09 Clubman with heat stroke

JTownPBX said:

I have come to learn I need to trust the practical application of any item in the car, also the functionality. Example the high pressure fuel pump is gonna pump regardless. cooling it off only to preserve the life of it is nominal. It is operated by the camshaft. Low fuel pressure would be the low level fuel pump in my own opinion. thankfully I have not had to purchase a HPFP yet. I have had it replaced under warranty. So they say.
What you want to hint at; I think. MAY be a problem is Vapor lock. But I would not know. I think it would be a different issue to cause a drop in fuel pressure.
Did you remember to prime your low level fuel pump before ignition. Priming the low level fuel pump(standard fuel pump in any other application than forced induction in gasoline automobiles. Priming the fuel pump is Standard procedure. Though I have never installed one on a Mini Cooper.
I know how I would install on in the mini cooper, concerning the low level pump. I would pull the low level pump back out again and try again. If I did not prime it. It might of even destroyed the low level fuel pump if you did not prime it correctly. Sounds like it is working getting fuel but at the cost of half the fuel pump power getting immediately worn out; from not priming it.
It's pretty common for the low level pump to completetly go south right on ignition from not priming it. And it is a Advanced machanic mistake that can happen ever so often. So don't get that angry if your low level is destroyed.

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JTownPBX said:

Oil catch can only masks a serious issue with stressing the vacuum at hand. In a sense it is only because of the new valve cover that your system is staying together. On top of the fact your losing a portion of oil during drives after emptying out the can.
What I would do is check the breather hoses the upper and lower by sliding back the sleeving as far as I could. If any of that system is broke I would replace the upper or lower or both.
Vent Hose
lower hose

Vent Hose

Connects from the valve cover to the lower intake manifold : part of the PCV system

www.ecstuning.com

then I would remove the oil catch can for now and buy a plug for the far end passenger side part of the valve cover where the fuel return breather connects into and put a plug in there cheap enough.

Blind Plug - Set Of 2

Snap in cap with seal, set of 2 for blocking off inlet port on the valve cover modification

www.ecstuning.com

In the end the amount of compression loss over the years could result in a back flow sort of thing going on due to the oil catch can.
With my mini cooper it is the small things. Like my 18 inch wheels I love to run them. I don't all the time for 2 reasons it it's not tuned to run 18 inch tires. and the tread does not last as long. I just use them during vacations.
That's how I use my oil catch can. during highway driving the car is maintaining a constant average speed and driving even a million plus big city is nominal to the shifts that take place with vacuum inside the engine.
Like my rebuilt engine I put the oil catch can on. like I always did before I have the NM with the proper fittings and zip tied it like I always did to the hose that attaches to the turbo inlet rubber K&N 90 degree elbow. My rebuilt engine when I came back after a hour or so slightly blew off the fitting from the seat not completely blowing the fitting out of the elbow due to the zip ties I had put on it to maintain geometry. Point is that is a rebuilt high compression thing going on.
Not like when I had the oil catch can on there at 60 thousand miles.
So anyways I would remove the catch can for now. Just like I am going keep mine off for now until I get a new plastic fitting for that 90 degree elbow that the oil catch can flows to.
As long as your wire harness has not been tampered with your problems should be able to be resolved per the recommended procedures.
Have you changed your timing chain. Or pulled the head and cleaned the tops of the valves along with the tops of the pistons with scotch bright and 2+2 berkable cleaner, brake cleaner or the equivalent?
If you have been using spark plug die electric grease that could be a problem. You have small coils to each plug not one big coil rumping out all kinds of electricity to each spark plug. That is the only place die electric grease shines in performance. Look into computer overclocking.
when they use die electric grease it is not because it keeps water away from the processor. they have special paint for that. It is so they can run larger amounts of electricity through computer board itself, and keep moister out.
In a mini cooper application with standard coils I would not use die electric grease, there is just not enough electricity to cross the greasy silicon path.
I know I tried it on my originals and after I smoked each one of them; even after cleaning the grease out of them they did not return to normal. I have bought 8 new coils sense I purchased my car in 2010 and have the four I have now along with 2 extra ones. the rest the originals were wasted because of die electric grease. and only when I bought another round did it go away.
So there is that. The E.C.U. is modern and runs lower voltage than the .5 volts of yester years cars from the 90's so I never used die electric grease on any of the connections as per how I saw the connections to begin with dry.
All in all I give you a lot of credit for what you have done it is quite extensual.
Vanos was a good call that eliminates a lot of undo stress from the situation your in.
If the car is acting up that much. You don't have to time it. but I would still get a camlock set and see if the engine is still in time. meaning everything locks into place with the camshaft locks and the flywheel pin in the lower part of the engine. With the exhaust camshaft only needing to be shifted slightly to slip the lock over the exhaust camshaft. Just like everyone else does with there's, and not just dropping right over it. letting you know that is the stock timed setting.
That would be the best. base camp as it where to start from in my own opinion. sense you have very unique problems occurring.

