[Rebound]

Welcome everyone! My friend has had this 2004 Cooper S since new. She hasn't treated it well, and has given it to me. Only 80,000 miles. The clutch was completely, absolutely trashed and the car wouldn't go into gear. As you can see from the photos... the clutch completely smoked. There was no friction material on the disc at all, but plenty inside of the housing. I'm refreshing the car to give my son, who's at University.

I have some questions: I'm replacing the oil pressure sensor and the coolant temperature sensor. There are a few others, but I'm not replacing the camshaft and crank position sensors, knock sensor, reverse sensor or O2 sensors. But all of these things are quite easy to replace now that everything's apart. Opinions? Any other important items I'm missing? The spark plugs looked excellent, so I haven't replaced them even though I bought a set.

It's current state appears below. The engine is out, and I'm fairly confident that the engine and transmission are fine, although there was oil leaking everywhere, especially the oil filter housing and crank sensor. I've ordered a lot of new parts, here's a list of the items I'm covering:

• Replace Clutch, throw out bearing, flywheel, and bushings
• Replace all engine gaskets except the head gasket
• Service supercharger: New oil, new gaskets, new water pump
• Replace thermostat and housing
• Disassemble Oil filter housing/cooler, clean, new gaskets
• New Koni shocks
• Shock tower reinforcement plates
• New brake pads/rotors all around
• New tires
• New belt and tensioner
• Replace one engine mount
• Replace radiator fan resistor
• New ball joints and bushings
• Oil pressure sensor
• Coolant temp sensor

That should hopefully refresh everything that should be refreshed.
Keeping me quite busy for a while.

 

[NigelStap]

"One lady owner", that clutch says it all.

 

[Rebound]

"One lady owner", that clutch says it all.

Nineteen years of driving. And she told me the clutch started slipping in 2016.

 

[KeithyCoop]

Look around the engine, any signs of oil leaking get the gasket replaced, your list looks thorough though.

 

[Rebound]

Progressing… Clutch installed and transmission bolted back on. Supercharger serviced; oil changed and new water pump, new thermostat, new coolant temp sensor, new oil pressure sensor, refreshed the oil filter/cooler assembly with new gaskets. New belt tensioner. I also replaced the control arm bushings and front ball joints and installed the first of the Koni FSD’s. I was away this weekend but expect to put the engine back in next weekend.

 

[Winston]

Nice job.
So envious of those who get to work on cars from a dry climate, look how clean the subframe is!

 

[Rebound]

Update:
I’ve mounted the engine/transmission back into the car! Still much work to do, but this is a big step!

I bought an engine hoist from Harbor Freight. It worked fine, but I’ll probably put it on Craigslist, cause how often will I need one? While I had it hoisted, I removed the oil pan, cleaned it up and replaced the oil pan gasket. Before hoisting, I pulled the crank pulley and replaced the main front seal and then the timing cover gasket. Not very difficult, besides removing the crank pulley, which went smoothly once I set the tool up.

Installation is not the easiest, because you need very precise alignment on all axis. The exhaust made things particularly tricky, and I didn’t realize until the engine was fully installed and the hoist was not longer supporting the engine that the hoist was tilting the engine/trans front-to-back, which was interfering with its alignment with both the exhaust and also with the subframe. I had already installed the subframe, (although I hadn’t bolted all the steering items up) and finally I disconnected the subframe and lowered it about four inches, and then the engine went in.

I had disconnected the exhaust at the catalytic converter, and you can see from the photo where I disconnected. Then it was fairly easy to remove the manifold from the engine and replace it later. On installation, I could not get the exhaust to line up at the catalytic converter end and this was preventing the engine from mounting. Following the exhaust pipe towards the muffler, there is a bracket which holds the exhaust pipe to a rubber mount. I removed those bolts and this gave enough play to bolt the exhaust together loosely. It should be trivial at this point to tighten the two bolts and then replace the small exhaust bracket. Of course I removed the O2 sensor, and I’ll have to put that back on, but, again, it’s pretty simple to do.

I still have a long to do list. Please let me know if you think I’ve missed anything; this checklist is crucial to me. One missed connection can cause a LOT of trouble.

Bleed clutch slave cylinder
Test clutch pedal
Test gear shifting
Tighten exhaust
Install O2 sensor to exhaust
Replace the exhaust dampener
Attach electrical: Oil temp, backup sensor, O2 sensors, ignition coil pack, knock sensor, starter motor, camshaft sensor/fuel injector/vacuum thing, crank position/alternator, steering pump

Attach coolant lines
Replace dipstick
Attach supercharger
Attach alternator and attach electrical
Attach air conditioner compressor and attach electrical

Attach fuel line
Check serpentine belt size
Install serpentine belt
Install throttle body and intake
Install axles
Replace axle seal
Replace right front strut
Buy new subframe bolts
Attach steering link
Add transmission oil
Add motor oil
Install air cleaner and snorkel
Install subframe
Install lower ball joints
Put suspension back together (steering knuckle, control arms, etc.)
Install radiator
Attach radiator fan electrical
Attach air conditioner condenser
Attach front bumper
Attach front bumper cover
Attach all bumper electrical
Attach splash shield
Add coolant
Replace all brake pads and rotors
Bleed/flush brakes
Replace rear shocks
Remove fuel pump fuse
Install battery
Crank engine several times
Install fuel pump fuse
Start engine (or else curse & troubleshoot)
Bleed coolant
Replace tires (duh…)
Take car off jack stands (bigger duh…)
Drive the car
Get an inspection sticker

Engine hoisted and oil pan removed. Notice the checklists taped to my garage wall.

 

[Rebound]

Latest update:
Much progress, as you can see from the photo.
Everything is attached underneath and behind engine (exhaust, oil cooling lines, electric connections, starter, hest shield). Put the axles back in and filled the transmission.
Installed the supercharger, intake, alternator, AC compressor and serpentine belt. Reattached all electrical connections.

Engine-wise, little is left: Install the intercooler and air intake, attach the radiator, fill the oil/coolant/PS fluid, replace the subframe/PS reservoir, and start the engine.

I have to bolt the suspension back together and replace the shocks and brakes, bleed the brakes and clutch. It seems like a lot, but what used to be a very long list is now a very short and manageable list.

 

[Rebound]

Update:
It’s running! Passed inspection and doing great!