2003 Mini Cooper S (R53)

[Peter C]

Nov 6, 2021 10:51:15 GMT doa said:

I think the previous owner did the rocker cover seals so hoping its just residue that hasn’t been cleaned off. Will check the oil level now I have done a few miles in it and see if there is any wetness underneath, when I looked under the bonnet on the day I bought it it was very clean so fingers crossed its still the same.

Anthracite wheels look lovely on this op.

You should look under the car for evidence of leaks.

I’m sure that my oil filter housing gasket is leaking engine oil all over the back of the block and onto the exhaust downpipe. It’s not an easy fix and I keep putting it off because I enjoy driving the Cooper so much and don’t want it dismantled and static in the garage.

[doa]

Will probably do the same as you if that turns out to be the case lol

[Peter C]

It's been a while since I've updated this thread.

Since buying the Cooper last summer I’ve been keeping it unlocked in the garage and I’ve had a few issues with the battery going flat whenever I left it unused for more than a week. In December I replaced the battery but having left the Cooper in the garage for three weeks over Christmas, the new battery was completely flat upon my return. A car electrician friend took a look at it for me a few weeks ago. He did various checks and concluded that the battery and the charging system are ok but his checks revealed that by leaving the car unlocked, the electrical system was drawing 0.4 amps but with it locked and alarmed, the draw was down to 0.1 amps. His advice was to keep the Cooper locked and hope that everything is ok. I've had no more battery issues since.

The oil leak from the engine has not fixed itself. Once the weather improves and I can kick my W124 out of the garage I promise to get it sorted.

I'm still really enjoying driving the Cooper but noisy internal trim has been spoiling the experience somewhat, especially creaks that emanated from the rear nearside quarter panel. I took action yesterday and stripped out the rear seat and removed the offending panel. I found a couple of broken and loose clips as well as evidence of rubbing between the panel and adjoining plastic surfaces. I applied gaffer tape and packed out various plastics and after re-assembly the panel was more securely fixed and hopefully will be less creaky.

[grizz]

Lets hope the noises go, permanently.

Still a pretty car.

[Paul]

Feb 6, 2022 7:04:45 GMT Peter C said:

The oil leak from the engine has not fixed itself.

Welcome to the club!

My recently purchased R53 has an oil leak...I'm told they pretty much all do at this age 🤣. Rocker covers and oil coolers are among the prime suspects although I see you've tackled the former. I'm going to wait for warmer weather - and some more urgent fixes - before investigating mine too.

[Peter C]

Feb 6, 2022 7:31:13 GMT grizz said:

Lets hope the noises go, permanently.

Still a pretty car.

Sure is!

[Peter C]

Removal and refitting of the rear quarter panel has not fixed the squeak. Last week my wife accompanied me on a drive in the Cooper, a rare event, and I couldn't hear the squeak with her bum on the seat. Could the seat be the culprit?

The Cooper's front seats feature airbags and sensors that are linked to the dashboard airbags. All the on-line guides advise to disconnect the battery before unplugging the electrics under the seats. I did just that.



The passenger seat is fixed to the floor with four bolts, which came out very easily. With the bolts removed the seat can be tilted back to enable access to the two airbag electrics plugs, which are easy to disconnect.



I removed the seat and gave it a good onceover. I didn't want to disturb anything to do with the airbags and my inspection did not reveal any obvious faults. I sprayed a couple of pivot points, which were not greased, with silicone spray and put the seat back in the car.



Good news, with the battery re-connected, all the dashboard lights came on and went out again, the engine started and the airbags did not deploy.



I doubt that today's tinkering will have any positive effect. The plan is to squeeze my wife into the back seat, take the Cooper for a drive and see if she can diagnose the source of the squeak. I just need to wait for a dry day.

[welshpug]

Interesting to hear about the amp draw dropping when locked, my boss has 6 of the buggers, only 2 are on a CTek, 2 others are in the bloody way all the time and I've taken to just disconnecting the battery on them, 5th is in the corner with a cover over it, 6th is a donor in bits, I've "borrowed" the battery off that one

[Peter C]

Feb 19, 2022 18:40:51 GMT welshpug said:

Interesting to hear about the amp draw dropping when locked, my boss has 6 of the buggers, only 2 are on a CTek, 2 others are in the bloody way all the time and I've taken to just disconnecting the battery on them, 5th is in the corner with a cover over it, 6th is a donor in bits, I've "borrowed" the battery off that one

Apparently, to reduce current drain the electronics need to go to sleep and locking the car and arming the alarm is the way to go.

Since I've starting locking the Cooper, I have left it untouched in the garage for up to ten days and had no more issues with the battery.

[Davey]

Feb 20, 2022 11:21:59 GMT Peter C said:

Feb 19, 2022 18:40:51 GMT welshpug said:

Interesting to hear about the amp draw dropping when locked, my boss has 6 of the buggers, only 2 are on a CTek, 2 others are in the bloody way all the time and I've taken to just disconnecting the battery on them, 5th is in the corner with a cover over it, 6th is a donor in bits, I've "borrowed" the battery off that one

Apparently, to reduce current drain the electronics need to go to sleep and locking the car and arming the alarm is the way to go.

