Track project: 2006 R53 Mini Cooper S

Chris Mac

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Great work Pabs!!
They are such a good fun car, I really enjoyed mine. One thing I would recommend is the chain tensioner, they are buttons to buy and take 15 minutes to change but will reduce the possibility of chain rattle and excessive wear on the chain rail guides - assuming yours is the same set up as my 2005.
 

pablo

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pablo
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would be aye - there is a receipt for a tensioner recently so its probably grand but depending on how things go on sunday (trackskills) I might pull the donkey out over winter for chain replacement and some other bits (injectors/cam/map)
 

Coog

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Some job on the paint! Should be great craic and good to see these getting lots of appreciation! See you Sunday!
 

pablo

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pablo
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Ordered this ages ago and it finally arrived the other day so spent an hour this morning fitting it. Also got a boot net set which is handy for those essentials items :laughing:

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pablo

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pablo
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Any pics of the gold bits fitted? Brave colour scheme but gd to see someone taking it further than just the wheels (y)
It’s tucked in the garage mate I’ll grab some snaps tomorrow.

To be honest I’m not sure they work with the grey body. Wheels are ok but the other bits are a bit much.
 

pablo

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pablo
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so plan is a hatching:

- new crank pulley + bolt + seal while Im in there
- new belt + a couple of spares
- tensioner release tool
- pulley removal tool

and a coolant flush. I didnt think the water pump ran off the aux belt so couldnt understand the boilover over but it seems the water pump runs off the supercharger which runs off the aux belt sooooooo that would explain it.

Changing the crank pulley is maybe overkill but there was a lot of burning rubber coming into the pits after the belt came off (someone saw it come off back up the back straight) and given how prone they are to failing Ill do it for peace of mind more than anything.

Ah well, roll on 7th Nov

Oh another fun fact, when I got into the pits and opened the bonnet the heat wrap on the exhaust was on fire. Like actual flames. Dived for the firestick before sensible head @thefool1983 said just blow it out. Which I did and it was grand lol. No idea how it got on fire, there was coolant spilling on it but that shouldnt matter right?
 
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Coog

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Theres a wee gearbox at the end of the charger runs the water pump. Think there's a couple of sumps on it that contains a wee drop of oil you should change out as part of an overall supercharger service. I'm also sure I read of folk running electric pumps as the gearing for the mechanical pump can dry out and/or wear over time. I'm 7 odd years since R53 ownership so a bit rusty on the subject!
 

Ben P

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9,242
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BMW F33/A6C7
so plan is a hatching:

- new crank pulley + bolt + seal while Im in there
- new belt + a couple of spares
- tensioner release tool
- pulley removal tool

and a coolant flush. I didnt think the water pump ran off the aux belt so couldnt understand the boilover over but it seems the water pump runs off the supercharger which runs off the aux belt sooooooo that would explain it.

Changing the crank pulley is maybe overkill but there was a lot of burning rubber coming into the pits after the belt came off (someone saw it come off back up the back straight) and given how prone they are to failing Ill do it for peace of mind more than anything.

Ah well, roll on 7th Nov

Oh another fun fact, when I got into the pits and opened the bonnet the heat wrap on the exhaust was on fire. Like actual flames. Dived for the firestick before sensible head @thefool1983 said just blow it out. Which I did and it was grand lol. No idea how it got on fire, there was coolant spilling on it but that shouldnt matter right?

Leaking coolant has been known to start a fire or two 🔥.
Coolant is pretty flammable!
 

Wild Thing

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Tandragee
Be that then lol. Seems a poor design for the expansion tank to vent over the top of the exhaust manifold.
I was going to put up ditch the wrap, nasty smelly inflamable stuff, but it looked so good. More so if you get a blow from the rocker cover gasket of oil it builds on the exhaust wrap and can be an issue
 

pablo

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pablo
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I did consider a lightweight one but think Id rather roll the dice on a lightweight flywheel instead. having both seems chancy
 

EF Ian

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Portrush
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EF & 260Z GT-R
This should make an awesome track car (Once your minor problems are sorted) Great choice, I'm sure loads of fun will be had in this.
 

pablo

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pablo
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Crank pulley puller arrived so whipped the crank off (dead easy) and was disappointed to find it seemed ok. It did smell really bad though prob from the belt.

Replacing it anyway so cracked on. Cleaned the years of grime and fitted a new seal too while it was off.

Also fitted new seals to the oil filter housing and oil cooler so hopefully that’s those plugged for a while. Might as well do the crank position sensor one too while I’m in there. That only leaves the sump gasket but CBA. Will see if it stays dry now.

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Thanks to @Neil_M for raiding his leftover bin :grinning:
 

pablo

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pablo
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Cheers @richie_mck @Coog also has one too lol but I found this out after ordering one.

Went for a couple of continental belts they seem to be the preferred ones.
 
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