Sure. So I’ve had to do a bunch of work recently. Around October I had to replace the cv boots on my ’05 cooper s. it only has 80k miles, so I decided that I was going to re-grease and replace the boot, as the axle and joint didn’t have any play in it that I could tell, and I got cheaper aftermarket boots from pelican parts for around 60 for all 4, as opposed to oem 60 each. I also bought the ear clamp pliers from local auto parts store to crimp the metal clamps, which are sort of a pain but function well.
I also knew I wanted to do brakes, and I wanted to upgrade to either the poor man jcw or a bbk. I ended up buying some r56s brakes from a second gen part out, and then once I started to add up the price for the pads, rotors, lines, and the jcw paint and stickers (I’m vain, sue me) I decided I would just pony up the extra and get the wildwood 11.75 race bbk. The caliper and rotor are way lighter than oem parts so there’s less unsprung mass for improved suspension, and the parts are just more durable for autocross and track use. I’ve been doing a lot of non scca regulated autocross, and a couple track days. This year I really want to add in more track, and look to do more competition based autocross, even though I know I’ve upgraded my car to an uncompetitive class grouping by now.. oh well.
also had to do tie rod ends, as mine were rusted/frozen and alignment couldn’t be adjusted. It was good enough for summer, but I wanted to get it aligned for my fancy new expensive nokian winter tires. I had to cut the old pieces to get them apart, so it was best guess for the new ones. I was no were close and have like 10 degree toe in on each side. I need to jack it back up to adjust before I can drive down the street..
I do all the work myself. I have an ’98 vw new beetle 1.9l TDI that I use as a daily, and an ’08 r56s that I share with my dad that was in storage. So all this work is in the garage, on jackstands at their highest setting witha propane jet heater as winter in RI is cold.. The garage was normally 20°F… and I’d heat to about 40-45°. I’ve spent a good amount in propane refills...
So my oem exhaust has had a small leak in one of the mufflers/resonator in the back. I forgot which one, but it’s the one you don’t cut out during a oneball exhaust so I said fuck it, lets do an exhaust at the same time. Luckily for my wallet, there was some good black Friday deals on the milltek from ECS and Way. Got that.
Jesus, I forgot that when I got my new job, I bought myself a CAE Ultrashifter (used, but NIB from a NAM member) for an extremely fair but still expensive for a shifter. But sometimes you need to treat yourself and I really felt that the oem shifter was too low for quick shifting in-between corners in autocross. So for that I had to drop the exhaust anyways hence the milltek.
Of course, Rhode Island for those of you who’ve never heard of it, is the smallest US state, 13th original colony, and in New England. Not Long Island.. This means there is snow, and salt. Lots of salt on the roads. I bought my car used with 66k from the original order (factory ordered car) in Boston, and it was daily driven.
This means that everything that can rust, is rusted on the undercarriage. Although, I don’t have any of the body or side panel rusts that others have knock on wood. I had to cut the exhaust where it meets the downpipe as the bolts were rusted gone. Tried heating it and it soaked for about a week in pb blaster but nope.. Same with the 8 rear exhaust hanger bolts. 6 out of the 8 sheared..
Here are pictures of milltek frustration.
You can see how once the rear studs sheared, I drilled them out (can’t hammer them) and replaced them with new SS hardware from home depot. I don’t love the fitment of the exhaust, it’s a little on the left side, and I wish it protruded farther from the rear bumper a bit, but I’m happy with it. It’s easy to install if you don’t have rust.. I’m used to it by now. Honestly? If the car could have moved at that point, I would have called around and see what a shop pays to install an off the shelf exhaust, as they could have just tacked in new studs real easy.. mig welder is on the Christmas list.
Once the exhaust was back on, I took it out of the garage and it’s in the driveway now. While I was under there I noticed the leaking rear brake lines. I replaced the rear rotors, ebc yellow pads, and installed stainless lines and the brass brake bushing pins. I’m not sure if I stressed it too much and caused a leak, or if it had a slow leak for a long time now. But once I saw it dripping I knew I needed to fix it before I drive it at road speeds.
Went back and forth between doing the lines myself, or paying a shop to do it. I’m really sick of working on the car by now, but I’m proud to say I’ve done all the work myself and saving the money is a nice benefit as well. I’d rather spend it on more track time than repairs.
The dealership quoted me 100 in parts, 10 hours @146/hr for labor so a grand total of over 1,000 to replace the rear hardlines.. no thanks. My local independent was 100 for parts, then 2 to 4 hours for around 3-5 hundred. Shop close to my work that specializes in MINI that I’ve been recommended on fbook groups said about 350.
In the end I decided I was going to just do it myself. I ordered the hard lines pre-flared and with the fittings from ECS, and their pipe bender and I’m going to try my best. It looks like black magic art to get the bends, but I’m going to try my best and see how I do. The lines are 40ish, so If I screw up and need to try again I will. Or I could always give up and tow it to my local guy. That is always a failsafe :P
uh… I forgot your original question. Oh. I’m not sure if you need to drop the tank or not. The fuel filter (which I bought to do in the spring but never did) is replaced from inside the car under the rear seats. I haven’t looked into it too much yet. Parts won’t arrive until tomorrow or Wednesday. At least I know I can drop my exhaust without worrying about seized parts now :)
Wish me luck! I’ll give any I have leftover back :P