Project back from the brink - R53 Cooper S
Discussion
Hi All,
I've probably been reading this forum for the last 12 years and never posted, so here goes.
For the last 3 years I've been using a C5 Audi A6 1.9 Tdi for my 72 mile round trip to work every day, which has been great - 60mpg, armchair comfort and unrivalled reliability, but hell it was boring to drive. My Mrs recently sold her car due to lack of use, on the agreement that we could get a car to share - enter the R53 Cooper S.
I looked for a couple of months and went to see some awful cars for strong money - anyone who knows these cars will know they have a lot of pit falls if left under maintained.
Then this caught my eye - bargain bin pricing and a lack of service history, part ex'd at a trader by someone who obviously wanted to get rid of it. Somehow it had just been through an MOT with not a single advisory (it was one of the most bent MOTs I have ever seen as the car was downright dangerous). When I turned it up it had the Mini 'Trifecta' of faults (TPMS, ABS, ASC fault lights illuminated) + Airbag light for good measure. Not only that it had a very severe oil leak, no heating, no air con, a huge hole in the exhaust and that was just the tip of the iceberg. Having said all that the car pulled well, gearbox & clutch were great, no smoking or knocking etc so I knocked another few hundred off the already cheap asking price and bought it as I am a glutton for punishment. This included delivery to my work the following day:
Somehow the car made it home, the brakes were dangerous (couldn't even lock them up, and the pedal would sink to the floor if you maintained pressure on them) and it probably leaked about a litre of oil over 30 miles. Needless to say I was hooked - the Supercharger noise is intoxicating, the chassis is very crisp and I really enjoyed the way that 3rd and 4th gear are so close together. It's not quick in a straight line by any means, but once you get it wound up down a country back road, it starts to make a lot of sense.
Upon proper inspection the car had the following problems:
All 4 discs and pads needing replacement (actually not long been replaced, but with awful quality parts)
Brake master cylinder faulty
ABS, TPMS, ASC lights on
Airbag light on
2 x Front ABS sensors (front left showing no signal, front right erratic signal)
Oil leaking from the following places: Crank main end seal, sump, oil filter housing, crank sensor, heat exhanger.
No heating, coolant leaking around Thermostat housing which was caked in silicone
AC clutch not engaging
Exhaust flexi pipe cracked, backbox rotten
Crease in N/S door
Keep in mind the car had just been through an MOT with no advisories
With the amount of work that needed doing it made sense to remove the front clip in it's entirety:
Apologies for the crap photos, I will get my proper camera out at some point.
Here the car was having:
Oil and filters service
Plugs (NGK BKR7EIX)
Supercharger oil service
Sump Gasket
Rocker cover Gasket
Crank position sensor O-Ring
Main end seal O-ring
Heat Exchanger O-ring x 2
Oil filter housing gasket
Waterpump
Thermostat (it didn't actually have a Thermostat in in the first place!
)
Alternator
Brake Master cylinder
Discs and pads/ brake caliper rebuild (all 4)
Exhaust Flexi pipe
Check low and high speed fan functions
Rip out aftermarket Xenon Fogs, rewire to factory.
Main end seal being replaced, a common fault on these cars.
I wonder what the problem could be here? Whoever worked on the car previously did not route the ABS sensor properly and it had just rubbed through on the tyre - this was the reason for all 3 lights being illuminated on the dash.
This is the state of one of the rear boxes - still undecided on what to do with this. I'd like a stainless system but I don't want it to be louder than factory, anyone got any ideas?
Mini wanted ~£300 for a new Manifold/ Flexi/ Cat as it is all one piece, I don't think so! £12 special fix:
Last job was to reset the airbag warning light - INPA was showing drivers seatbelt pretensioner fault logged. I had a good look underneath the seat, unplugged the connections, cleaned thoroughly and put back together. Cleared the fault and it is all sorted now, no problems.
The car's paintwork had seen better days, I went with a single stage clay/ polish as I really couldn't be bothered with entirely correcting the paint as it is my daily after all. For those interested, I went with: De-tar, Iron-x, Bilt Hamber clay/ Dodo Juice lube, Koch Chemie Hochglanz with a Chemical guys hexlogic pad (by far my favourite combination for a single stage polish), Meguiars back to black/ Meguairs endurance.
So now the car has working brakes, is oil and water tight I can move onto improving the car and getting the N/S door replaced, to be continued!
Also my other weekend project which I bought as an MOT failure at a bargain bin price, may do a thread on this at some point If I get round to it.
