Why Mini Cooper Engines FAIL

Here's a look inside the engine of a Mini Cooper!
The Mini Cooper uses a 1.6L Inline 4 cylinder engine. It is very strongly built, featuring an iron block, iron ladder frame crank journals integrated into the upper oil pan, aluminum head and a single overhead camshaft. The Tritec engine was co-developed with BMW and is a very simple design, with a single timing chain from crank to camshaft.
Unfortunately, these engines can be plagued with issues, most commonly being low compression. Low compression can be caused my burnt or cracked valves, a cracked piston or worn compression rings. The engine in this video was burning a lot of oil and had carbon build up. It was out of a 2005 Mini Cooper with 260,000km.
0:00 Introduction
0:54 Teardown
6:11 Failure Analysis
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[@buriedinpine]

I'm blown away that an engine developed by BMW+Chrysler ran to 260K. ;-) Love your videos!

[@johndaniels651]

260 KM.. which is 161K miles..

[@davidontiveros554]

@@johndaniels651 my sister has an 05 mini cooper with this motor, it has 216k Miles on it and doesn’t burn oil or have any major leaks just some minimal seepage on the oil pan, only sign in wear the motor has is a very minimal tick at start up

[@speedkar99]

Me too. It had a good life.

[@petea7323]

Most of them do big miles. I’d say it’s had poor oil change intervals at some point of its life.

[@RohanSanjith]

​@@davidontiveros554that's a pulley probably

[@scooble]

My claim to fame was that I worked on the development of these engines back in the early 2000's with Ricardo. I collected and catalogued all the engine parts that failed during dyno testing and sent them back to BMW. I was then able to show how reliability improved as the parts were developed. Timing tensioner pulleys was the biggest failure initially along with the super charger manifold.

[@milosstojanovic4623]

Its remarkable how much chain guiders or tensioner are problematic inside German cars, and in some others. I mean putting plastic ones is ludacris. Engineers or whoever is responsible for that are out of their mind.

[@draconpost]

@@milosstojanovic4623 plastic becomes brittle after time, if the car is bought used, the cost to fix it might be too expensive for the second owner. The thing is to make these cars expensive and sell them, and to make them break after time, so the less wealthy second owner won't be able to maintain it, especially when it comes to BMW or Mercedes.

[@nigratruo]

I'm not a master mechanic, but I know basic material science: Don't EVER use plastic when it is exposed to pressure and heat, because that is what makes plastic fail. Use metal, ALWAYS, because metal will never fail due to temps and pressure. I worked on a lot of older Toyota engines and they are better built than these new garbage engines. I don't know what it is more, sad or pathetic, but the German manufacturers have been riding their undeserved good reputation for decades now, banking that people still think that German engines are high quality, which they are not. I don't understand why BMW builds such garbage quality, are all these engineers incompetent morons???

[@milosstojanovic4623]

@@nigratruo they are not bad quality per se. But they save up the money on some parts so that people would have a problem later after 50k or 100k kilometers and if they want continue using the car they would need to pay like 5k or 10k for spare parts and official car mechanic for that car. In some previous video it was also mentioned that car manufacturer do not allow if person is replacing for example chain tensioner with metal tensioner, but need to use plastic again, like wtf !? Bunch of capitalist. Thats why some older engines were with better build quality.

[@ferrumignis]

@@draconpost Japanese manufacturers seem to be able to make plastic timing chain guides that last, wonder why BMW haven't figured it out?

[@mbox314]

Your editing is outstanding, thank you for doing all the work to make a concise teardown video.

[@speedkar99]

You are welcome, thanks for the compliment. It takes about 2-3 hours to edit this

[@David..]

The clunk of that breaker bar when a fastener breaks loose is quite satisfying.

[@jeffweber8244]

I have a 2006 R50 with this motor. 150K miles so far. This was a good inside look at the components.

[@honestreviewer3283]

Interesting teardown video. The Tritec engine doesn't have a reputation for failing, it's actually known as a very solid and very upgradable engine that'll take a lot of horsepower. The MINI engines that have a bad reputation are the engines from the Generation 2 cars starting in 2007, which used the twin-cam Prince engine and suffered timing chain issues. The only significant reliability issue with the Generation 1 MINIs was due to the Midlands manual transmission used in the 2001-04 non-supercharged models (replaced by a very reliable Getrag transmission 2005), and a horrible CVT automatic transmission (and anyone who bought one of these cars with an automatic missed the point of the car entirely, anyhow), but these issues unfairly gave MINIs a reputation for being unreliable.

[@hi_tech_reptiles]

Plenty of people don't like to manually row gears but like the look of the car or how it drives. Tho no one should want a CVT lol ;)

[@sleepydragonzarinthal3533]

Even the gen 2 prince is pretty reliable NA but if you do get a turbo model, there are definitely some "required upgrades" around the 50k mile mark, namely the plastic guts.

