I've ran a kava 17 percent pully with a colair intake for over 3 years . The original cooler isn't that bad. I drive mine hard and its never over heated or anything like that. Its never missed a beat only thing I've had to do in 3 years is change the washer motor thats it. Its been the most reliable car I've owned its never not started never took thr smile of my face. They are brilliant cars the r53z
Another issue that could’ve been mentioned is the coolant overflow tank. The plastic gets brown and brittle with age and can burst at the seams causing a vacuum leak in the coolant system. This in turn can lead to overheating and can trigger the fans after the car has been shut off as well.
Roadshow BMW and Mini in Memphis, TN was happy, if not eager, to change my supercharger oil. When they performed that service it actually exposed an issue in the Intake Supercharger lines that was causing a leak. Memphis takes care of their customers for sure
Sounds like a lot of the issues found with the N42B20. Quality informative vid. Looking for an R53 project and nice to have a bit of bargaining power with the knowledge. Cheers, Dean. Subscribed.
@@BMWDoctor😲 That's like saying to a dog "walkies walkies" then saying " nah mush you no what can't be arsed now 🙈" .... I can't wait to see the rest now !!
Lol yes mate I have done ALOT on this car but I won’t be releasing it yet lol videos were shot in 2 days bearing in mind but I tried to stop and restart as there was ALOT to do
Good information thanks Ours has done 112K Miles. And its been super reliable. Our crank pully was failing so I did all the other jobs. The dipstick o rings were leaking its wasn’t the sump gasket. Other things I found gone, was the high speed fan relay and power steering fan seized. It’s a convertible so no only sees decent weather unless we are stuck for a car so probably why ours is still on orginal exhaust
In most all your videos, you mention strengthening the internals before doing any big upgrades. What internals would you upgrade to make it handle more pressure from the upgrades? A quick video like this one would be great. Mentioning which internals and what you would do to them. Thanks a lot.
The W11b16a (r53 Cooper S) engines are very stout. Built from the factory with already forged internals. There's a good thread on NAM of the engineer(unbreakablelump) who worked and talks about this engine in great detail. One of the consideration would be to look at the transmission as the Getrag 285 unit was not meant to handle the uprated torque and could potentially let go when you start pushing more power.
As nobody else bothered to explain what internals need changing. I don't know the mini engine per say but, It'll be the same as any other engine you want power from. Assuming the block is serviceable you start by having the bores honed New Crank, big end bearings, Con-rods, Little end bearings forged pistons and a new oil pump Most likely an uprated head gasket. And then you'll likely spend just as much having the head gas flowed changing the Cam, cam bearings valves lifters and springs and then you'll be needing a new timing chain, sprockets, and tensioner(s) Which will cost you 2-3x what you paid for the car to begin with.
Ahhhh I just bought a r53 Cooper s for the wife, I only bought it as it belonged to my very close friend he suddenly passed away so I agreed to buy the car to finish what he had started, I do want to get all these jobs done on it but as I do see oil leaks, I think buy the kits one by one and then find someone competent enough to get the job done.
on the 2002 i bought the oil on the water pump had gone , making the super charger fail even after i replaced all the bearings the charger was still naff so yes change the oil in both ends to save buying a new super charger.
Reservoir leaks, anti-knock sensor, control arm bushings, a/c clutch on compressor, power steering leaks, lock actuators……These cars are filled with problems and expensive to repair at the dealership, usually $200 dollars an hour for labor.
Find a good experienced Mini mechanic (like I did), buy your needed parts online, and it's no biggie. I too was nervous about Mini ownership, not anymore.
I’m looking to get one Mini Cooper S / 04-06 Model.Thanks for your Clips on RU-vid with help me for some ideas , what I need to look at ... All the best Mate Jimmy
Replaced motor mounts pulley and seal. Changed supercharger oil, replaced every fuse in the car, valve cover gasket. Drove to work and now my radiator fan doesn't kick on.
I had an r53... pulled the engine and made a week out of a rebuild. To hell with gaskets bruh; I used rtv no leaks ever. Also modded the from clip so rad was on an aluminum plate so I didnt have to fight with that stupid ass plastic front end.
I did a timing chaing replacement and cylinder head replacement did everything that is right, but my mini doesnt start it cranks up then shuts off hard.