Thanks for reading.
I've probably been reading this forum for the last 12 years and never posted, so here goes.
For the last 3 years I've been using a C5 Audi A6 1.9 Tdi for my 72 mile round trip to work every day, which has been great - 60mpg, armchair comfort and unrivalled reliability, but hell it was boring to drive. My Mrs recently sold her car due to lack of use, on the agreement that we could get a car to share - enter the R53 Cooper S.
I looked for a couple of months and went to see some awful cars for strong money - anyone who knows these cars will know they have a lot of pit falls if left under maintained.
Then this caught my eye - bargain bin pricing and a lack of service history, part ex'd at a trader by someone who obviously wanted to get rid of it. Somehow it had just been through an MOT with not a single advisory (it was one of the most bent MOTs I have ever seen as the car was downright dangerous). When I turned it up it had the Mini 'Trifecta' of faults (TPMS, ABS, ASC fault lights illuminated) + Airbag light for good measure. Not only that it had a very severe oil leak, no heating, no air con, a huge hole in the exhaust and that was just the tip of the iceberg. Having said all that the car pulled well, gearbox & clutch were great, no smoking or knocking etc so I knocked another few hundred off the already cheap asking price and bought it as I am a glutton for punishment. This included delivery to my work the following day:
Somehow the car made it home, the brakes were dangerous (couldn't even lock them up, and the pedal would sink to the floor if you maintained pressure on them) and it probably leaked about a litre of oil over 30 miles. Needless to say I was hooked - the Supercharger noise is intoxicating, the chassis is very crisp and I really enjoyed the way that 3rd and 4th gear are so close together. It's not quick in a straight line by any means, but once you get it wound up down a country back road, it starts to make a lot of sense.
Upon proper inspection the car had the following problems:
All 4 discs and pads needing replacement (actually not long been replaced, but with awful quality parts)
Brake master cylinder faulty
ABS, TPMS, ASC lights on
Airbag light on
2 x Front ABS sensors (front left showing no signal, front right erratic signal)
Oil leaking from the following places: Crank main end seal, sump, oil filter housing, crank sensor, heat exhanger.
No heating, coolant leaking around Thermostat housing which was caked in silicone
AC clutch not engaging
Exhaust flexi pipe cracked, backbox rotten
Crease in N/S door
Keep in mind the car had just been through an MOT with no advisories
With the amount of work that needed doing it made sense to remove the front clip in it's entirety:
Apologies for the crap photos, I will get my proper camera out at some point.
Here the car was having:
Oil and filters service
Plugs (NGK BKR7EIX)
Supercharger oil service
Sump Gasket
Rocker cover Gasket
Crank position sensor O-Ring
Main end seal O-ring
Heat Exchanger O-ring x 2
Oil filter housing gasket
Waterpump
Thermostat (it didn't actually have a Thermostat in in the first place!
)Alternator
Brake Master cylinder
Discs and pads/ brake caliper rebuild (all 4)
Exhaust Flexi pipe
Check low and high speed fan functions
Rip out aftermarket Xenon Fogs, rewire to factory.
Main end seal being replaced, a common fault on these cars.
I wonder what the problem could be here? Whoever worked on the car previously did not route the ABS sensor properly and it had just rubbed through on the tyre - this was the reason for all 3 lights being illuminated on the dash.
This is the state of one of the rear boxes - still undecided on what to do with this. I'd like a stainless system but I don't want it to be louder than factory, anyone got any ideas?
Mini wanted ~£300 for a new Manifold/ Flexi/ Cat as it is all one piece, I don't think so! £12 special fix:
Last job was to reset the airbag warning light - INPA was showing drivers seatbelt pretensioner fault logged. I had a good look underneath the seat, unplugged the connections, cleaned thoroughly and put back together. Cleared the fault and it is all sorted now, no problems.
The car's paintwork had seen better days, I went with a single stage clay/ polish as I really couldn't be bothered with entirely correcting the paint as it is my daily after all. For those interested, I went with: De-tar, Iron-x, Bilt Hamber clay/ Dodo Juice lube, Koch Chemie Hochglanz with a Chemical guys hexlogic pad (by far my favourite combination for a single stage polish), Meguiars back to black/ Meguairs endurance.
So now the car has working brakes, is oil and water tight I can move onto improving the car and getting the N/S door replaced, to be continued!
Also my other weekend project which I bought as an MOT failure at a bargain bin price, may do a thread on this at some point If I get round to it.