Click to expand...

JTownPBX said:

Oil catch can only masks a serious issue with stressing the vacuum at hand. In a sense it is only because of the new valve cover that your system is staying together. On top of the fact your losing a portion of oil during drives after emptying out the can.
What I would do is check the breather hoses the upper and lower by sliding back the sleeving as far as I could. If any of that system is broke I would replace the upper or lower or both.
Vent Hose
lower hose

Vent Hose

Connects from the valve cover to the lower intake manifold : part of the PCV system

www.ecstuning.com

then I would remove the oil catch can for now and buy a plug for the far end passenger side part of the valve cover where the fuel return breather connects into and put a plug in there cheap enough.

Blind Plug - Set Of 2

Snap in cap with seal, set of 2 for blocking off inlet port on the valve cover modification

www.ecstuning.com

In the end the amount of compression loss over the years could result in a back flow sort of thing going on due to the oil catch can.
With my mini cooper it is the small things. Like my 18 inch wheels I love to run them. I don't all the time for 2 reasons it it's not tuned to run 18 inch tires. and the tread does not last as long. I just use them during vacations.
That's how I use my oil catch can. during highway driving the car is maintaining a constant average speed and driving even a million plus big city is nominal to the shifts that take place with vacuum inside the engine.
Like my rebuilt engine I put the oil catch can on. like I always did before I have the NM with the proper fittings and zip tied it like I always did to the hose that attaches to the turbo inlet rubber K&N 90 degree elbow. My rebuilt engine when I came back after a hour or so slightly blew off the fitting from the seat not completely blowing the fitting out of the elbow due to the zip ties I had put on it to maintain geometry. Point is that is a rebuilt high compression thing going on.
Not like when I had the oil catch can on there at 60 thousand miles.
So anyways I would remove the catch can for now. Just like I am going keep mine off for now until I get a new plastic fitting for that 90 degree elbow that the oil catch can flows to.
As long as your wire harness has not been tampered with your problems should be able to be resolved per the recommended procedures.
Have you changed your timing chain. Or pulled the head and cleaned the tops of the valves along with the tops of the pistons with scotch bright and 2+2 berkable cleaner, brake cleaner or the equivalent?
If you have been using spark plug die electric grease that could be a problem. You have small coils to each plug not one big coil rumping out all kinds of electricity to each spark plug. That is the only place die electric grease shines in performance. Look into computer overclocking.
when they use die electric grease it is not because it keeps water away from the processor. they have special paint for that. It is so they can run larger amounts of electricity through computer board itself, and keep moister out.
In a mini cooper application with standard coils I would not use die electric grease, there is just not enough electricity to cross the greasy silicon path.
I know I tried it on my originals and after I smoked each one of them; even after cleaning the grease out of them they did not return to normal. I have bought 8 new coils sense I purchased my car in 2010 and have the four I have now along with 2 extra ones. the rest the originals were wasted because of die electric grease. and only when I bought another round did it go away.
So there is that. The E.C.U. is modern and runs lower voltage than the .5 volts of yester years cars from the 90's so I never used die electric grease on any of the connections as per how I saw the connections to begin with dry.
All in all I give you a lot of credit for what you have done it is quite extensual.
Vanos was a good call that eliminates a lot of undo stress from the situation your in.
If the car is acting up that much. You don't have to time it. but I would still get a camlock set and see if the engine is still in time. meaning everything locks into place with the camshaft locks and the flywheel pin in the lower part of the engine. With the exhaust camshaft only needing to be shifted slightly to slip the lock over the exhaust camshaft. Just like everyone else does with there's, and not just dropping right over it. letting you know that is the stock timed setting.
That would be the best. base camp as it where to start from in my own opinion. sense you have very unique problems occurring.

Click to expand...