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mini one 1.4 rebuild 2008 & 2009 cooper s jcw

31K views 145 replies 14 participants last post by  mike1967 
#1 ·
pics below has been my day , mini one 1.4 with 94000 miles on it failed mot emissions running very rich and misfire, never had timing chain before and is so far stretched it has destroyed the cat melted a big hole through middle also oil burning stem seals and piston rings, so today removed the gearbox and engine put new clutch in now engine sat back in car again tomorrow head off sump off piston out then strip the head remove all valves clean relap seats fit new stem seals and fit new timing chain as well and fitted new water pump while out,
new cat and 02 sensors £550 p[lus vat for genuine sensor's and good brand cat,, buyer beware of cheap cat's dont tend to do well, head and engine rebuild done a fixed price of £850,,
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LUK 3 piece clutch kit £144 ,, i suspect it has issue with injector or coil pack maybe as cat is well destroyed that said might just be the timing chain retarded running for 40,000 miles will do same damage,
 
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#2 ·
update stripped engine all pistons out and head stripped found like usual valve stem seals had let oil run down to exhaust valve seats and cause misfires these misfires allowed unburnt fuel and air mix in to the cat and burnt a big hole through it,,, this failure is very common and with 90k on the clock was at mileage when this out come is always the same it seems the timing chain was stretched had 6mm left on the plunger the bottom sprocket the teeth are feathered like usual hence why at 60k you must do the bottom sprocket and chain and guides and tensioner ,, MUST ALWAYS REPLACE BOTTOM SPROCKET, pulled all the pistons the rings were like usual gone soft with over heated retarded running for 40k i would guess,, also in pics shows the head and before cleaned and after and shows how bad the exhaust valves get with carbon,, the bores were slightly worn but came back with a good hone,, will; add to this post as rebuild it back up with pics as well,
for reference i mark all pistons and direction and end caps as well,, i also keep all valves in same order as come apart, i mark all cam journals same way,,, i did stop short of naming all the bolts lol.
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#52 ·
update stripped engine all pistons out and head stripped found like usual valve stem seals had let oil run down to exhaust valve seats and cause misfires these misfires allowed unburnt fuel and air mix in to the cat and burnt a big hole through it,,, this failure is very common and with 90k on the clock was at mileage when this out come is always the same it seems the timing chain was stretched had 6mm left on the plunger the bottom sprocket the teeth are feathered like usual hence why at 60k you must do the bottom sprocket and chain and guides and tensioner ,, MUST ALWAYS REPLACE BOTTOM SPROCKET, pulled all the pistons the rings were like usual gone soft with over heated retarded running for 40k i would guess,, also in pics shows the head and before cleaned and after and shows how bad the exhaust valves get with carbon,, the bores were slightly worn but came back with a good hone,, will; add to this post as rebuild it back up with pics as well,
for reference i mark all pistons and direction and end caps as well,, i also keep all valves in same order as come apart, i mark all cam journals same way,,, i did stop short of naming all the bolts lol. View attachment 278919 View attachment 278920 View attachment 278921 View attachment 278922 View attachment 278923 View attachment 278924 View attachment 278925 View attachment 278926 View attachment 278927 View attachment 278928
hi mike are you using the special tool to set the valve springs , if so where did you get yours
 