@@BMWDoctor can buy a 2011 Mini for $3,000. Looks very good. Woman who is third woman who owned it is going through a divorce and needs to sell it fast. Carfax looked good. Saw normal maintenance over the years but only a timing chain tensioner on it about 4 years ago. Automatic, recent brakes and tires…good buy? Any things to look for?
On my mini cooper s r53 55 plate, my oil light comes on and stays on even though my oil is full. Also, I've noticed it's spitting oil out the exhaust.. what could this be? Thank you.
You should also specify if you’re talking about miles or kilometers. Just like I hate when companies just put “$” on their website for product prices. I don’t know if it’s American or Canadian or any other dollars. I have to go hunting through the website to see if it’s an American website then I can assume it’s USD.
Evening bud So I've got a 03 cooper S when I go over 4500 revs it kicks in to limp mod and put out p1688 No burning smell coming from engine so dont think.its the crank pully
mate that code is for your pulley The slipping pulley is causing the supercharger to spin slow and not build boost I know this because I had the same exact issue change your harmonic balancer
I see your looking to get a R53 😂 Bro great great cars and I surely miss mine after everything I did to it trust me The new owner is more then pleased but I’m now targeting a R56 for my channel
Hey thanks for your video I just got my 2005 mini cooper s r53 convertible I have a problem the catalytic converter is running red hot and I dont know why, any ideas
If the manifold is going cherry red after 5-10 mins on idle check the pressure sensor on the supercharger side - if it's not working correctly the engine will run lean and the exhaust will get very hot. Additionally check for vacuum leaks as one or two of the pipes near the intake or the supercharger manifold will cause running issues too. If it's just the cat but not the manifold itself the cat may have failed inside but check the other things first as they're easier to spot and fix!
Hello I just purchased a 2005 Mini Cooper for my son and just recently we have a issue where when we start the car it starts up fine the moment we put it into drive RPMs drop dramatically the whole car vibrate and no matter how much I moved the throttle it does nothing no RPM change nothing as if I'm not even touching the throttle. Can someone recommend me a place to start looking for the issue. By the way this is on a automatic
Hey doctor, I need your help with the problem with my mini cooper s r53 2005 that's been buying me for a while When the car is on idle It starts misfiring .When I put the scanner to it, it reads piston number 2 misfiring (p0302) I changed the plugs leads and coil pack, but that didn't help, so I changed the injectors, but still no good I checked the piston compression, which was 150 psi all pistons I even checked the pulse at injector no 2, and it was worcking What's more confusing to me ,that it only happens at idle but when the revs are high when driving normally it will never misfire, as soon I stop at a traffic light it will start misfiring but when I switch it of and on again it gows away Can you please help me? The mechanics here in Australia are advising me to get rid of the car. I love this car so much, and I love working on it .
I have a 2005 mini cooper s I just replaced the engine and my motor mount had my axels rebuilt even replaced my fans water pump n thermostat n reservoir tank and small leak behind water pump now its running but it want stay running what could be the problem now?
piranha feeder looool no problem mate these cars I can’t even describe it seriously so much fun to work on and man this shit is FAST AS A ROCKET now I cannot wait to custom remap this myself my god it makes me want to sell my bmw and keep this for myself
Bmw & Mini Doctor tbh she’s a nice car, seen a few of them about where I live and yea .. I ain’t gonna lie they eat my 325i around town ! Looking forward to the next vids on your channel !
piranha feeder man this supercharger WHINE you seriously can’t beat mate seriously and the pulley I put on oh my lord this thing throws you back at all revs man seriously I plan on keeping this car I believe it’s better all round
Bmw & Mini Doctor how is it on the old jungle juice mate? I’m guessing at least 25-30mpg ? And tbh your making me want one now I’m gonna start looking for one today .. what’s your recommendation like year lump etc
@@fuelman2265 if your gonna get one mate I would get one with the R53 engine avoid the R56 as its plagued in timing chain issues and is as bad as having a bmw engine due to the valvetronic the r53 is more reliable and cheaper to maintain to be fair it aint that juicy its cheap to fill when I first filled it £30 gave me nearly full tank I WOULD NEVER get that on any bmw looool I was shocked but to be precise try and get a late 2006 with the r53 as most common problems were address on it before they switched over to the R56 model which then had ALOT of issues including engine failure
my r53 seems to be hot when i put my hand infront of the supercharger or over the engine after driving a short distance, is this normal? as ive only just bought it.......do they run hot?
