mdsbrain.com MINI Blog

http://www.107.peugeot.co.uk/peugeot.swf

Cool little game from Peugeot.

I took my car today to a local private shop (Lucky Dog Garage) that works on alot of MINIs. They ran alot of diagnostics via the OBD2 port and poked around.

They found the loose bolts on the undercarraige and they were 2 bolts that held the front suspension to the body. These bolts would of been removed when my engine was replaced in March. So they either backed out or were never fully tightened.

MY CAT IS FINE! All signs show the car is running perfectly, No codes, fuel trim is right and the sensors for the CAT show no issues. Also when we bang on the cat we get no bits moving inside..So the dealer is full of crap!

Also the car is very messy underneath from the oil change. There is alot of oil from removing the oil filter and the car is overfilled with oil.

So, what I have learned is my dealer is full of crap and is looking to make $.
I also swapped my colder Denso IK22 plugs out for standard NGK plugs as my Densos were blackened and covered with carbon.

So alot of my questions were answered and nothing is wrong with the car.

UPDATE – The dealer in all this is Tate MINI is Annapolis, MD.

Short answer to my issues is they won’t fix anything under warranty due to mods. This is new since the only thing to change at this dealer since May has been my SA. So wow! I got a oil change which I paid for and an explanation that everything else will have to be paid for if I want it fixed.

As posted on this NAM thread.

1. Steering wheel – It doesn’t seem to be straight and I believe I found a TSB on this issue. Due to aftermarket parts I have lowering springs.
2. Exhaust rattle – issue mostly when stopped and it changes depending on what gear I’m in. Worse when in R. Due to aftermarket parts pulley, intake. My header is bad for the 2nd time. They say the car is running too rich.

3. Squeek in rear – Probably my sway needs some more lube. Won’t touch due to aftermarket parts. I have a larger rear sway bar.

4. Noise on the passenger side. They say there is loose bolts on the undercarraige and they let me leave like this without fixing it. They were more concerned with getting paid to tighten a few bolts. WTH

So to say the least I am in a rut. My car needs probaly $1500-2000 in work and I wonder if I should just pay the piper or demod and ride stock.

Current plan is to check with a local shop Lucky Dog Garage for ideas, estimates and such. They are a local shop that has gotten alot of praise from local MINI owners already out of warranty who need good work done.

I am learning to use my new Nikon D50. Here are some pics I took over the last week while I was out of town in Norfolk, VA doing volunteer work.

All pics were taking on location.

From the flight deck of the USS George Washington CVN-73. One of the catapolts for launching aircraft.

A submarine coming into port as I stood on the flightdeck.

DDG-58 coming in behind the sub.

A guard standing watch on the way aboard the carrier.

From the gag real:

MDSBrain himself in his USNSCC uniform

Any thoughts?

Pics and write-up of the car show to come soon.

With her 2003 LX Civic sedan reaching over 51K miles it just needed a mod. Also it was her birthday and she had wanted one for so long. So the mod began.

See all of that black plastic in there? That all comes out. All of that restrictive crap!

Replaced with a shiny beautiful Injen CAI tube capped with a cone filter.

Now the car makes a lovely growl at low rpms and a sexy scream at higher rpms. It has also has added 2-3mpg on her daily commute which is a big plus