#3 ·
in above pics notice the valves on head that look wet that is because i pour brake cleaner in each port and then look for it leaking out of valve seats,, on this head it was one valve leaking that caused the cat to get a hole in it,, also made the owner think he could fix it with new coil packs and plugs based on a diagnostics scan saying had misfire and was running rich,,
more pics below
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#4 ·
today put rings on pistons and totally cleaned the channels out as any carbon left in these car snap rings when installing them, pics below shows the piston rings i always use found to be better than the single piston rings on oil rings,, they are very thin and must treat with care. put head balc together ground all valve seats and rebuilt the vvt assembly also below is pics of the buckets and how the spring fingers must sit on to the rear of them,,, failure to do this correctly will lead to engine sounding like a bag of nails on idle sounds worst ... bmw want over £300 for special tool to fit the springs top nut, i use a old head bolt two spanners and a metal plate and works a treat,
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#5 ·
today rebuilt it pistons in and head on new cat fitted new water pump new thermo housing new clutch and slave cylinder also new timing chain kit have fired it up for 3 minutes before fitting front back on to make sure all sounds ring,, sounds perfect no smoke no chuffing from oil filler anymore nice little car now,,
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little tip for anyone doing this kind of job is the piston ring compressor tool not all are eqaul the best i have found is made by draper just perfect every time,, dont use the cheapo nasty ebay non brand ones i did once and destroyed more rings than what it was worth , link below
and good hone tool a must link below
used this kit with timing chain and head gasket all seals stem seals and head bolts even has the camshaft stretch bolts
piston rings i always use very good 3 piece oil control rings so much better
cat from this company type spproved 2 year warranty
02 sensor upstream
downstream
there is no cheap way to do the 02 sensors cheap sensors will damage your engine
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#6 ·
all finished runs sweet went for mot to day all emissions now very low, no smoke from exhaust or from oil filler cap as they should be, got 170psi compression on all 4, 65psi oil pressure,, live data the thermostat housing and at 105c its fully open as per the latest spec,, and tomorrow my next victim arrives 2010 cooper s jcw with misfire and using more oil than petrol this also has 94000 miles is on its second timing chain kit and will have its 3rd by end of it, cure will be head off pistons out new rings new bearings valve stem seals timing chain kit including vanos, water pump oil pump chain and sprocket . all valve relapped in etc, more likely to need a new cat and both 02 sensors and anything else that it needs along the way, keep my busy over the new lock down lol
 
#8 ·
depends on if the 10mm bolts that hold head lights to front plastic panel are rusted in or not, on easy car about an hour, need to remove front wheels and arch plastics i never remove the cables from bonnet catches as one time forgot and shut the bonnet ,, i promise anyone when this happens its a whole world of hurt to release the bonnet , ie two people with long lever bars from under the car, all the above is best way to sort them out with over 80.000 miles and should give another 80k life to the engine, seen many people have wallnut blast on inlet valves then a year later it back running wrong again as the real issue is stem seals and oil dripping on to the valve seats and going hard,, i've done so many of them now,,, the odd car i open up and have to tell customer that engine is to far gone these are normally cars with very oil pressure or been run with very low oil levels or coolant levels,, can normally tell by looking in oil filler cap hole at camshafts if they are grooved then car has been run low on oil for sure,
 
#9 ·
tomorrow next victim arrives 2010 mini cooper s jcw with 100.000 miles same thing intermittent misfires been to 2 other garages where all the normal wrong diagnostics costs money not needed to be spent on coil packs spark plugs even wall nut blast inlets,, hmmm that wont cure the worn out valve stem seals and piston rings, like putting lipstick on pig ,, treating the outcome and not the reason for it,,, correct repair is head off pistons out all valves out new piston rings big end bearings head gasket valve stem seals timing chain kit, prob will need new cat and both 02 sensors and anything else i find,, with 100k likely to need turbo cartridge thermo housing maybe divertor valve water pump time will tell, will post pics etc of it ,
 
