• There has been a recent cluster of spammers accessing BARFer accounts and posting spam. To safeguard your account, please consider changing your password. It would be even better to take the additional step of enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your BARF account. Read more here.

Need Mini rebuild recommendations

900ss

900ss

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 2, 2006
Location
San Jose CA
Moto(s)
None, but my brother has 56 and counting.
Name
Ken
First, for those of you that reply "don't", or any variation thereof - have at it.

My wife's 2009 Clubman S JCW either has burnt rings or a burnt piston in the no. 1 cylinder. The plug is oil soaked. No evident smoking, nor any unusual sounds, but it is definitely not running on all 4 cylinders.

I'm looking for recommendations for reputable shops that would either rebuild this engine or install a factory long block if Mini sells them.
 
Turbo? More than 50,000 miles?


Edit: A compression check is first. Then if that is good the turbo would be the suspect for oiling the plugs.
 
Last edited:
Wow a JCW Clubman? Rare beast.

As has been said, compression check is #1. If it's just a burned valve or something, maybe you get away with just doing the top end and leaving the short block alone.
 
russ69 said:
Turbo? More than 50,000 miles?


Edit: A compression check is first. Then if that is good the turbo would be the suspect for oiling the plugs.
Click to expand...

Yes to both, 72,000 miles.

Just the no. 1 plug is fouled, I think if the turbo was the culprit all 4 would be fouled, no?

When I changed the plugs yesterday it was obvious no.1 was fouled, but when I pulled the new ones today it was obviously oil. I swapped plugs 1 and 2 (2 had a great heat pattern and color), ran for 15 seconds and pulled them again. The old no. 2, having ran in no.1 was wet with oil. I have pics if interested.
 
Last edited:
TheRobSJ said:
Wow a JCW Clubman? Rare beast.

As has been said, compression check is #1. If it's just a burned valve or something, maybe you get away with just doing the top end and leaving the short block alone.
Click to expand...

We actually cheated re: the JCW, having bought the factory kit and having Mini install it. You get the tuning, free-flow filter and exhaust system from the head pipe back. I understand the true JCW had a larger turbocharger. It did wake the car up considerably; my wife doesn't understand why the front tires have gone away so quickly. Ahem....:laughing

I don't think burned valves allow oil into the cylinder but could be wrong.
 
I vote turbo LS swap.

I dont think this on has an ls in it but ya get the point.

https://www.engineswapdepot.com/?p=15899

Semi serious response, are you sure you have spark to that cylinder? My truck just started running on 5 cylinders out of the blue one day. It has the coil on plug set up snd one of the coils died. Cheap fix, like $150 total, parts and labor.
 
Last edited:
900ss said:
I don't think burned valves allow oil into the cylinder but could be wrong.
Click to expand...

It's a reach. But the combustion leak could've wiped out a valve guide seal.
 
TheRobSJ said:
It's a reach. But the combustion leak could've wiped out a valve guide seal.
Click to expand...

That's a good point actually, thank you. I have forgotten more than I ever knew apparently.....:afm199

So, on the left we have plug nos. 1 and 2, which were changed yesterday (changed all 4 plugs). The image on the right is of plug no. 2 swapped into cylinder no. 1 and run for a few seconds. Wet with oil. Very wet.

I'm still thinking burnt rings or a holed piston. Thanks all for the compression test suggestions; I am jumping to conclusions without going through basic troubleshooting. I'll drink a beer for each of your suggestions and keep y'all posted. L'chaim!

I have been trying to persuade my wife for over a year to get a new Clubman, but now I'm trying to persuade her to keep this pile, get an honest to goodness JCW factory engine and continue having fun. She really does love this car. I told her the new Clubman JCW AWD is some 600 lbs heavier and thus won't be as zippy. We will go for a test drive some time in the near future. $12k vs. $45k.....

The real bummer for me is that I just bought some Koni FSDs and was going to have them installed on Wednesday. I'll have the shop do a compression test and diagnosis instead. BTW, I am taking it to Performance Techniques in Campbell, who is a Volvo shop. He owns a Mini and works on them as well. I cannot say enough about the owner, Dave Maminski. He has had opportunities in the past (with Volvos) to line his pockets, but never has done so. A great mechanic and a good, ethical and honest individual. He has a couple of great snake stories to tell as well!
 

Attachments

  • IMG_9823.jpg
    IMG_9823.jpg
    87 KB · Views: 38
  • IMG_9825.jpg
    IMG_9825.jpg
    54.1 KB · Views: 39
Last edited:
On the direct injected engines I've seen carbon build up so severe it holds the intake valves partially open. It's a known issue such that BMW developed a system just for de-carboning intake valves on DI engines. Also look at the crankcase vent system. IIRC it's integrated into the valve cover so that might need replacing, it can cause oil to be drawn in. The other possibility is valve guide seals. BMW used some kind of shit material in lots of motors.

It should also be noted that per BMW, all Mini engines can use a quart of oil as often as 700 miles.
 
Abacinator said:
On the direct injected engines I've seen carbon build up so severe it holds the intake valves partially open. It's a known issue such that BMW developed a system just for de-carboning intake valves on DI engines. Also look at the crankcase vent system. IIRC it's integrated into the valve cover so that might need replacing, it can cause oil to be drawn in. The other possibility is valve guide seals. BMW used some kind of shit material in lots of motors.

It should also be noted that per BMW, all Mini engines can use a quart of oil as often as 700 miles.
Click to expand...

Yeah, we do go through oil at a prodigious rate. We are on our third valve cover, and the ccv is indeed integrated into the valve cover. Again, only no. 1 plug is fouled. Perhaps I am making too much of this fact; I would love nothing more that for Mini NA to eat another warranty service. :thumbup:thumbup
 
900ss said:
I'm still thinking burnt rings or a holed piston. Thanks all for the compression test suggestions; I am jumping to conclusions without going through basic troubleshooting.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing you probably don't have this, but one of the most useful tools I have bought in the past 5 years has been my video inspection tool (borescope). It has a dual imager head that I can switch to looking at a 90 degree view once I get the probe through the spark plug hole. Once a compression test leads me to wanting to use it, I immediately find out if it's a burned valve, scored up walls, and the last one I found with it was a valve that wasn't totally closed due to a broken valve spring. My Snap-On one cost like a grand a few years ago. But there are other brand inspection tools that are a also available even on Amazon for a fraction of the price.
 
It wouldn't be uncommon for the N14 to blow a piston ring, but +1 for more diag needed. It's really really common to have carbon build-up and faulty crankcase vent valve on that engine.
 
My brother has a mini cooper, he's spent as much time repairing it, in the last year, with a ton of swearing, as he has driving it.

He loves driving it, but he's disgusted by what he's finding for material choices in their manufacture (he's a very accomplished mechanical engineer) and their design decisions that make it very tough to get at and remove components that are known to fail.
 
those BMW boosted engines really could use a good catch can/filter or something to prevent oil from getting into the intake tract.

go use a camera and do a compression....better yet a leak down with cylinder one at TDC
 
Climber said:
My brother has a mini cooper, he's spent as much time repairing it, in the last year, with a ton of swearing, as he has driving it.

He loves driving it, but he's disgusted by what he's finding for material choices in their manufacture (he's a very accomplished mechanical engineer) and their design decisions that make it very tough to get at and remove components that are known to fail.
Click to expand...

I was thinking about getting my wife a used Mini as the prices have really come down. Now I know why these things are going for pennies.
 
Be lucky it is just mechanical....these cars have crap tons of electrical issues too!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top