Since I've starting locking the Cooper, I have left it untouched in the garage for up to ten days and had no more issues with the battery.

The R56 does this as well. Mine was parked up for 3 months with doors unlocked, went to open the doors and nada. They have auto dropping pillarless windows, no battery = windows stay closed, door doesn't open without destroying window seal.

New battery and locked with alarm on and no more battery drain.

I feel bad for your wife being a sardine in the back seat!

[Peter C]

Feb 22, 2022 14:50:51 GMT Davey said:

I feel bad for your wife being a sardine in the back seat!

I don't fit in the back but my wife is small and should just about squeeze in! 

[Peter C]

I drove the Cooper around a fair bit yesterday and it seems that the creaking sound has disappeared but the squeak was still very much present and annoying the hell out of me.

My wife joined me for a drive around the block. When she sat in the passenger seat, she could hear the squeak in her right ear. Odd, as from the driver's seat I definitely heard the squeak in my left ear. Madness! My wife got in the back. She thought that the squeak was louder there but could not identify where it was coming from.

We swapped roles. My wife did the driving and I got into the back - not easy! I'm 6ft2 and weigh just over 15 stone and having just come from work I was wearing a shirt and trousers.



With my legs up in the air and head down on the floor, I located the squeak. It was coming from the handbrake lever. With the lever lifted by two clicks, the squeak was silenced. I need to investigate further and tighten / grease something but yesterday's discovery was a big step forward. Once I got out of the car I undid the giant wedgie that I gave myself whilst manoeuvring around the back seat.

[ChasR]

I will have to read this soon.

But for now, I have things to do! I've always considered getting one of these .

[Peter C]

Feb 26, 2022 8:17:33 GMT ChasR said:

I will have to read this soon.

But for now, I have things to do! I've always considered getting one of these .

Is there a more urgent task than reading Retro Rides threads?

[ChasR]

Feb 26, 2022 8:40:03 GMT Peter C said:

Feb 26, 2022 8:17:33 GMT ChasR said:

I will have to read this soon.

But for now, I have things to do! I've always considered getting one of these .

Is there a more urgent task than reading Retro Rides threads?

Touche!

TDLR : No!

But I have my reasons
-Housework
-Carwork ; Yesterday was a busy day on the cars
-Garage

I also like to read threads from the beginning. I should really just dip in now and again, but it's nice to see the full picture.

However, I've broken the last sentence's thinking! Locating the creak is a nice move . It's always satisfying to do these little fixes .

[Peter C]

Once I stopped tinkering with my W124, it was time to sort out the Cooper's squeaky handbrake lever.

Removing the plastic trim that surrounds the handbrake lever should have been easy but it wasn't - see below.

The lever exposed, in all its glory.



The handbrake cable tension adjustor nut was loose. How clever of BMW / Rover to provide an audio warning (a squeak) to tell you that the handbrake needs adjustment. A long 13mm socket is needed to turn the adjustor nut and tighten up the cable. Easy.



I also greased up the metal parts of the lever, to prevent any unwanted metal on metal contact.

To remove the handbrake lever gaiter, I followed instructions taken from a YouTube video. Unfortunately, I managed to break the plastic frame. Either the quality of Mini plastics is rubbish (which it is) or I am accustomed to tinkering with W123/W124s, which are more robustly built (which they are).



I attempted to re-fit the gaiter with the frame in two pieces but that didn't work. As soon as I raised the handbrake lever, the gaiter pulled away from the plastic surround.

In my workshop I found two small metal plates, which I screw fixed to the inside of the frame. I wrapped some insulation tape around the cracked joints and metal plates to make the repair more rigid. I also filed down the sharp tips of the self-tapping screws.



I used Gorilla glue to fix the gaiter to the frame. Ten minutes later the gaiter was ready for re-fitting.



Bingo, my repair worked and the gaiter is in and happy.



Let's hope that I've fixed the squeak! Weather permitting, I shall find out tomorrow.

[Peter C]

Good news, the squeak is gone.

Bad news, another piece of trim somewhere on the nearside of the dashboard / A-post / front door is making a horrendous creaking sound.

[Paul]

Really useful pics those - cheers! Need to change my handbrake gaiter so I'll try to avoid the same pitfalls

[Peter C]

Mar 1, 2022 19:05:51 GMT Paul said:

Really useful pics those - cheers! Need to change my handbrake gaiter so I'll try to avoid the same pitfalls

To remove the gaiter, lever out the frame from all sides. Do not, as I did, lever it out from the rear only and pull up.

[Peter C]

The Cooper's driver's side window regulator broke today and I ended up driving home via the M25 and M40 with the window down. Not fun.

Getting the door panel off was nice and easy.



Firstly, I need to remove the glass. The fixing located to the rear of the glass came out easily, which I've used in the photos below. However, the one to the front is stuck.



I managed to snap my T15 socket by trying to loosen the fixing from the front.



Then I rounded off the allen key recess to the back of the fixing.



According to the YouTube video, this is the way to do it...



... but getting the wrench in between the glass and door skin and onto the fixing is proving impossible.

Any advice guys?