#11 ·
started on 2009 cooper s jcw convertible today really nice spec car even got the big brake pack and sat nav and black dash surrounds , car has 100,000 on it is running on 3 cylinders and like they go is number 1 cylinder causing the issue,, very common for this cylinder ie gearbox end also the plug is black with oil residue ie common when either oil control rings crack, or more common is the skirt of the piston gets blown apart from engine leaning out due to excess heat from other issues or a injector is faulty,, have ordered all the parts head gasket head bolts timing chain is under 5k so dont need doing the high pressure fuel pump only just done its got 4 new coil packs and new turbo as well,, ie someone has tried to fix the issues with running on 3 cylinders once again,, real issue is mechanical might be a valve issue,,, but only a total plum would not do piston rings at same time on these engines with 100k on it, its also got new 02 sensors but i think the cat is done from unburnt fuel pushed out of dead cylinder on to it,, tomorrow will be get it stripped,, head off pistons o out pump out all valves out and clean and lap valves out,
one concerning thing i noticed is the coolant is a nasty colour and all around it there is white dry powder residue,, in keeping with someone has used a bottle of head gasket repair called steel seal so will be checking for leaks, common is oil cooler on oil pump housing, also head gasket common with age on turbo cars .
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#137 ·
started on 2009 cooper s jcw convertible today really nice spec car even got the big brake pack and sat nav and black dash surrounds , car has 100,000 on it is running on 3 cylinders and like they go is number 1 cylinder causing the issue,, very common for this cylinder ie gearbox end also the plug is black with oil residue ie common when either oil control rings crack, or more common is the skirt of the piston gets blown apart from engine leaning out due to excess heat from other issues or a injector is faulty,, have ordered all the parts head gasket head bolts timing chain is under 5k so dont need doing the high pressure fuel pump only just done its got 4 new coil packs and new turbo as well,, ie someone has tried to fix the issues with running on 3 cylinders once again,, real issue is mechanical might be a valve issue,,, but only a total plum would not do piston rings at same time on these engines with 100k on it, its also got new 02 sensors but i think the cat is done from unburnt fuel pushed out of dead cylinder on to it,, tomorrow will be get it stripped,, head off pistons o out pump out all valves out and clean and lap valves out,
one concerning thing i noticed is the coolant is a nasty colour and all around it there is white dry powder residue,, in keeping with someone has used a bottle of head gasket repair called steel seal so will be checking for leaks, common is oil cooler on oil pump housing, also head gasket common with age on turbo cars . View attachment 279066 View attachment 279067 View attachment 279068
Where abouts in the country are you based?
 
#12 ·
got head off today and as thought valve seats all leaking engine been running lean and cat is restricted a lot of white residue on 02 sensors and cat is same oil when it gets fry'd turns white pics below, i left tubo on block and removed the studs to head ie small torx , started cleaning and lapping in valve seats all inlet nearly done, also pics of valve stem seals and are hard and worn out, also pic of chemical metal i use this when need to undo the oil feed pipe to turbo it stops the flexi part from turning ie will leak if does and new pipe would be needed,
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#13 ·
below pics show leak valve eats ie put brake cleaner or petrol in the ports then check valves for leaking and most of them do,
 

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#14 ·
got in to clean and grinding in valves two ways to do valve lapping i use a drill and rotary cable on rear of valve stem and push valve with a screw driver handle whil spinning the drill up,, i also have a draper valve grinding tool fits to drill as per pics also in pics shows before and after the valve surfaces ie one has bits where the ground one does not ,,
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#15 ·
all pistons out and rings removed like they all go rings are worn 2mm gap on old rings new rings 0.10mm or a mill. honed bores as per pics shows the hone tool i use made by us pro always use wd40 as lubricant and dont hit the oil spray nozzle in bottom of bore, all pistons and end caps must be marked to go back on same rod and same bore for pistons and correct direction, tomorrow will start rebuilding its as parts have arrived,, also got new cat and 02 sensors on order as cat is full of white residus from oil burning the broes were purple signs of running to hot due to blocked cat as are the crank bearings in pics should where engine has been pinking and knock from running to lean,,
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#16 ·
so today had a chat with the lady who owns this car, and she told me that on way on to work one day she had high temps waring on dash and pulled over and checked the oil and no oil on the dipstick,, after i told her that i know the car has impact damage on bearings and bores were purple and piston rings were soft from over heating etc, the crankshaft is still all good not worn used micrometer and not oval and the surfaces are perfectly polished so no damage ,, just caught in time new bearings and will be ok,, my next job will now be strip oil pump and check for wear damage from lack of oil, also check float on crankshaft and movement with lever bar of main bearings if has then a mother of all jobs next replace the mains as well
 