I've got a 2004 Cooper S that has (I'm assuming) the full stage 1 JCW kit that was installed on it at a BMW dealership most likely..I'd sure like to know for sure what all that meant or if it has any additional upgrades..hopefully one day I'll have the $$ to tear into it
The JCW kit included a new cylinder head with mildly ported exhaust ports, cold air intake box, smaller pulley on the supercharger and a tune. On the 05-06 the JCW kit included 380cc Injectors. Engine internals are all the same throughout the years.
I have an 02-03 Mini Cooper base model (Not Supercharged) and I cannot find where my VVT (Vertical Valve Timing) Solenoid is? Does anyone know EXACTLY where it is located? And please do not say “it’s in the engine” I need specifics!
Owned a 2005 r53 for 4 years before totaling it. Don’t daily drive one. Pretty much Everything on an r53, WILL break. With the repairs over 4 years of ownership totaled enough to buy another one.
My friend sorry to have to tell you but you got your batty taken to the cleaners. Most people that own these do the work thereself and very very very easy cars to do it on this whole engine cost me £400 to overhaul and to drop another engine in this is a piece of piss. If you can’t work on it yourself then unfortunately the garage will rip you wide open and I don’t blame them
I have a 05 Mini Cooper S with 135000miles I change one alternator last month and now it went bad again What u think 🤔 and what type of pulley should I buy factory are off market ?
My R52 has the temp gauge up on full when the car is cold. I've changed the sensor but still no change. Also checked fuses and checked for corrosion on the large 42 pin plug under the fuse box in passenger footwell. Central locking rear demist has stopped working too. Any ideas??
Hey man thanks for the video. I’m looking at two first generation MCS’s with over 100k. They are actually both one owner cars. Do you think they didn’t have their supercharger services done? Aside from Carfax how would I know? Thanks
My Cooper s just had a clutch changed, then the slave cylinder let go a day later, then after he replaced that, he said The master cylinder needed replacing because he couldn’t bleed it right, then he said he found a leak.. now the car has some ticking noise when turning right, disappears going left, there’s a vibration or out of balance that shakes the car up and down violently. It feels like a wheel is about to come off.. what could he have screwed up, can a dual mass clutch fail like this? And to top it off it’s lost about 50% power.. This wombat mechanic has screwed up my car.. it was running fine, just needed a slipping clutch fixed.. my god what a nightmare
Thank you for your video! I have 2014 Mini countryman that is totally shutting down when I park. It is a random occurrence but all of the electric goes black and after about 15-20 mins it turns on again. BMW is testing everything and they still aren’t sure what’s wrong… Do you have any ideas? Thanks in Advance!
I need help and you seem to be the subject matter expert on these. I have a 2006 mini Cooper s JCW 58,000 miles. I’m had a P1237, I replaced the map sensor(oem). Code changed to p1238, I replaced the BPV. The code is now P1240. I’m stumped! Can you please point me in the right direction what I should be testing?
how do i check if 2004 john cooper is W11 engine or not? And do you have videos to fix all that? Also how do you feel about manual 2004 mini cooper at 256,000 kms, do you think it will atleast last me 2 - 3 years lol hence i will pay up accordingly?
I have a 2006 mini cooper s and had to replace the harmonic balancer twice because the rubber piece in the middle would shred until I bought the cravenspeed one which is all aluminium no rubber in the middle....I already had the 15 % reduction pulley so I went ahead and bought the stock size but there is also the 2% overdrive which would be like having a reduced pulley
Jordy Boonstra I should have looked at the comments. I unsubscribed to him to be honest. I really thinking about getting a Mini. I wanted to ask him a few questions. He put a video up of people paying money to subscribe to something and it put me off him to be honest. He seemed like a nice guy. Thanks for letting me know.
