Hi all,

New to this and thought I would ask your most valued advice regarding a problem I have had with my R53 Mini Cooper S (2003). My wife hit a bump in the road and this fired a spark plug clean out of the cylinder block stripping the thread as it went.:aargh:

I have read on the forum about the use of Time-Sert threads and people seem to have experienced success using this fix ... I have phoned 2 local "specialists in head cylinder repair" (Cleasbypes Durham & Motor Factors Ltd. Engine Services Dunston) who have both said they cannot repair in situ. I don't understand this :puzzled: as it can clearly be done is there anything I need to do i.e. partial strip of the top engine in order to give access or would they need a special tool which I could hire?

Any advice appreciated as I'm currently stuck looking at a full strip down and head repair costing £ LOTS!! :angry:

If anyone knows of a company who can do this in situ repair in the North East of England please let me know!

Thanks

A few people have had this fixed in-situ using Time-Sert for around £195 so it may be worth searching further afield?
http://www.mini2.com/forum/first-generation-faults-fixes/187822-spark-plug-popped-out-stripped-threads-help.html#post3809243

A few people have had this fixed in-situ using Time-Sert for around £195 so it may be worth searching further afield?

Thanks for the advice, its just difficult to know where to start with this kind of repair, been quoted £800 to replace the head incl; gasket kit, oil, oil filter, 4x plugs which seems a bit much?

One question which isn't really addressed is, is fitting the whole head with Time-Serts better in the long run than a new head without Time-Serts? Some arguments suggest that the thread material is better after the fix.

The long service intervals on modern cars mean the spark plugs are rarely checked for tightness, therefore if one works loose they wobble in the threads under compression untill eventually they strip and blow out......best to check them for tightness occasionally and no need to replace all with timeserts, even they will strip if left to work loose.

The long service intervals on modern cars mean the spark plugs are rarely checked for tightness, therefore if one works loose they wobble in the threads under compression untill eventually they strip and blow out......best to check them for tightness occasionally and no need to replace all with timeserts, even they will strip if left to work loose.

Thanks for the advice, well decided after spending a day calling garages to just bite the bullet and change head for as new cooper S head (its costing me the difference in time :hmph:)! Best price I could get was from Plough Motors (Haswell) (Mini & BMW specialists) £550. To fit new head incl: Oil, Oil Filter, Coolant, MINI Gasket kit & Plugs Also changing timing chain tensioner (£30 OEM). Booked in for next week.

Any other suggestions whilst their on with the job?

I will keep people upto speed on progress and report on the work / garage for anyone else who might come up against this in the future.

Quick update,

Mini now back from head work and I can report that the chaps at Plough Motors have done a great job. What a friendly service, and the Mini is runing again! I think that I might have found my new Mini service station! I have also learnt to ensure that the plugs are secure on a regular basis (something I've not thought about in a while!) however, on further investigation the car had, had aftermarket BOSCH plugs installed and it looked as though the previous owner may have cross threaded the chamber a good while earlier.

Thanks for all the help on this,