4 replies to this topic

[carlosgt]

Hello from Spain    I've owned my 97' MPi Mini for almost 2 years and it just reached 115.000 km on the odometer. Lately I realized that it consumes oil (more than I read that it's common on Minis) so I took it to my mechanic and he said that compression is fine so it's likely that the problem comes from the valves. Would you recommend me to rebuild and machine my standard cylinder head or buy a Stage 3 head from a supplier? (maybe it's not worth to work on a standard head)

In case of getting one from a supplier which would be a better choice Minisport/KAD/MED/SC...? I'm looking to get a bit more power but not building a Tomahawk     And I need my car to pass emission tests (spanish MOT is a pain and we have to pass it every year, thanks god my car has passed it without any trouble)

I'm also thinking about getting a new cam (during the summer I use it as my daily so it can't be very "racer"),rollers and a duplex chain kit so I'm open to suggestions.

And as final question... when I'm driving on the highway and I release the throttle pedal I hear a metallic noise that sounds like "clonk". I suppose that this is related to the engine mounts/steadies been worn out...Am I right? Could it be a good idea to get some extra steadies like the one fixed to the thermostat (sadly the DSN one is not available for LHD cars)?

Sorry if I made a few mistakes on my message but it's been a while since I last wrote anything in English    and thanks for your time helping me on my project.

[pusb]

Can only answer for the "clonk", and that sounds as though its likely to be the engine steady. Could also be a loose exhaust though.

 

Your English is good by the way 

[cal844]

If it's a daily runner I'd just refurbish the head, if there is play in the valve when the spring is off you'll need new guides and valves.

If play is within spec

Simply grind the valve seats with valve grinding paste then fit new valve stem oil seals (the MPI ones) and go from there, a Kent 266 will be a close to standard spec cam.


The knocking noise will be the steady bar bushes perishing, also check that the bracket that's spot welded to the bulkhead isn't weakening with time (possible engine out to repair)

Edited by cal844, 31 January 2020 - 11:04 PM.

[carlosgt]

Thanks for your help. I left my Mini with the mechanic on Friday and he will start "testing" it soon. I will probably keep the standard head and rebuild it. I have ordered Minisport steady bars (top and gearbox ones), engine mount will be checked too.

I also found out why I had a huge oil leak in the past...the previous owner(or his mechanic) "sanded" the rocker cover using vulgar methods and it wasn't in alignment at all. This drived me crazy for weeks as I checked if the head was aligned

and I even bought 2 different gaskets (cork and silicone) without any luck and I ended up using the cork gasket and some sealant paste... I couldn't imagine that anyone would be that stupid to sand the cover    So I have ordered a new rocker cover too.

I will keep you informed 

[carlosgt]

Hi Miniacs! I have some news   

The engine is out of the car already and the block is going to get rebored probably to 1310cc as 1293 die cast pistons seem to be out of stock in most of shops.

Engine mounts and steady bars bushes are going to be changed ( I was thinking of choosing poly ones but after reading that they are noisy I will get std mounts and KKF101320EVO bushes from minispares), I will also get gearbox steadies. A new rocker cover has been ordered already.

And finally, the only choice that I still have to take... which cam should I pick swiftune sw5-07, MED HT/RS (any opinion on these?)...? Is it worth to get duplex chain?