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A friend had recently got into school and needed a vehicle to commute, especially with the price of ubers skyrocketing. Luckily a relative of theirs handed down their old Mini. Unfortunatley the car has been sitting for over a year. This has been the process of restoring it.
It was parked for a very long time, possibly intermittently started. Was in pretty rough shape.
Battery was dead. No coolant. No AC. Power steering wasnt working.
Coolant leak was the biggest issue.
The tires were from 2012.
Managed to jump start it. Stopped at the auto parts store and bought a gallon of blue euro coolant. It was a 15 mile drive to the mechanic, and I stopped every 5 miles to refill the coolant, so the engine wouldn't overheat and get destroyed. Luckily made it without issue, but in retrospect, should have had it towed.
The rear coolant pipe is plastic and infamous for failure, there is a metal version you should use instead. They also tend to have MAF issues, vanos issues, and TB issues, change the oil a few times to try and reduce chance of the vanos messing up. I usually add one 1qt of trans fluid to it to help clean the oiling system up.
Miles? There are some other really common failures these have pending miles and if it's an auto or manual. I had one for two months.....I hate these due to that expensive experience. Dual mass flywheels can die in a hole
The rear coolant pipe is plastic and infamous for failure, there is a metal version you should use instead. They also tend to have MAF issues, vanos issues, and TB issues, change the oil a few times to try and reduce chance of the vanos messing up. I usually add one 1qt of trans fluid to it to help clean the oiling system up.
Miles? There are some other really common failures these have pending miles and if it's an auto or manual. I had one for two months.....I hate these due to that expensive experience. Dual mass flywheels can die in a hole
The oil which was already in the car looked brand new, but I still changed it. Mobil 1 full synthetic. The coolant issue was fixed, it was relatively cheap. The steering issue was due to the wheel speed sensors. Car has about 70,000 miles, and it is a manual.
While the shop was busy bringing the car back to a decent status, I ordered this German tuneup kit from ebay. $100
Found some nice condition General tires on offerup. $100 only for the 4.
Coming along.
Coolant issue fixed, new battery.
Along with the tires, installed new pads and rotors, and front calipers. Heres a before and after.
thank you, it's been pretty decent. The shift **** broke off, but it was an easy fix. Also got a check engine light last week for ABS/speed sensors in the wheels. Might be having to deal with that in the future. Also, ordered some LED headlight bulbs to swap out the aftermarket HID ones which intermittently don't work
I am a miniac by every standard; I am on my third mini "S", and yes they are money pits when it comes to repairs and maintenance. It is not my daily driver; I mostly use it on the tracks. It puts a smile on my face every time I get behind the wheel. You have done an excellent job replacing most items that fail at this mileage and age. I strongly suggest that you ask the young driver to check engine oil at every fill up and carry a quart in the boot to add as needed. Also, at next maintenance it may be prudent to replace the plastic valve cover; they tend to crack with age.
I am a miniac by every standard; I am on my third mini "S", and yes they are money pits when it comes to repairs and maintenance. It is not my daily driver; I mostly use it on the tracks. It puts a smile on my face every time I get behind the wheel. You have done an excellent job replacing most items that fail at this mileage and age. I strongly suggest that you ask the young driver to check engine oil at every fill up and carry a quart in the boot to add as needed. Also, at next maintenance it may be prudent to replace the plastic valve cover; they tend to crack with age.
really appreciate the advice. We put in the regular Mobil 1 full synthetic last time, I'll have to check the oil level asap. Could you link me the plastic valve cover please? I only know about sourcing Lexus/Toyota parts. Thanks
This is where I shop for Mini parts. After market valve cover is much cheaper than OEM.
Thanks. The CEL light came on, apparently it's the front weel speed sensors. Probably going to order from RockAuto. Also the headlights are only working intermittently. I purchased some LED bulbs.
H7 LED bulbs
But when I opened up the headlight housing, I found this contraption. Apparently someone previously converted it to HIDs. Not sure how to proceed.
Oceans13 2008 Mini Cooper resto..