#17 ·
so today done another 5 hours on it, rebuilt the head all valves back in and camshafts all back together ,, YOU MUST SQUEEZE THE OIL OUT OF THE LIFTERS, i also add well seal to valve stems seals top hats ie the flange that goes against the head as such,, always clean oil away with brake cleaner just before this helps any leakage later in engines life when it breathes more as such, i use Vaseline
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to make the valve stem collets sticky ie easy to use a pick tool to get them in their grooves correctly, as per pics, below
 
#18 ·
pulled oil pump apart checked for damage found slight lines inside so used some 600m wet dry and smoothed them slightly, also resealed the faces with well seal and cleaned out pressure relief valve with brake cleaner and pick tool as per picks,
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#21 ·
pulled oil pump apart checked for damage found slight lines inside so used some 600m wet dry and smoothed them slightly, also resealed the faces with well seal and cleaned out pressure relief valve with brake cleaner and pick tool as per picks, View attachment 279122 View attachment 279123 View attachment 279124 View attachment 279125 View attachment 279126 View attachment 279127
On a 11+ year old car isn't it a good idea to replace the oil pump while you have it out as they don't cost that much compared to the labour costs if needs replacing later on.

Also don't these oil pump tend to fail over time.

What would be the labour costs to rebuild the engine for her if you don't mind me asking?
 
#19 ·
finally today put new piston rings on pistons and new big bearings and refitted the pistons,, i reused the conrod bolts and used reg extra strength thread lock and done them tight by feel done this many times never had a issue,, pics below shows the 3 piece oil rings these are the best by far on these engines,, the middle black ring as top marked on it must face top of piston and so does the shiny top ring,,, one ring is 2,0mm middle ring is 1.5mm and the two oil control rings are 0.5mm each you must set top two rings 180 degrees apart on their gaps, and do same on both oil rings as well,, the best ring compressor tool i have found is made by draper and is by far the best i have every had so easy every time they just push in to the bores,, you must use plenty of oil,, i use gearbox oil as is thick if dont have any rebuild oil handy,
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#20 ·
what i did notice on this car when stripping timing chain gear off it, it had a new chain within 10k chain was still well within tolerance so being reused as its a genuine chain kit with latest tensioner,, but who ever replaced it used thread lock on the cam shaft bolts and crankshaft bolt ,,, THIS IS A BIG NO NO DONT DO IT, ONLY LIGHTLY OIL BOLTS AND HOLES, reason is the stretch bolts are designed to be used one way only and need the lubrication to get the correct purchase on the sprockets and threads and likely down the road to cause issues,, ie the oil will turn dry over time this allows the threads to go dry and hold better where thread lock coats the treats and a unknown outcome, so best to do as factory do them,,
i also with head bolts lightly oil them, i also clean out all the threads and ;lightly oil them and the new bolts i then run them in and out each holes up and down,, reason is so the new bolts smooth out and will do up all way in to holes without that cracking noise where lock top tight ,, head bolts are set 20nm then 40nm then plus 90 degrees and further 90 degrees,
camshaft bolts on non turbo cars are set 20nm plus 180 degrees or 2x 90 degrees if easier as i do them,
the crankshaft bolts is set 40nm plus 120 degrees or as tight as a 4ft bar will let you,,
on turbo cars the exhaust camshaft bolts is smaller is set 20nm plus 120 degrees,
MUST DRY ALL CAM SPROKET SURFACES NO OIL OR GREASE AND SAME ON CRANK SPROCKETS AS WELL, i use brake cleaner and wrag,
 