[@stevo8829]

i couldn't agree more but from my experience the automatics at least on the r53 models were produced by Asin same manufacture for Honda the weak link was the shifter solenoids going bad allowing to come out of gear and the transmission itself seems pretty solid. i personally prefer the getrag 6 speed manual transmission automatic takes all the fun away lol. i love how on the first gen its rare to see one with a automatic trans compared to most vehicles in the states its the other way around.

[@johnw3379]

Love the Subaru reference lol. I love your tear downs. Very educational and fun at the same time. Are you a master tech?

[@speedkar99]

I'm glad you enjoy it. I'm an engineer not a mechanic.

[@chuckgrenci6404]

I got a 'smile' after that comment as well. 🙂

[@boomerguy9935]

Yes! "At least it's not a Subaru", followed by a splat! I actually laughed out loud.

[@Dje4321]

Honestly looked like a decent engine design

[@Pinkielover]

um not

[@biscuitninja]

It's not especially bad, the piston and ring wear are a bit much. It shows wear, but I'd expect a little natural aspirated 4 cylinder to at least last to 400,000km (~250k miles).

[@LasseJOugaard]

You're right. In fairness it's not too bad. They have a few common issues, but its not an all bad design. It was very old fashined though. Keep in mind, that this engine launched with the new MINI in 2001. At the same time BMW had the N42 which was a full aluminium engine with full variable valvelift and valvetiming, and the N52 which was a fancy composite block of aluminium, magnesium and Nicasil. Compared to those engines the Tritec is ancient and that was BMW's main gripe with it. It only provided mediocre power and efficiency compared to some of the competition. The first BMW-MINI is a funny story, because much of the car was actually already developed when BMW bought the Rover group. They then finished and redesigned many parts, which is obvious when working on them. Some parts look like typical BMW parts and some parts are a completely different solution.

[@povertyspec9651]

​@@biscuitninja 250,000 on this little sewing machine engine? 😅

[@Jessecwebb]

Why did it burn oil? I did not see any particular failure points.

[@Limeaid33]

Great Video ! The engine was better than I thought it would be.... (and thanks for speeding up the bolt removals!)

[@speedkar99]

You are welcome. The bolt removal takes a lot of patience to edit

[@davidblack7528]

Thank you so much for the tear down. I have looked pretty hard to find your video and you are a pro! This is so important to me to see the break down. I have a 2004 mini hatch back CVT with 130,000 miles on it. Been babying the CVT transmission and changing oil regularly, no oil burn yet. Change the transmission oil every 30 thou. miles. Thank you again.

[@Trades46]

The Tritec is kind of old fashion but it isn't bad. If you want to see a bad Mini engine, teardown the BMW+ Peugeot Prince 1.6L motor...

[@szucsmiklos6618]

I'll never forget a fiat engine, the crankshaft pulley + V-belt pulley was held in place by a left-hand thread, thinned in the middle, glued in place. I thought I'd unscrew it, like the thousands of engines I've taken apart so far...

[@speedkar99]

And you over tightened it and it stripped out?

[@johnpeace23]

Looks like a well designed and tough little unit, not what I was expecting! Now I know why is still loads of minis still about!

[@simonh870]

In the UK these have a decent reputation and many are still going strong. The later Prince engine however is a troublesome unit.

[@glennthoday9740]

Very well presented...well edited...direct and to the point

[@speedkar99]

Thanks. Short and to the point is my style

[@XX-ce5tv]

I've own two mini cooper S of the same gen as shown in video. Cooper S had the supercharger on them. I made a list of the parts that have failed on my cars down below. I had my 1st mini cooper till 120,000 before I crashed it. Only major fault was the automatic transmission. I just needed to change ATF and it was good to drive. At 100k the control arm bushings were busted, replaced with polyurethane. My 2nd Mini standard trans currently has 213,000 miles. I bought it at 140,000 miles with performance bolt ons installed, stage 1 clutch, and handling componets. At around 180k the supercharger failed with the water pump attached to it broke. The thermostat and radiator fan failed at 180k. At 210,000 fuel pump failed, was easy to replace. 210k driving axle replaced. Common failure for me is torn Strut shock mounts. Driving habits are driving on rural roads as my commute to work no faster than 55mph, 32 avg mpg for the 4 years of ownership. Improvement plan is to improve cooling, noticable power loss after a couple of runs, bigger intercooler should do it. I wouldn't buy a new mini cooper. I have timeless design created by frank stephenson. Car was made by bmw in the early 2000s. Great combination of analog and modern techonology. The handling and ergonomics are perfect for me and excellent all-round visibility when driving in traffic.