Thanks for reading.
A good choice, brilliant little cars! Hat's off to you for getting stuck in so quick.
I've got an R53 too (although the girlfriend would say it's hers.... depends who you ask) in the same grey/black roof. Trying to find one that has been looked after is a nightmare! took 4 months of searching to find one i liked.
Exhaust wise, i learnt the hard way...... mine rotted through, ordered a stainless Deutsch Tech exhaust that came a day before a Nurburg trip but it didn't fit at all......as i needed it on the car last minute i cut it up and re-welded everything. The first time i drove it was to Dover and then onto nurburg, it absolutely ruined the car.... i was meant to be lead car but no one wanted to follow the noise
.After the trip it came off the car and was sold on, then bought a pattern replacement, which the drivers side box rotted through after 6 months.
Long story short, if you want it quiet and no problems.... buy an OEM replacement.
What are the plans for the car?
I've got an R53 too (although the girlfriend would say it's hers.... depends who you ask) in the same grey/black roof. Trying to find one that has been looked after is a nightmare! took 4 months of searching to find one i liked.
Exhaust wise, i learnt the hard way...... mine rotted through, ordered a stainless Deutsch Tech exhaust that came a day before a Nurburg trip but it didn't fit at all......as i needed it on the car last minute i cut it up and re-welded everything. The first time i drove it was to Dover and then onto nurburg, it absolutely ruined the car.... i was meant to be lead car but no one wanted to follow the noise
.After the trip it came off the car and was sold on, then bought a pattern replacement, which the drivers side box rotted through after 6 months.Long story short, if you want it quiet and no problems.... buy an OEM replacement.
What are the plans for the car?
OP - Nice car and top effort.
We've got a 55 plate black r53 and you are right, the whine of the supercharger and the gearbox combo do really work nicely on the right bit of road.
Our back box went in the same way as yours - I fitted a milltek resonated exhaust and it is very civilised. I was really worried about the noise as I wanted to keep it quiet, but in my mind its just right.
Annoyingly, ours has developed a little fault recently - a P1129 error code and the car goes into limp mode. There will always be something that needs doing to it!
We've got a 55 plate black r53 and you are right, the whine of the supercharger and the gearbox combo do really work nicely on the right bit of road.
Our back box went in the same way as yours - I fitted a milltek resonated exhaust and it is very civilised. I was really worried about the noise as I wanted to keep it quiet, but in my mind its just right.
Annoyingly, ours has developed a little fault recently - a P1129 error code and the car goes into limp mode. There will always be something that needs doing to it!
In the same boat with my R53 and exhaust... it’s been rotten for months but has now started blowing. Don’t want anything louder than it is now, but OEM replacement is costly (around £650 last time in enquired). Most seem to go with miltek, but I don’t like the tips and it’s still pretty pricey for just a cat back.
No idea where you guys are based, but might be worth speaking to JP Exhausts in Macclesfield - http://www.jpexhausts.co.uk/
I used them with my Mondeo ST220 and I've also had one of their TVR exhausts.
I used them with my Mondeo ST220 and I've also had one of their TVR exhausts.
Welcome to the club 
mine's actually been the most reliable car I've owned which has been surprising! So easy to get carried away with the mods on these... any plans to go down that route? The Orranje CAI is a must if you like the supercharger whine.
Here's mine 'finished' after chucking more money at it than it cost in the first place :|
mine's actually been the most reliable car I've owned which has been surprising! So easy to get carried away with the mods on these... any plans to go down that route? The Orranje CAI is a must if you like the supercharger whine.Here's mine 'finished' after chucking more money at it than it cost in the first place :|
I like it!
Any other plans apart from exhaust and the door?
Another vote for the Orranje airbox sounds great.
Here’s my one with chavvy wheels my son (4y/o) picked. I quite like it!
I think you’d be best off with a miltek resonated exhaust. I was in the same boat but got the non resonated as i don’t do many miles and it’s not too bad. A guy at work had a miltek resonated and it’s pretty much the same as standard.
Changing the front wishbone bushes and rear trailing arm bushes for poly bushes this week as mine are knackered.
Then I can get the geometry set up properly.
Any other plans apart from exhaust and the door?
Another vote for the Orranje airbox sounds great.
Here’s my one with chavvy wheels my son (4y/o) picked. I quite like it!
I think you’d be best off with a miltek resonated exhaust. I was in the same boat but got the non resonated as i don’t do many miles and it’s not too bad. A guy at work had a miltek resonated and it’s pretty much the same as standard.