#141 ·
what i did notice on this car when stripping timing chain gear off it, it had a new chain within 10k chain was still well within tolerance so being reused as its a genuine chain kit with latest tensioner,, but who ever replaced it used thread lock on the cam shaft bolts and crankshaft bolt ,,, THIS IS A BIG NO NO DONT DO IT, ONLY LIGHTLY OIL BOLTS AND HOLES, reason is the stretch bolts are designed to be used one way only and need the lubrication to get the correct purchase on the sprockets and threads and likely down the road to cause issues,, ie the oil will turn dry over time this allows the threads to go dry and hold better where thread lock coats the treats and a unknown outcome, so best to do as factory do them,,
i also with head bolts lightly oil them, i also clean out all the threads and ;lightly oil them and the new bolts i then run them in and out each holes up and down,, reason is so the new bolts smooth out and will do up all way in to holes without that cracking noise where lock top tight ,, head bolts are set 20nm then 40nm then plus 90 degrees and further 90 degrees,
camshaft bolts on non turbo cars are set 20nm plus 180 degrees or 2x 90 degrees if easier as i do them,
the crankshaft bolts is set 40nm plus 120 degrees or as tight as a 4ft bar will let you,,
on turbo cars the exhaust camshaft bolts is smaller is set 20nm plus 120 degrees,
MUST DRY ALL CAM SPROKET SURFACES NO OIL OR GREASE AND SAME ON CRANK SPROCKETS AS WELL, i use brake cleaner and wrag,
What is your fixed price , mini first 1.4 2009
 
#23 ·
this morning and a few hours at end of day next lot got head on timing chain on sump on turbo and cat and 02 sensors on also pulled the oil filter housing off and put new seals in and cleaned it all out etc,
will see the white marks on top of head i use a tyre pen every time i do a 90 degrees stretch on each bolt i mark next to it, ie head bolts torques are,, 20nm the 40nm then plus 90 degrees then plus 90 degrees,, also in pics shows use of well seal on head gasket both sides ,, well seal is used by engine builders for metal to metal i have been using this stuff for over 15 years and been used on some cars that have had big mods and turbo pressures and on a few that head would lift we used this stuff and it kept sealed after, both surfaces must be cleaned free of oil grease etc i use brake cleaner and clean wipes,, also the head bolts must be lightly oiled and the threads must be cleaned out,
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also fitted new cat and both 02 sensors and not cheap ebay crap either
 
#24 ·
so today finished it off have ran it for 2x 1 hour runs cold to hot to cold to hot after resetting adaptations and vanos adaption as well, it now has zero smoke form exhaust zero smoke from oil filler cap and coolant is at right pressure and temps when fan cuts in,, it sits there idling perfect no misfires no vibrations, oil pressure is 60psi hot compressions are all same at 190psi , reason behind letting it sit on idle for a good hour is to let everything heat up gentle, then let fan cut in take around a hour from cold maybe tad more sometimes,
 
#26 ·
You make it all look so easy!
This is a great insight into how to tackle a rebuild on these engines in situ.
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its more of a refresh as such, and depends on the car having ok oil pressure at start and not run low on oil for to ;long,, the full rebuild would run a cost of £1000 in machine and new pistons and crankshaft regrind and new oil pump as well and that would be a engine out and so much more work, i have done a lot like this over the years of the prince engines and also do a lot of vag fsi tfsi engines as well as all suffer the same around same mileages ,, i got a v6 audi booked in over christmas for same sort of job but that will be crankshaft out as well as low oil pressure and worn crank, nothing fazes me with engines done loads of different ones over the years from bmw m3 straight 6 to 5m v10 engines with chain snapped, like anything in life its man made so anyone can learn how to do it,, just mark every thing mark the directions and number them etc take pics with a phone a very good idea and have good auto data to use as well,, and then there is the tools needed etc, i'm at my most chilled when nuts deep in a engine rebuild , suspension jobs are the thing i hate the most
 
#27 ·
finally live data run after 2 hours running all seems where it should be.
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#28 ·
I see the coolant temp is at 97c, which is about 207f. At what temperature does the cooling fan kick in, any idea and would it be the same for a diesel?
The reason I ask is that I thrashed my Cooper D this afternoon trying to get the fan to kick in but only got the temp up to 190f about 88c.
(My Foxwell diagnostic tool gives temps in Fahrenheit hence the conversion).
 
#29 ·
diesels are lower than the petrols petrol 104c will throw slow fan on, early petrols were 112c until new thermo housing reduced it to 104c
diesels are about what you have.
 
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