[@Vehicularious]

I feel similarly about my 2006 Mini Cooper S. It has enough technology to be reliable, without any of the additional headaches of direct injection. I have not yet had to put my car into front end service mode, but from what I understand, it's a straightforward process if you need to service the alternator or the water pump. It also creates an opportunity to service the supercharger oil. My Mini Cooper S has an aftermarket intake, exhaust, and 17% supercharger reduction pulley. I had it run on a dyno and it made 192 HP and 175 lb-ft, to the wheels. Those are really fun numbers for a car with a curb weight of 2,650 lbs. The sound of the supercharger is intoxicating. The feeling of the way torque is delivered is also very enjoyable. There is nothing else like it, and I hope to keep it on the road for a long time!

[@speedkar99]

Interesting. So you want to keep it long term ?

[@Vehicularious]

@@speedkar99 not sure if you were replying to me or the other commenter, but I am planning to keep my Mini Cooper S long term. It only has 95k miles on it, and I only drive it about 2500 miles per year, so hopefully I can keep it nice for a long while!

[@combomaster99]

I had a mini coop s from 2008. That thing smoked, got hot, rattled hard when starting in the winter, drank oil, blew multiple seals but damn it was fun to drive haha

[@boomerguy9935]

@@combomaster99 Different engine entirely. French. 2008-2013 model years, with the first year being the worst and the last year being the best. After that I think MINI switched to a BMW engine. Not sure if it was any better.

[@Zerinsakech]

thanks for the video! Mine has over 370km and is starting to get tired. It's the supercharged engine and after inspection it's still got some life left in it. I'm just getting a 2nd engine ready to swap when this one finally gives it's last breath, but for a 4 cylinder BMW/Chrysler engine it's a very good little boy. I like how these used engines are cheap so I have no plans to upgrade.

[@mrorganic13]

Was really hoping for the diagnoses not just a break down but still much appreciated.

[@shiraz1736]

Love to hear you talk about enhancing these engines, where you,d start and where you,d finish.

[@sollykhan2385]

Thank you for a brilliant teardown and superb explanation,,judging by the way you were throwing everything apart,i guess there's no chance that engine will have all its correctly designated components refitted again in a hurry 🤔,,,like will it be ready by lunchtime today to drive away 🙂

[@DoctorRock172]

My first car was a 2004 mini cooper S and it took SOO much work, but it was a blast to work on. I deferentially used many choice words but it was all worth it now for the experience if learning.

[@speedkar99]

What kind of work? Headgasket eh?

[@darrylhubbard931]

Well, that was interesting. I certainly had to sit up and pay attention.. Now I know why I never could be a auto mechanic, too many parts I would never get it back together again. Cheers from Canada!

[@WeAreNotSheep2023]

If I was a toothbrush company CEO, I would sponsor your videos. Great educational videos!

[@speedkar99]

That would be awesome

[@looped7979]

Excellent video, thank you i wanted to see one appart for a long time. I'm "considering" a Supercharged Cooper S, glad to see they used basically the same engine between the atmo and supercharged variants. Once modded thoses minis are rockets and pretty light (2500lbs), it's the smallest/fastest/ non turbo car i know of

[@speedkar99]

The supercharged engine has stronger internals

[@honestreviewer3283]

@@speedkar99 Forged crank and forged connecting rods.

[@OldBenOne]

Great info as always.

[@bragefjordsjo4134]

Mycket bra video! Inte en massa skruvande som tar tid utan här har man förkortat det som är ointressant för att i huvudsak visat konstruktionen, bra!

[@JeffinTD]

Looks like it was well maintained, or it would be varnished. For its mileage I’m surprised at the cam wear. Doesn’t look like the typical starved for oil. I wonder about hardness issue, or if pressure/contact area exceeded film strength. We didn’t get a close look, but it looked like the exhaust seats were pretty trashed. Anyhow, great video.

[@speedkar99]

Thanks. And yeah it can be the hardness, material choice or just a starvation if oil in that local zone

[@franktaylor7617]

😎👍🇺🇲 Read the title and had to have a look. Then saw the thumbnail and knew it didn't apply to me. I have a 71 Mini Cooper S. Watching anyway 😁 Cheers from Seattle WA area.

[@ranytravis4953]

Excellent video..best I've seen.GREAT JOB !!!

[@malcolmdown9170]

I have a Mini Cooper with the same motor and it’s over 20 years old and has never had to come apart.

[@TeezerDriz]

I bet you change oil and filter at 5000miles/8000kms instead of the dealer 10000miles/16000kms interval? My car is 19 years old and I change oil & filter every 5000miles. Engine is like new.

[@malcolmdown9170]

Probably every 3000 or every year which ever comes 1st. Wife used to be a home carer but now changed jobs. And it doesn't get used much. But haven't got the heart to sell it. Its part of the family

[@deegees73]

I own a 2002 Mini R50 with 230 000 KM on that very same engine and the car is still running smoothly. The engine is bulletproof. It's everything around it t hat falls apart.

[@flyprincess69]

I got 250k out of my R53. Still ran when I sold it. Had a leaky head gasket. The plastic cooling system parts failed all the time causing some over heats. Also crankshaft pulley exploded causing an over heat. I recommend keeping up on the maintenance.