Changing the front wishbone bushes and rear trailing arm bushes for poly bushes this week as mine are knackered.
Then I can get the geometry set up properly.
Thanks for all the replies! It seems I have a habit of buying crap cars and giving them TLC, doing around 25000 miles per year at the moment so it doesn't make sense to buy a low mileage mint example because it will get miles piled on it in all weathers.
Sounds like Miltek resonated is the one to go for, I just don't know whether I agree with the price
Plans wise, just get it tidied and everything working at the moment. Its got crap mismatched tyres on it, so ideally have some Michelins fitted and refurb the wheels at the same time. Then inevitably the usual stuff, Orranje airbox, Pulley, Intercooler etc. I don't know what to do on the suspension front, the standard stuff seems a nice balance between comfort and performance. The car has actually recently had the front wishbone rear bushes and outer balljoints done which is surprising given how neglected the rest of the car is.
Rather worryingly I checked the oil last night after changing it last week only to find out it wasn't registering on the dipstick. Put another 2 litres in it before it registered full again. Going to keep an eye on it but a the moment I have a few scenarios running round in my head - possible nackered oil control rings/ valve stem seals (but not certain as its not really smoking, maybe the odd puff here or there at the redline) or perhaps it's just the fact I've put cheap Shell Helix 5W-40 oil in it? Going to give it a compression/ leak down test and maybe swap over to some higher quality oil. Currently having nightmares about pulling the engine to swap the bearings, rings and stem seals
Sounds like Miltek resonated is the one to go for, I just don't know whether I agree with the price
Plans wise, just get it tidied and everything working at the moment. Its got crap mismatched tyres on it, so ideally have some Michelins fitted and refurb the wheels at the same time. Then inevitably the usual stuff, Orranje airbox, Pulley, Intercooler etc. I don't know what to do on the suspension front, the standard stuff seems a nice balance between comfort and performance. The car has actually recently had the front wishbone rear bushes and outer balljoints done which is surprising given how neglected the rest of the car is.
Rather worryingly I checked the oil last night after changing it last week only to find out it wasn't registering on the dipstick. Put another 2 litres in it before it registered full again. Going to keep an eye on it but a the moment I have a few scenarios running round in my head - possible nackered oil control rings/ valve stem seals (but not certain as its not really smoking, maybe the odd puff here or there at the redline) or perhaps it's just the fact I've put cheap Shell Helix 5W-40 oil in it? Going to give it a compression/ leak down test and maybe swap over to some higher quality oil. Currently having nightmares about pulling the engine to swap the bearings, rings and stem seals
They all seem to use a fair bit of oil. How many miles did you do?
Mine uses a bit but mines leaking from the sump and filter housing. I’ll sort it out when I do my next oil change.
As for suspension, I bought some Meister R coilovers based on people saying they rode similar to the standard suspension.
IMO they ride harder, I’m trying to find out if I can use the standard rear top mounts I steal of the solid ones the Meisters come with.
I do need to play about with them abit more to find the ideal setting though.
Mine uses a bit but mines leaking from the sump and filter housing. I’ll sort it out when I do my next oil change.
As for suspension, I bought some Meister R coilovers based on people saying they rode similar to the standard suspension.
IMO they ride harder, I’m trying to find out if I can use the standard rear top mounts I steal of the solid ones the Meisters come with.
I do need to play about with them abit more to find the ideal setting though.
I had a Milltek non resonated on mine. I didn’t think it was that much louder than standard when pootling about, but sounded much better and slightly louder when under acceleration. Definitely had a better tone to it. And enhanced the pops and bags on lift off!! Not been on a MINI forum for awhile, is the Dave-F airbox still a thing?!?!
I think the Orranje airbox is the same as the Dave F one.
I’m the other way round the Dave F was gone when I joined mini forums haha
I found a video of when I first fitted my miltek
https://youtu.be/u9oM3D3D1ME
I’m the other way round the Dave F was gone when I joined mini forums haha
I found a video of when I first fitted my miltek
https://youtu.be/u9oM3D3D1ME
If you can find the rest of the setup I have the resonated centre section (Milltek) I can let go of for a decent price 
I bought and fitted it first, but was too quiet for me! So replaced it with the non-res which suits me much better (maybe not the neighbours though)
Did less than 1,000 miles with the res.
I bought and fitted it first, but was too quiet for me! So replaced it with the non-res which suits me much better (maybe not the neighbours though)Did less than 1,000 miles with the res.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff