday when I going going up hill and lost all power. Pulled over and had to get a tow back home. Diagnosed the Obdii scanner and threw me a cylinder 2 misfire. Got home and changed all the spark plugs and changed the cylinder 2 ignition coil. Still had the same issue. Had a rough idle and had no power.

Tried swapping the ignition coils to see if the coil was the issue and would carry the problem to the next cyclinder but nothing, still gave me cylinder 2 code. Tried disconnecting each coil while the car is on to see if maybe another the coil was causing the issue but nothing.

Not really sure what is left. I'm going to be running a compression test tomorrow to see what the result shows me. Anyone have any other ideas or similar issues who could shed some light.

 

Check the #2 fuel injector; you'll need a scope for that.

 

Also possible valve. I had a similar thing and an exhaust valve had disintegrated.

 

Concur. I just had an intake valve seat drop last week ... 500 miles after I fixed the warped head.

 

is any way to check the fuel injector manually? When the car turns on an idles it smells like gas. My best guess would be the cylinder is shot up with fuel but not fire to ignite.

 

I'll definitely have to look into the valve. Any ideas of what the cost where to get that replaced or how to do it?

 

No, you can't check the fuel injector manually. You have two options. You can pull the injector and have it tested at a shop, or you can take the car to an indy shop and have them watch the injector on the scope.

If you have valve damage, the cost will depend. Will you be removing they cylinder head yourself or will you take the car to a shop? I just did a valve job (installed a new timing chain and guides while I was at it) and it cost me $1,200 in parts and machine shop work. The machine shop charged $430.00 of that $1,200. It seems the MINI cooper was built by a tool manufacturer. Every time you need to do some task, an expensive special tool is required.

 

I'll have to see if I can find a local shop to do check out my injectors. I'm really contemplating just removing the cylinder head myself. Ive never done it but I've taken other parts apart on the car. Might get a quotes just to see what would be the best option. What special tools were you required to use when you did your job so I can jump the gun on them and see if I can find them for when I take it apart??

 

I didn't pull my cylinder head until I did the compression and leak-down tests to confirm there was a problem; cylinder 1 was double (leak-down percentage) that of the others. I wouldn't pull the head unless you are 100% sure there is something wrong with it. Also make sure you find a shop that has experience with newer cylinder heads. It's not comforting when you walk into the machine shop and the guy says "I've never seen one of those before."

If testing confirms you need to pull the head, the special tools are listed in the Bentley service manual. I purchased the camshaft timing kit from Ebay. That was $40.00. The expensive version can cost up to $300.00. I also purchased the tool to install the front crank seal $162.00 from Pelican Parts (only required if you're going to replace the timing chain). If you don't have the tool, the seal will probably leak; mine did. I did not purchase the tool that takes the place of the right engine mount. I used a large block of wood under the oil pan to hold that side of the engine up.

The good thing to report is that I had zero timing chain wear at 127K miles; however, the bottom of the stupid plastic guide was broken (where the two pieces hinge). I measured 10 links (pin to pin) of the old and the new chain. The measurements were identical down to .000"

 

haven't had a chance to run compression test but I was able to borrow a compression test too so I'll be giving it a shot today if not tomorrow. Definitely going to be my last option to start removing the head. Want to exhaust all options before I take it all apart. But any chance don you know how the cylinders are numbered? Bc I tried looking for a vacuum leak yesterday and resetting the ECU but still had no change still kept getting the same code. I changed the ignition coil of the second from the left cylinder but after looking at a diagram I found out that the firing sequence is 1 3 4 2. So I'm not sure if I changed the cyclinder 2 coil or if its firing cylinder 2.

That definitely some good news that the timing chain had no wear. I'm hoping my is in decent shape considering it only has 108k. Been on top of all maintenance every 3k oil changes, tune ups ever 10k but well have to find out after I take it apart if it comes to that.

 

Yes, If you are standing in front of the car looking at the engine, cylinder 1 is on the left (timing chain side). Confirmed; the firing order is 1, 3, 4, 2. That matters for your leak-down test.

What do you mean you tried resetting the ECU? Did you mean you tried to clear the misfire DTC? I use Castrol Syntec 5W-30 oil and change it every 7,500 miles. Oil analysis from Blaskstone labs confirms I don't have any abnormal wear, or viscosity breakdown. I can see changing the oi every 3K miles if you're using conventional oil, but MINI recommends fully synthetic oil. It's very inexpensive at Walmart.

Have you ever performed a compression test before? Keep in mind:

1. Block open the throttle plate
2. Remove all spark plugs
3. Ensure the battery if fully charged and has the specified CCAs.
4. I pull the DME relay to keep the fuel injectors from firing. That's in the service manual.

 

okay so I definitely changed the right coil. Whoops yes that's what i meant resetting the codes but they still came right back. Wow I didn't know you could go that long with an oil change I just figured if you have clean it would function better. I use pennzoil 5w-30 full synthetic.

I tried doing a compression test today but the tool I was using I think was leaking air from somewhere bc it wouldn't hold any compression on any cylinders. Tried to make sure all seals were nice and tight on when using it but it didn't seem to matter it wouldn't function. Thinking of buying my own and trying again this weekend.

 

I have a nice OTC compression test set. look it up online.

Also, Blackstone labs will mail you a free oil sample kit. they charge you $28 when you send it in. it's easy, take the sample, fill out the paperwork, and put it in the mail box. I had the oil analyzed before spending the $$$ to change the clutch.

 

Where did you get your kit? I'm going to have to grab one never know when you'll need it.

hmm that's interesting! I didn't know that. What do the result include? What kind of clutch did you go with? Did you do it yourself?

Ended up taking my car to the shop tomorrow. Finally gave in couldn't put a finger to what's wrong. My best guess is a maybe a exhaust valve. Hopefully I'm wrong and it's an easier fix but I'll find out tomorrow and keep you posted!

 

Hello, did you discover the root cause here? I have car with similar issues, flooded cylinder #4 with no carbon buildup unlike other cylinders due to the wash. Replaced HPFP with known good, with no change. Replaced all coils and plugs and no change of course. Boroscope shows no damage to valves, seats or pistons/cylinder walls. Timing chain and VANOS solenoid are good and crank/cams are correctly timed (visually confirmed and no drift from set/actual on diagnostic tool)

Car is hard starting, misfire/stumble/backfire due to unburned fuel.

 

Have you tried replacing (or swapping) #4 injector with another or a known good one? Or as a first step - if you have the diagnostic tools for it, can you monitor the injectors as they operate to look for odd injector behavior?

 

Thanks for the reply. I didn't see anything unusual on my diagnostic tool (Launch v431) but I also don't know what is normal and what is not.

Don't have a spare injector on hand but if this is a likely or common issue, looking to obtain one and do the swap. Working on car for a friend who is very money sensitive and trying to not do work that doesn't resolve the issue...

Are leaking injectors common on the N14 engine?

Thanks,