[@arbenkellici3808]

That a geat job as always prof Could you tell me how many videos you have released in all and how can I watch all of them? Your soonest reply will be highly appreciated! Thank you!

[@PeterGoyer]

Thanks for a great video and explanation.

[@speedkar99]

Welcome

[@davemarks7322]

Cheap "n cheerful. Love it! Great video.

[@speedkar99]

Thanks

[@petergreen5337]

Thank you very much publisher another good demonstration

[@speedkar99]

You are welcome

[@MarkoVukovic0]

Excellent teardown video! Did you rebuild this one or was it scrap?

[@speedkar99]

I scrap all my engines

[@peterduxbury927]

At 0:18, before I saw the whole video, I noticed some discoloration of the Spark Plug Tube, and I suspected that compression was being lost on No.3 Cylinder. I had a '65 Mini, that ran and ran, based on the A series engine. It's a whole different "Mini' these days, and does not share much with it's origin. Mini engine didn't look too bad considering 1/4 million miles. Thanks for educating us!

[@speedkar99]

Good call

[@dmac7660]

that's kilometers not miles

[@peterduxbury927]

@@dmac7660 Sorry! I was thinking that this Mini was in the USA where miles are recorded.

[@runningawayvagabond5876]

When you said 260k I was like, these things actually last that long? Based on how clean the inside was (carbon notwithstanding) it definitely looks like it was well maintained. Was expecting the inside to have lots of varnish inside it.

[@hamentaschen]

He usually is speaking in Kilometers, not miles. I could be wrong though, but I don't think it was 260k miles.

[@dantevito1193]

​@@hamentaschen yes, it's Km (he says it in 0:14). Not bad for a BMW Chrysler engine

[@speedkar99]

Yea it's pretty clean but worn.

[@runningawayvagabond5876]

@@hamentaschen Oh I get it. I'm in a country where we use the metric system/km's. I stand by what I said, I'm surprised it made it to 260k (kms). I assumed these things turn into botttomless money pits at around 150k (kms) or so.

[@davidfotheringham2480]

Solid engine, easily get another 100k out of it with a light hone, rings and a valve grind.. 😐

[@skyscraper37]

These videos make Monday’s great!

[@speedkar99]

Glad you appreciate it.

[@jaycotto26]

Very simple design and makes good power considering no vvt or direct injection.

[@speedkar99]

Yeah but it won't last as long as a Honda 🫤

[@Jin-Ro]

I've just stripped an Isuzu 4JB1T from 1989, 275k miles, owned since new by my grandad, and it's in much better shape. Only thing it needed was valve guides, and we chucked in new sleeves just because we had it stripped anyway. Main, Con and Cam Bearings were like new. Best engines ever made imo.

[@symbaleursuline]

Waited a long time for this one !

[@speedkar99]

Thanks. Yeah I had this one since January

[@zdenekleitner896]

That RTV on valve cover gasket is applied in the factory BTW :D

[@speedkar99]

Good to know...

[@ranytravis4953]

Very detailed video

[@bennyang8049]

My mini cooper S 2005 have the worn cam shaft lobes on cylinder 1. Was getting misfire through exhaust valves not sealing all the way.

[@carlfowler1996]

I really enjoyed his tooth brush pointing device.

[@ZarCaesar]

Great video!

[@KMFDM781]

When I was looking at the thumbnail I was thinking it looked very similar to the Chrysler SOHC engine used in the Neon and the Cirrus, Stratus, etc.

[@speedkar99]

Yes somewhat

[@wemovethangz]

Legend has it his wife still use the same toothbrush till this day great video bro

[@speedkar99]

What she doesn't know won't hurt

[@warleybarros3624]

Hey buddy hope you are doing good!! Love your videos where are located in Toronto ? If not too far from me you can review my 2023 pilot, good for you and good for me so I’ll learn more about it!!

[@Artemisgoldfish]

A bedplate, worn camshaft, and burning exhaust valves? Wow this really is a Neon engine with a timing chain

[@speedkar99]

Basically

[@Jessecwebb]

Cool video! That thing truly is Tiny. Now you gotta find you a Volvo Red Block bro!!! Please 🙏

[@Vehicularious]

Yes! I would love to see this teardown!! But first he has to find one that failed! 🤣

[@speedkar99]

Hmm haven't heard of that, would be neat to tear one down.

[@erikvinson7511]

Made me want to go buy a mini cooper, great editing😀

[@marsmellow1589]

I had a Cooper S. It was abused and it held pretty good. Eventually the head failed and it started losing power but it really surprised me.

[@MecanoDeLaCave]

Super nice video and editing, thanks a lot! What was the reason that engine was retired? Maybe I missed the failure reason amongst all the flaws you pointed out, but while it's worn, nothing seems to be totally broken, unless it's that low compression you talk about. Since I own one now (210k km and running well): what would you do as preventive maintenance to keep them running for a long time? I'm doing shorter oil change intervals but I'm curious if there's anything else I could do. In the Mini community, those engines (W10 and W11) are known to be strong, with some going really high up in miles. But at that point these are old sporty cars where other things are going to fail left and right and they aren't as cheap as an economy car to maintain. It's best if you do the work yourself, otherwise the labor bill will rack up.

