[JTT]

Hi,

I have searched but cannot find any decent instructions for fitting the S fuel cap to a Cooper. All the links are either dead or have moved.

The FAQ on this doesn't really give any details other than a couple of pics either.

Your help would be graetly appreciated

[Pepper'D]

me too just brought one of ebay for £54 pound delivered and in body colour

[NED]

Here you go..

http://www.mini2.com/forum/faq.php?f...aq_faq_fuelcap

[JTT]

Quote: Originally Posted by NED

Here you go..

http://www.mini2.com/forum/faq.php?f...aq_faq_fuelcap

Thanks but I have looked at that and it doesn't really give any instructions, just a couple of pictures. Won't help a fool like me fit them much....

[Richard Crofts]

Try using the fitting guide...sorry to plug anouther site....on www.minicooperonline.com its US site but does have guide to do this.

[ONED]

Quote: Originally Posted by blb999&MS b

me too just brought one of ebay for £54 pound delivered and in body colour

Saw you bidding!!!!

I was on an indie one which went for £56!!!

Good job I bid on a lecky blue one!...........got it for £26!!!!!!!

If I cant paint it for £30 theres something badly wrong!!!!

.....(I was about to bid on the white one but I saw that you were on it!

[JTT]

Thats where I got mine too.

Tip:- With people selling multiple items the same on eBay, contact them direct and make them an offer without going through eBay.

Got mine for £50 inc p+p ;-)

The same one on eBay went for over £60 including p+p.

[JTT]

Quote: Originally Posted by Richard Crofts

Try using the fitting guide...sorry to plug anouther site....on www.minicooperonline.com its US site but does have guide to do this.

Cheers,

The url has changed and you have to register but found it in the end.

[ONED]

Quote: Originally Posted by JTT

Cheers,

The url has changed and you have to register but found it in the end.

Any chance you can copy thinstructions onto a thread here???

...well now that you've registered!

[Pepper'D]

Quote: Originally Posted by ONED

Saw you bidding!!!!

I was on an indie one which went for £56!!!

Good job I bid on a lecky blue one!...........got it for £26!!!!!!!

If I cant paint it for £30 theres something badly wrong!!!!

.....(I was about to bid on the white one but I saw that you were on it!

thanks for that

[ONED]

Quote: Originally Posted by blb999&MS b

thanks for that

What?......


...the fact that I didn't bid on yours or that I got mine for £26!!!!!!!

[Pepper'D]

the fact you did not bid on mine

[ONED]

[JTT]

Quote: Originally Posted by ONED

Any chance you can copy thinstructions onto a thread here???

...well now that you've registered!

The MINI COOPER S cap kit comes in three main components: 1) The chrome filler cap, 2) the unpainted trim ring, and 3) the main hinge. The S gas cap works essentially the same way as your OEM Cooper cap - but you will need to have your trim piece painted to match your MINI body color as it is somewhat exposed.

There are two ways to install your S gas cap kit. Each way instructed here is somewhat difficult and does require some muscle power to get things locked into place, so be careful at all times about scratching your paint and damaging your gas lid area. It is recommended that you start with a gas tank 1/2 full or less. Remember that you are working near the gas filler area - do not have any open flame or items that will react with gasoline. Most importantly - READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS THOROUGHLY BEFORE STARTING!

Step 1: Start with opening your OEM gas cap (Figure 1a). Get a good grip around the edges and while standing behind it (Figure 1b), turn the lid clockwise to unlock it from the OEM hinge (Figure 1c).

Step 1a: After installing a few S Caps, we have found it easier to loosen the filler neck and then proceed to Step 2. This allows you to have easier access in removing the OEM hinge and liner. If you would like to go this route, please proceed with Steps 5-14, then come back to Step 2.




Figure 1a
Figure 1b
Figure 1c

Step 2: Now with the lid off (Figure 2a), take a soft guard (credit card, small stack of index cards, etc) and insert it between the body of the car and the OEM hinge assembly (Figure 2b). Take a small flat blade screw driver and work your way around carefully prying up and out the OEM splash guard as shown (Figure 2c) by keeping the protective item under your blade at all times. As your work your way around, the liner will start to come out - gently pull as your do this. (Figure 2d)




Figure 2a
Figure 2b
Figure 2c
Figure 2d

Step 3: Now gently work around the filler neck by prying the rubber liner away from filler neck (Figure 3a). You may need to put your gas cap in the holding hole as you do this (Figure 3b). It may also be a bit easier to squirt some WD40 between the rubber liner and filler neck as it will need some work to get it loose (Figure 3c). Keep in mind that it will take a bit of gentle pulling to get the liner and bracket (it is one complete unit) detached from your filler neck, but it will pop loose with some additional prying and gentle tugging (Figure 3d). Be careful that when the liner releases, that you do not bend this latch - if so, bend back into place (Figure 3e). If paint starts to chip from this small latch, cover it with some clear nail polish to seal it up as it will be completely hidden with the new S cap in place.




Figure 3a
Figure 3b
Figure 3c
Figure 3d
Figure 3e

Step 4: Take the new S hinge mechanism and rub some WD40 or silicone around the rubber liner that will be going around the filler neck (like in step 3). (Figure 4a) Take the gas cap off the OEM hinge and attach on the S hinge as shown by attaching the gas cap chord on the end of the hinge. (Figure 4b)




Figure 4a
Figure 4b

Step 5: At this stage, we decided to take the extra steps in loosening the filler neck a bit from the body. While this sounds like a big job, it was fairly easy to do and gave us more leverage in inserting the new S hinge. You can skip this step and go directly to step #17 and try inserting the S hinge assembly from the front, but it requires more arm power to get it into your body.

