Quote:
Originally Posted by p912guy
Sorry to hear about the MINI. What are the issues? My previous car was a 2011 MINI Cooper S. Sold / traded it with 88000 miles and for the most part it was trouble free. I'd probably still have it had I not found my current m235i convertible for the deal I as able to get on it a year ago. If the 2er is going to continue as a summer and winter DD, you might think about getting dedicated winter wheels too. The day I brought mine home I ordered 17" wheels and the Michelin X-Ice XI3's from Tire Rack. Fortunately we don't get much snow but still plenty of cold and sometimes icy roads and they work great.
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3 big issues on the Mini:
- low compression in cyl #3. requires removing head and machining valves/guides
- bearing noise from transmission. will eventually fail but could last a few more years
- steering shaft u-joints seized. Steering effort increased and makes howling noise
For now, I am only fixing the steering shaft. The low compression issue can cause a misfire when the CPU cuts the spark to #3, but it only happens if I let the car idle for 20 seconds or so. Otherwise it's not really noticeable other than the Service Engine Soon light being on. Will have to fix before the next emission inspection, since it won't pass with the light on.
The transmission bearing noise has been there for over two years already. It's only noticeable in cold weather. It's possible that two quarts of Redline MTL would make it a lot quieter and enable me to get a few more years out of it, so I'll try that first.
pull and machine head: $2000
install new transmission bearings: $2000
replace steering shaft: $800