[@speedkar99]

Thanks! The previous owner retired this engine Because they thought it had a burnt valve and lost compression

[@MecanoDeLaCave]

@@speedkar99 so low compression without actual failure, OK ! Do you happen to know how much psi each cylinder had ?

[@noel5ilv3rlake]

I don’t know when ppl are talking why mini fail:) Got 2005 R53, it has been 18 years old with us since the D1 from MINI dealer, never visited any garage or dealer since then, Now at 115K yes it’s not much because we own another 2 in the garage but as far as I know the ENGINE is reliable engine, I just did all big maintenance at one time for the FIRST time this year - cover gasket, chain tensioner( the old one was still good) ,aux belt tensioner, idle tensioner, new Crank, new aux belt, topped up supercharger oil,new vacuum valve, crank sensor gasket seal, and PS fan hoses,honestly I didn’t spend money a lot,the all parts were not expensive either (OE/OEM)* I’m not a mechanic either just I don’t want to spend more than needed I did in the weekend,in return I got the tools a bit enough to care anothers😂 And the engine is clean,No sludge or clogged but I did flush with LM pro Line 1X yesterday, and 5-40 Castrol, Now it’s Wow

[@speedkar99]

Nice!

[@tdmap2241]

I came here for that wrench sound. Edit: 11:56 i see the toothbrush can hold its own in the company of the valves😀

[@speedkar99]

Good to know you like the impact wrench ...it takes alot of time to edit that

[@LBZDreamer]

I use to own a 04 mini with the w10 engine (same one as in the video) it had 154k miles and didn't burn any oil. The midlands transmission sucks but overall was a good car till i crashed it.

[@Fred-F4]

great video! thanks

[@speedkar99]

You are welcome

[@nohandleleft]

Hello Mr Speedkar99, it's clear to me that you have extensive experience with automotive components, as such, I'm wondering where you learned of the benefits to be found in utilizing this free source of hygiene products and their excellent cleaning properties ranging from various colored fluids through to solid detritus? Also, having made a pop tart mess on my floor which I cleaned up with cotton buds and a toothbrush obtained from a neighbor, do I wash these items before returning them or just return them as is? Thank you in advance.

[@speedkar99]

I use what I can find. If that means sneeking into the medicine cabinet or the laundry room then that's what I gotta do. Shop towels are too expensive. 😁

[@rm5902]

Great video.

[@fry.master]

important to notice how the exhaust valves are in line with the spark plug tubes: they are the highest point on the engine. They are also one of the hottest points on the engine. They are only being cooled by airflow through the bay (which is blocked by the front of the valve cover nearly hitting the inside of the hood, esp with the plastic cover on) and tiny amounts of 250+degree oil splashing inside that valve cover. The specific temperatures on the back side of that head, in hot weather and hard driving, is why the plastic fails in the valve cover. It's why the engines drop exhaust valves or is generally hell on the valve seats. If you have one of these engines, I suggest doing some ventilation mods + cover deletes. Maybe a hood with a proper vent helps?

[@speedkar99]

Thanks. Good observation. I should compare with another 4 cylinder head to see how far in the valves sit.

[@hoganfan924]

It’s the intake valves that are in line with the spark plug tube. There’s a lot of water jacket around the exhaust valves & seats.

[@Tediz421]

Do you ever test the engines for compression? it might be nice data to put out there with the videos.

[@andersonrodriguez8258]

Agree

[@Tediz421]

yeah, like you can maybe expect such and such compression numbers at 250k km with this kind of wear. it could help people plan car repairs or sales in their near future

[@speedkar99]

Good idea

[@ronsereda4242]

Interesting teardown. Certainly was one of the cleanest internally of all the engines you opened up which suggests very good oil maintenance. However the noticible wear on the camshaft suggest poor lubrication. Which is it??? Was it perhaps good oil maintenance but poor camshaft material or poor lubrication flow to the camshaft. Don't see many engines with that mileage without varnish everywhere and at least some bit of sludge in the oil pan.

[@speedkar99]

It's possible the oil changed but there is a clog in the lubrication system starving that section of oil. Or the material of the camshaft were not properly heat treated.

[@johno9507]

FYI its Oil Gallery not galley. A Galley is a kitchen on a ship or aircraft, a Gallery is a passageway ie: Art gallery

[@speedkar99]

Thanks. I keep making that mistake

[@pookatim]

That is actually a pretty robust design. The only obvious issue to my eye is the pitting on the cam lobes. Everything else seems to point to a good flow of oil such as the bearings. I suspect the problem is the quality of the cam shaft material. As far as the carbon build up, I have seen far worse in engines with much fewer miles on them. Much of the carbon here is probably due to the oil burning but it isn't clear what the cause of oil burning was specifically. Plenty of cars have issues with oil rings gumming up (talking to you Toyota!) but on the whole this appears to be a well designed engine.

[@nigratruo]

No, NOT a robust design: An engine should not fail at 270k km, which is only 168k miles, which is absolutely nothing. I bought pretty much all my Toyotas with that mileage and I have not seen one so far that did not go up to 270k miles, which is 435k km AND they are still running well. The Germans now just produce cheap garbage engines that rely on plastic parts that will break for sure, just a matter of time and then cause repairs that are more expensive than the car is worth.

[@nutsackmania]

Its robust in terms of prompt strength (stout might be a better term) but the design and materials are not great for longevity

[@HoLeeChit11]

I like the 2L B48 engine. It’s a solid monster.

[@imchris5000]

some engineer probably spent weeks designing that sideways oil filter casting for some other engineer to put something right next to it so that it is really hard to remove

[@speedkar99]

I hate that.

[@obsidianjane4413]

Probably for the turbo plumbing.

[@Enigmaafk]

Nice video. 👍🏽

[@speedkar99]

Thanks

[@jakes2311]

It would be pretty cool if you can get your hands on an old 1UZ-FE engine from an LS/SC400

[@dantevito1193]

But he generally only looks at failed engines

[@jakes2311]

@@dantevito1193 true haha

[@speedkar99]

I would love to get a Toyota V8 engine!!

[@Teledible]

Now I think I understand why my mayfair edition was misfiring everytime I try to WOT

[@riceburner4747]

Engine maint doesnt seem neglected. Chrysler's sure have a lot of cam wear problems. I heard minis have a lot of problems. Not sure, but I remember lower radiator hose is an SOB to get to take off. 🤔

[@Vehicularious]

Much of the negative reputation for Mini's was earned by the second generation, which switched from supercharging to turbocharging for the S models. They were known for carbon fouling on the intake valves (due to direct injection), timing chain failures, and high levels of oil consumption.

[@jeremystout412]

It seems to only be the 5.7L and 3.6L Chrysler engines with cam wear. Their previous engines never seemed to encounter that issue. The previous Chrysler 4 cylinders are actually pretty solid. The 2.4L EDZ and 2.0L ECC are pretty unproblematic. I definitely see similarities between the 2.0L SOHC ECB with this engine. Early model years of the 2.0L SOHC were head gasket eaters, but valve-train wise and other components were solid. There’s plenty of people that get good service out of them.

[@notpurple]

seems solid! i was expecting carnage... so the valves seem the weak link, how do you help guard against this failure?

[@speedkar99]

If it's a design failure there's not much you can do... Changing fluids and cleaning the carb out of the intake won't help much

[@fidelcatsro6948]

use electromagnetic valves

[@zeropaloobatheuber1572]

Looks like a carbon copy of the Australian Ford Falcon overhead cam engine from the 90s (less two cylinders). Should last forever with regular maintenance.

[@RS-vu3df]

Hello, qua design not to bad I think, do not understand your comments on the carbon built-up in....the water jacket.!? (eg on 9.08)

[@willhall5115]

This single cam looks oddly like the ones that were used in the neons back in the day....

[@abdul-kabiralegbe5660]

I don't mind the lack of a traditional one piece timing cover as the cam and crank sprockets can be reached during timing.

[@speedkar99]

I'd rather it one cover.

[@jkk244]

No. At 0:37 that engine does not have four separate coil packs sitting on top of the spark plugs - instead it has a single coil shared for all four cylinders. That coil sits on top of the valve cover - those four bolt holes to the left of the oil filler are where are the coil sits.

[@speedkar99]

Thanks. I'm dumb for not researching this enough

[@chuckgrenci6404]

I don't know if my wife's Mini (3 cylinder turbo) shares anything with this teardown, but I'd be good if it gets a similar lifetime (or more); it's a fun little car.

[@speedkar99]

Yep that's why people buy it...fun and cheerful.

[@garypeatling7927]

Nice strong design except oil pump

[@NilesHlavacek]

9:42 valve at far lower right is discolored compared to the other valves

[@speedkar99]

Thanks. That might have been the one I was looking for.

[@john-r-edge]

Do these speed disassembled engines ever get reassembled??

[@georgelin8498]

Engine mount is connected to the head and another to the block and overtime head gasket issues develop

[@speedkar99]

But I've seen many engines mounted to their head

[@hoganfan924]

@@speedkar99 RH Engine mount is connected to the “shelf” at the top of the block, which is why the front timing cover doesn’t extend to the head. There’s no mount connected to the head on the Tritec engine.

[@bimsetre]

BMW did not really have much to do with this engine. It was a Tritec engine made in Brazil, which was a Rover/Chrysler joint venture. BMW owned the Rover Group from 1994 until 2000 but with very little interference, hence the connection. The Tritec engine was heavily criticized by BMW due to bad fuel economy and low performance. Anyways Honda owned part of the Rover Group prior to BMW, and made crappy cars as well. Later on the Mini got the Prince engine, which featured a lot of BMW technology, but was produced by PSA. BMW then moved on to the modular B38 3 cylinder design with 500 ccm pr cylinder, sharing parts with other BMW engines. Finally the Mini got a decent engine.

[@honestreviewer3283]

The Tritec engine won awards for being one of the best engines out there at the time, and that's why it was used in a lot of cars. BMW chose this engine over a Rover unit, and it's a good thing they did!

[@simonroyle2806]

The Mini was developed by Rover to use their K series engine which was all alloy, it has head gasket problems when enlarged to 1.6/1.8 which concerned BMW. At the time (1997/98) BMW were thinking of buying Chrysler and identified the Tritec as a safer option for the Mini. So BMW took over the the Mini development and kept it when they sold Rover in 2000. So for a while Mercedes effectively supplied BMW with engines!

[@geraintroberts6606]

The Mini One Diesel was a Toyota Engine and that made it expensive .

[@hoganfan924]

@@simonroyle2806 That’s exactly why “BMW badmouthed it” when they introduced the R56 with the “Prince” engine. They were upset when Daimler bought Chrysler, after BMW signed the JV with Chrysler. They could have done upgrades to the Tritec engine but didn’t want to do business anymore with their arch rival Daimler. So Fiat did in 2011 with the “eTorq” version of the Tritec (still in production today, with VVT, variable oil pump, and a few other tweaks.

[@baer0083]

7:28 can someone explain to me why the 4th of the crankshaft bearings from the left has no such groove for lubrication as the other 4 have? Seems odd to me.

[@ilhuikar]

There are corresponding holes in the crankshaft that take oil to the connecting rods. There's only four of those so the fifth main bearing doesn't need the groove.

[@baer0083]

@@ilhuikar yes i knew that those holes and grooves were for lubrication. The Question is, why there is no hole at this particular bearing.

[@ilhuikar]

@@baer0083 No need for it, since there's only four rods

[@Builtit1]

have you done a gmc 5.7 with the 350 block??

[@speedkar99]

No. Just a 5.3L LS

[@SplosionMovies]

hey speedkar, what do you make of the lexus ES300/330? i hear they're reliable, but how are they to work on? if anyone reading has one how do u like it? i currently have a c32 amg that i do all my own work on, i dont spend much but it's a massive pain to do anything on it lol. rather have something peaceful

[@Slenderman63323]

It’s somewhat difficult to do any work on the rear bank, since those are transverse mounted V6s. 3.3 is interference, early 3.0 had sludge problems. VVTi gears can rattle a bit on startup. Otherwise, totally bulletproof engines.

[@SplosionMovies]

@@Slenderman63323 does the 3.3 have a chain or a belt?

[@Slenderman63323]

@@SplosionMovies Belt. Both of them have timing belts. Toyota switched to a chain in the ES in 2007 with the 3.5 engine.

[@speedkar99]

I had an ES330 and several Toyota V6's. They make for good reliable cars. Spark plugs are difficult to service and remember there is a timing belt that needs to be changed every so often. Oil filter is beneath the manifold waiting to burn your hand if Changing it hot. Control arms replacement involves jacking up the engine and removing the engine mount to get the bolts out. The ES330 had finiky transmission programming causing alot of lag that I didn't like in traffic. My Camry with the same 3.3 engine doesn't have that so test drive it good before you buy it. Other than that, it's a very solidly built reliable quality car. Worth the premium over an XLE Camry, Accord, Acura TL, Maxima of that era etc.

[@SplosionMovies]

@@speedkar99 TYSM for the quality reply; appreciate your time. sounds like a camry or an es for the next car. thx for the vids we all love em

[@jkk244]

At 7:35 the the cartridge oil filter on this engine has a metal cap, not plastic.

[@speedkar99]

Thanks

[@jackwood2328]

100% work score again

[@kayzuchoyt3320]

I get nervous when you use your ELECTRIC impact wrench near the fuel rails ik there mostly dry but i seen some crazy stuff

[@speedkar99]

There isn't much fuel in there if something does catch

[@ssrattus]

well done again!

[@speedkar99]

Thanks

[@milosstojanovic4623]

Lol, my old Fiesta has 250 thousand kilometers, still without changing or having any wear and tear inside the engine for last 150 thousand kilometers. When we bought it it was under 100 thousand km and only then previous owner changed some parts and we did the rest but not much. If anything happens related to opening and repairing inside the engine it would be more cost effective to just change entire engine, other then replacing the parts xD

[@mantatrip9319]

Please find somewhere Mitsubishi Mirage 1.2 and show us the problems. It is 'original' Mitsubishi A03 engine, but it has same cyl gasket as Smart/Mercedes 3cyl. I still don't know what it is.

