Totally agree with all of this mate, I’m going to run mine with stock supercharger for now until I have a stable running platform to go from, that includes prioritising spend on getting the engine perfect. I’m toying with a new set of silicone hoses, and as you say the bleed point on the left cooling pipes to the right of the rocker cover is also a key bleeding point, not just the front one. Another thing is that they break the coolant tanks and leak out, so I have a new one to fit also. they are a solid engine, but I think they really suffer from neglect when it comes to coolant, and the non ‘headline’ bits around the supercharger such as boost control valves etc. I’m knackered after yesterday! For my mate it’s all the same crap he deals with every day. For me the shear number of connectors and pipes running all over the place was just a bit daunting!
Today’s progress…. I’ve been prepping the engine ready for fitting tomorrow, so gearbox clean and new bushes on the clutch arm, stripped and rebuilt a drive shaft to replace a broken boot and yeah, a ton of other little jobs. And yep! Replaced the coolant reservoir while I was in there! Not taking the risk I even gave the engine bay a quick de-grease and wash so that it’s a bit nicer once the engine is back in. feeling quite positive as I’ve done lots of little jobs I’ve never done before which is always a nice feeling. I even washed the bonnet to see what the paint is like! Can’t believe it, it’s black haha
Your doing a great job Another thing to be aware of power steering pump check that over as they fail. I had to replace mine
And the FRM. The FRM module is a unit that controls all the MINI lights. It is used to send signals to the vehicle's lights and window functions. Normally your BMW or MINI FRM will fail when you jump-start your vehicle or when the vehicle's battery goes flat. So it might be better to get a new battery in place and not jumper cables for your first engine start? You can get FRM reflashed for £35+ but...
I’ve never heard of this, but have had issues with the windows, not dropping and the driver one just clicks, it’s a new ish battery but tried the ignition a few times, maybe that fried it
I have had 3 flat batteries and haven't come across this You do have to put key in turn it but don't start it then take key out and everything should work fine and reset.
i've rescued a few people with car door issues, so very interesting reading Viv. Took this from this Forum (edited):- https://www.mini2.com/threads/traped-locked-inside-my-own-mini.20771/ "Well it all begun, when I was parking my car. The remote locking /alarm did not work, I thought nothing much of it, as it happened before so I locked the car manually with the key. After about an hour I returned and continued on my way, after a while I started to notice that there was something strange, the indicators did not work, so then I thought better test other things, the lights were on and working, (being night time) the radio was on and working, the power steering and brakes were working, but the lights inside the car, i.e. The lights around the speedometer and on the radio would not switch off, nor would the headlights actually switch off. Also the windscreen wipers would not go on. Finding this all a bit strange I decided to stop and have a good check. So I pulled over, and then it hit me while trying to get out, the car had locked it self, the remote control to open the car did not work, nor would the central locking switch in the car, the windows did not open either. So I could not access the back seat because of that kind of platform thing that is jammed between the glass and the seats and the boot was locked too. after being stuck in the car for about 2 hours and 30mins, it was getting a bit nerve racking. the car rescue engineer placed a sort of thin material envelope through the window side and pumped air to make a little gap between the glass and the car frame, after still no success I got the key and pushed it right through the little gap that was made, praying that the glass would not break, but thankfully it worked he was able to open the door with the key I passed to him. Well on further inspection the mini engineer decided that it was a leak of water that burnt out this computer device located on the driver right side footwall near the door opening, he tried to dry it out but still when replacing it in the car would it would not function properly."
That is the FRM unit. They can fail from jump starting the car when the battery has failed. and are also known to fail from water ingress, typically from sunroof drains which are located in the same area. If you google "FRM fail Mini" several pages of info comes up, along with a great many links to repairers. Heres one that happened to be at the top of the list https://the-ecu-pro.com/garage/bmw-mini-frm-repairs-plug-and-play
bollox, i will remember that one. i bet that that was the issue with a customers mini that got caught in the floods in Oban recently. i was too busy to take look or even have it in the carpark and nobody else would. it got scraped. tidy wee car too.
Not an r53 but what are people’s thoughts on the goblin works garage mini build? I quite like it but I’ve been known to be terribly wrong on more than one occasion. 7 grand custom body shell!!
nope, that's when mini's were mini's and when i was a big mini fan. we all had them back in the day. from hand painted scrubers like mine (only on the outside) the roof and bonnet looked good. to frenched original coopers. superb. i wish i had a pic of mine to post. black and white with the free bird album cover painted on the roof and naked saxophone player (female) painted on the bonnet. superb.
Todays progress! So so nearly there… I made a few rookie mistakes along the way, like forgetting to put the clutch thrust bearing in! Luckily sorted it before putting the engine in the car. today I’ve managed to get the engine and gearbox in, most of the wiring around the bottom and the exhaust etc, axles etc all in. I’ve managed to change the gearbox oil and drop the engine oil and refit the supercharger and alternator and air con pump. so left to do is…. - fit the aux belt and dipstick -fill with oil -put the intake and throttle body on - finish connecting the wiring under the ecu - fit radiator and fill with coolant -fit the intercooler - fit the Airbag ecu back in and put some seats in it (so all the airbags are connected) Then try to start it….. I’ve got issues with my key which has fallen apart, but will see what I can do with that, that’s my biggest worry at the moment is the state of the key. Body wise, for a car that’s done 116k miles, the car is in really great shape.