Yeah exactly, the thing is he is honest about it, cause i've read messages that he sold the car and doesnt give a shit about the next owner and problems that will come up, i tought i was a nice guy aswell but as i said not sure what to think :/ anyway if a MCS is well maintained its a good buy. Look for a 2005 or 2006 model they are slightly better at some things. Goodluck!
several grand minimum if they are doing it properly--they should be replacing other stuff that looks dodgy or was damaged during r&r while theyre in there
My r53 has been running crazy idle when cold start and exhaust sounds like choking. Have an o2 sensor fault code for the first cat.P0131 Also a throttle body code P0123 and P0222. 550 injectors has been upgraded and remap to 550 as well. Should i replace both the o2 sensor since its now at 120k? Any advice please
Yes they are a common common problem and do go wrong at that mileage mate I replaced both on mine as they are a high failure point at around 100k especially the rear one
My son has a mini that was running rough so he changed the coils on the misfired cylinders. He changed the oil also and it ran great for a month in a half, and started running rough again. He went and changed the spark plugs and now the car won’t crank. It tries to crank for a second, but stops. Any ideas? Please, and thanks!
Well mine never 😕 that don’t happen in my ownership half the problems I hear on RU-vid I never seen in my whole life maybe that’s just me as I don’t buy anything that comes up I only buy good looked after stuff from responsible owners at high price to make sure I’m getting a good deal I don’t buy anything just to have a car to show off
Thank you for that you confirmed what many know already Only people who suffer cracked blocks are the ones treating it like crap and not letting it cool down and not changing the parts needed when it’s needed all they want this car for is power power power another stereotyped car like bmw they get it because everyone goes on about how fast they are they don’t realise the maintenance involved people keep that hidden
Stephen Crowther you mean “no they all don’t” a class action law suit shows that BMW admits liability for this defect. Facts don’t care about your feelings.
Changing boost on a stock engine not good.. Seen that on tractor engines 98hp at the final drive then turbo'ed to to 125hp you lose clutch and an high wear on engine or the engine lets good.
No I’m upgrading intercooler mate aswell for performance one mate I’m not cheap like most on RU-vid or stupid kevin I DONT DO CHEAP !!!! You know that already I’m probably the only youtuber who throws grands into cars to just give them away after It’s all to prove a point to other youtubers on here I don’t do cheap I’ve also just been sponsored by a massive mini company in the Uk who work all over other countries and who repair then there independent specialists and bringing me a lot of parts to put on I have a meeting with them this weekend to discuss things over who are gonna be providing me all the parts to make this the best mini around they do exactly what I do in a workshop but they also make common failure parts and make better parts to rectify issues so I have on board who I need my friend Kevin I’m not Nathan my friend I have contacts now buddy and everyone likes me and wants in with me on business I’m working with the bmw dealers helping them with there keys and programming and doing the same for these independent on the coding and programming for the minis while they help me with what I need when I need it :) I got myself well tied in That’s the bonus of NOT slandering the dealers and independents all the time of a lot of youtubers learnt to keep there mouth shut they wouldn’t be paying for parts all the time and would get sponsored just like I do and don’t get raped up the arse when I need parts and I have a skill that no other has so that is more valuable then car repairs my friend :)
@@BMWDoctor What we have here is high performance remapping on a stock engine you know what will happen. Some here do it cheap. You are sponsor'ed now. I can say I knew you when. Thats the problem here with shitty parts. Good for you Dean. All Green on the modules on the X5. 👍👍 Buy the way I keep posting on channels when BMW is brought up about repairs and software and point them to you. Nathan does what he can with his funds. With out you to I would be a parts changer.
That’s correct mate it’s called a parts fitter mate and that’s why I have stopped that for many people now you actually just change the ACTUAL part that has failed and not run rings around yourself
Bit of a comment revival here but I've been running a tuned R53 for ten years, including track days, using quite a few stock components. It's sitting at 227 whp with stock rods, pistons, clutch, flywheel and diff. I have wanted to upgrade these parts but never had the spare cash to do it as I spend most of my cash on tyres, brakes and servicing. It has been rock solid, only problem I've had was a shredded supercharger belt which was my fault for leaving it too long without changing. There are guys running more power than me on these stock components, it's a hardy engine considering I've given it 17 years of abuse without any major problems.
@@CFHmetalorama it's a testament to the engineering and how the engine is overbuilt. Forged internals from the factory + Getrag transmission = can take abuse.
Hmmmm crap engines to be honest I'm glad I made the wife flog it, nothing but problems if you're debating to buy a mini yer dont bother there's loads cheap for the simple reason there crap and unreliable 😡