[@speedkar99]

That would be cool. Was about to buy a smart parts car last year for a teardown but it sold on me.

[@vladdutz20]

This engine has an interesting story, being connected with fiat's 128 sohc and Torque design, giving birth to the E.torq and prince engines further along the line. And some of the gasolines from the Pratola Serra series use a similar layout for the intake manifold Bmw had nothing to do with the design, they hated it. They just got stuck with it after buying the rover brand

[@speedkar99]

Yeah I read about that BMW was not interested in economy engines

[@vladdutz20]

@@speedkar99 yes, and fate kicked in when they made lots of errors for the EP6/N13 prince engine, which was a total rubbish between 2006 and 2012

[@hoganfan924]

It was Bernd Pischetsrieder (BMW President) and his Engineering VP Wolfgang Reitzle who made the deal with Chrysler. Reitzle also oversaw the operations of Rover group for a while after the BMW acquisition. The engine was designed, engineered, and developed by Chrysler’s small car platform engine engineering department, of which I was a part. I worked on the development from mid 1997 until late 2000. It was a clean sheet design, and patterned after the 2.0l SOHC (which was derived from the early 90’s 3.5l SOHC V6), but with a chain instead of belt. It only shared a handful of parts with the 2.0l (hla’s, ignition coil and some sensors and screws). BMW had almost no input into the base engine design. It turned out very well for the most part.

[@vladdutz20]

@@hoganfan924 how cool, i also film cars on KZbin on a Romanian channel and today i filmed a 2006 mini cooper s with the Tritec supercharged engine

[@Whitehart-UK]

When i saw the title I'd assumed it would be a N series Prince engine from a 2nd gen! 😅

[@speedkar99]

Yep!

[@1magnit]

The headbolts were loose. Pretty much normal for any aluminium head with high miles. It causes a leaking gasket.

[@speedkar99]

I thought they were torque to yield. Shouldn't come loose...

[@1magnit]

@@speedkar99 The important part is "aluminium head" The metal under the washer crushes and the sides of the bolt tube collapse and so the bolt loses clamping force. When you pull an engine apart it's always good to treat it the reverse of building it. Take note of how tight the bolts are and whether or not they're stuck. Better still put a paint mark on the head, back it off and measure how much torque it takes to get it back to the starting point.

[@Gigaguenther]

I think the rtv in the valve cover actually comes from the factory because mine looks _exactly_ like this one. Also it's only partly designed by bmw which is why its built comparatively simply but sturdily

[@hoganfan924]

The RTV is from the factory. It was a late development change, put in place to eliminate oil pull-over into the PCV baffle system, particularly when making hard sweeping left turns. The RTV seals off the steel baffle cover plates that were heat staked onto the valve cover. Without the RTV, oil can seep around the heat stake holes and along the edge, causing oil burning.

[@templar6867]

What would you recommend 4.2 A8 Audi 4.0 turbo Audi A8 3.0 turbo A8 Or Rolls Royce corniche?? Please let me know Which one has better engine I want to get one of those cars

[@DavidL-ii7yn]

Not in engine teardown: plastic parts in coolant system which don't age well. If they fail, the engine seizes very very rapidly.

[@speedkar99]

Agreed. Most of those parts were stripped off this engine when I bought it.

[@ghostwrench2292]

No. The engine doesn’t seize if parts of the plastic cooling system fail. What happens is you’ll lose all your coolant and the engine will overheat. Warped the cylinder head in my case when that happened.

[@DavidL-ii7yn]

@@ghostwrench2292 Wrong. Happened to my wife on the busiest highway in the world. It was the fourth time we'd driven the car. Engine seized within a km. Car lost steering. The engine was destroyed and the insurance company wrote it off. That's how BMWs age.

[@ghostwrench2292]

@@DavidL-ii7yn regardless, I'm not blaming BMW because a 19 year old plastic tee in my cooling system broke and effectively killed my engine. I am not thrilled that there is plastic being used in critical components but I got nearly 2 decades and 165k miles out of those components. I ended up replacing the engine and replacing the entire cooling system, except the heater core, along with lots of "while I'm there" parts. My car is still on the road today, with a little over 170k miles.

[@DavidL-ii7yn]

@@ghostwrench2292 I hear the older ones are a completely different story. This was an X1, 10 years old, 2010. When they looked at replacing the engine, it was rebuilts available. It's a complicated story but my mechanic said it wasn't worth the labour and hauled it to the dump. He sold me a 17 year old mint condition Honda Accord instead. It's quicker than you would think. Plus, bonus, it hauls lumber and drywall on the roof better than a lot of pickup trucks. Eventually, I started getting respect at the lumber yard. The X1 of that era have the same engine as a MiniCooper, actually. A good friend has one and he got a fantastic deal on it. But he's repaired so much stuff on it. Fried circuit boards (x2), seized belt pulleys, gummed up intake valves... etc.