Step 6: Jack up the rear of the car on the driver's side by the correct jacking point illustrated in your MINI Owners Manual. Take off the 4 lug nuts and set the wheel aside. Make sure to use jack stands under to keep the car in place while doing this and do not attempt on a slope or incline. Only do this on a level surface should you attempt to do this on your own.

Step 7: Start to remove the one philips head screw located under the frontal part of the rear fender as shown here. (Figure 7)




Figure 7

Step 8: Now start to remove the inner liner by removing the one plastic plug here - gently loosen the head with a philips screw driver and pull out. (Figure 8)




Figure 8

Step 9: Do the same to the one located behind the first one. (Figure 9)




Figure 9

Step 10: Now remove the two 10 mm nuts from the upper inside of the wheel splash guard as shown here. (Figure 10)




Figure 10

Step 11: And remove the last philips screw located here. (Figure 11)




Figure 11

Step 12: Pull the liner out with a gentle tug and work your way around. (Figure 12) Keep the screws and liner safe somewhere.




Figure 12

Step 13: Look up inside of the fender and see how the neck is attached with the one 10 mm nut (Figure 13). For extra precaution, squirt some WD40 on this nut and let sit for 5 minutes. Then unscrew nut with 10 mm socket.




Figure 13

Step 14: Look down on the end of the filler neck and see the lower 10 mm retaining nut where the ground is connected. (Figure 14) Loosen this nut with your 10 mm socket as well - use WD40 prior if needed.




Figure 14

Step 15: At this point, your filler neck should be loose enough and should come away from the inner body of the car as shown. (Figure 15a) Remember, you just want enough room to move it around - do not remove the filler neck from the car for any reason. You can see from outside the car that your filler neck should be loose enough to move down a bit to allow you to insert the new S hinge (see below) (Figures 15b & 15c).




Figure 15a
Figure 15b
Figure 15c

Step 16: Insert your new S hinge by inserting the spring hinge area first and adjust position so that it goes around the loose filler neck (Figure 16). You may have to hold the filler neck at the bottom as you do this.




Figure 16

Step 17: The hardest part of the job is this step, so be patient and stay focused. You will notice that on your S hinge unit that there are about 5 small tabs that are somewhat flexible around the inside. The ones at the 12 o'clock, 3 o'clock and 6 o'clock positions will be pushed into the body of the car (Figure 17). There are two more located next to the spring and hinge area (say 8 and 10 o'clock positions). These two tabs will be pushed - but do NOT push behind the body panel of the car. If you do this, simple take a small flat bladed screw driver and un pry them back out - it may take some force to do this. To recap, the two tabs at the front of the car will be left on the outside of the body panel (or just to the line of the body panel) and the three rear tabs will be pushed in for a secure lock.




Figure 17

Step 18: Take a break and have a beer.

Step 19: Now that your new S inner liner and bracket is installed, take your colored trim piece (you will need to have this professionally painted before hand) and insert it over the new hinge as shown (Figure 19).




Figure 19

Step 20: Keep the hinge open and with the colored trim piece in place, push down (Figure 20a) on the trim piece (Figure 20b) so that the small 4 tabs lock DOWN on top of the line you just installed (Figure 20c). You will notice that if you pushed in the two tabs too far in step 19, these trim tabs will not get the proper grip and your trim ring will pop off. Once you get all 4 locked down, do a safety check and gently tug on the trim ring to make sure it does not pop off. Once secured, slightly trim off some of the excess felt at the 3 o'clock position to even it up from the hinge end. Use nut provided to secure the chrome lid on the bracket on the S hinge (Figure 20d).




Figure 20a
Figure 20b
Figure 20c
Figure 20d

Step 21: Repeat steps 6-14 backwards to re-secure the filler neck (Do not forget to reattach your ground line as shown in Figure 21), liner and wheel. Torque your 4 lug nuts to 82 foot pounds.




Figure 21

Step 22: You're done!




Figure 22b

While this job is not for someone who has little experience with tools, it can be performed if you are good at following directions carefully and have some experience with tools. Remember that you are working around the fuel filler area and caution must be taken when working in this area.

[cooper.PT]

These instructions are GREAT!

But where are the pictures?!

I've ordered the Cap and it arrived yesterday all parts assembled and painted.

I had no idea it was this hard everyone said it was so easy but after reading I whish I had some pictures to help me...

It seems that www.minicooperonline.com doesnt exist anymore so any help would be REALLY great

[silver_mini]

anyone?

[ChrisBray]

I have the instructions with pics in pdf format (627k) or word (2054K) that I can email to anyone who wants them. PM me your address if interested.

Can't find a way to post the doc on here so will ask the techies

[1_crazy_mofo]

Hi can anyone advise me where to buy cooper s fuel cap kit in the uk . and how much do they cost ? thankyou

[Tigger, Eeyore & Roo]

My dealer sold one to me for about £80. They quoted 1/2 an hour's labour to fit it and it took them about 1 1/2 hours to do it, they still charged me for 1/2 an hour's labour though! Nice people to deal with!

Having seen how difficult it was there is no way I would have done it myself to save a 1/2 hour labour charge.

I would recommend seeing if your dealer will sell you the part on the basis that they would charge for just a 1/2 hour's labour and then go for it before they change their minds!

Tigger.

[db.]

Quote: Originally Posted by ChrisBray

I have the instructions with pics in pdf format (627k) or word (2054K) that I can email to anyone who wants them. PM me your address if interested.

Can't find a way to post the doc on here so will ask the techies

ChrisBray, just wondering do u still have those instructions with pic file?
if so can u email me a copy?
thanks