Mini Cooper S (R53) Buyers guide review - Avoid buying a broken R53 project (including JCW)
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- Опубликовано: 14 июн 2024
- Mini Cooper S R53 Buyers guide review (2001-2006) for the 1.6-litre supercharged engine. Avoid buying a broken Mini Cooper S and JCW and find the R53 that has the common faults fixed and holds the road with fast acceleration and sharp turning. Avoid the mistakes of buying a broken project Mini Cooper S and attempting to fix a broken R53 with our buyer's guide. We have covered the Mini Cooper S and JCW from 2001,2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006 in all trims from the basic Cooper S to John Cooper Works, and Checkmate. Owners of the R53 will know that the Mini Cooper S that followed was turbocharged and so if you want a supercharged experience the R53 Mini Cooper S is the one to buy.
The issues discussed in our buyer's guide to the R53 include rust and corrosion, steering racks and suspension struts failure, supercharger service and coolant tank failure.
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I have a 2002 R53 with 252,000kms. Had a lot of modifications but what a fun car.
Great to hear your R53 is still going strong 😁
The 2005/06 (and 07 for the convertible) are the ones to have. These last two years sorted out the problems that plagued the earlier cars, particularly the weak Midlands transmission that was originally used in the R50 (replaced with a much better Getrag). There are some styling improvements (e.g., the reverse lights were moved into the rear lights, and the gaps in the dash trim over the glove box were eliminated), and overall the fit and finish is just better with the 05/06 cars.
Really useful additional info, thanks for commenting 👍
@@themilesdriven Thanks for the videos!
What’s different with a 2005 and a 2007 R52?
@@stevemelling8450 In 2007 the R50 and R53 changed to the second-generation cars, but the first-generation R52 continued for one more year.
The Convertible R52 was last produced in 2008.
2005 S owner here and have done all the major repairs myself save one, my fuel pump/ filter cracked and didn't want a fire hazard in my garage. Here are what I've found to be issues you should look for in addition to what you list;
1 control arm bushings
2TPMS sensors
3 window motor ( esp driver side)
4 valve cover gasket.
They are not that hard to work on but you do need a little R/R DNA and a good set of tools
A great list of info for potential buyers to consider, thanks for adding 👍
What was the sign you needed to replace/repair your fuel pump/filter?
Smell of gas in the cab
Oil leaks seem to be an ongoing problem:
Sump gasket (twice in 60 000km)
Crankshaft position indicator
Oil/water intercooler
Camshaft cover
All are generally easy to fix but access for the intercooler made it a very difficult job.
Timing chain had to be replaced at 100 000km and was starting to rattle again at 160 000km despite fitting a new tensioner at 150 000km
Oil consumption was about 2 000km per litre after I changed to a 5w40 oil. much worse on the 0w30 oil recommended.
Changing the fuel filter (under the back seat) was one of the more interesting jobs! It took 3 attempts before it was fuel tight.
It was a great car to drive but it never managed to run for more than a couple of months before something else went wrong. As my local Mini spares dealer said, "they are a little delicate"!
What year model did you have?
Thats quite a nice guide that will hopefully come in handy once i start to watchout for those, thanks!
Thanks and all the best with your car search 😁
The R53 mini is grate fun I would definitely buy one again 👍
yeah lots of people that have had them seem to love them 😁
Very helpful video 👍🏽
I have one and awesome car just wanted to add some other cheap repairs that always show up, gas cap, abs/brake sensors
I disagree that this car is difficult to work on. If youre a semi-decent mechanic you can do many of these repairs yourself. Once you put the car in "service mode" by removing the front fascia/bumper (which takes minutes), repairs arent too bad at all. The supercharger service is pretty straight forward. There are plenty of helpful videos out there.
It's not hard but it's also not fun to work on. I enjoy my old 2001 Hyundai accent more than I did my 2003 cooper s
Yeah it's not too bad to work on. And supercharger service is only a few hours (not days). I've now an F56 I dread having to work on that, there's no space whatsoever.
Be good to see this video replicated with R56 😊👍🏻
We like that idea, the R56 will be added to the future schedule 👍
The R53 is bulletproof, the R56 .....
The Midland 5-speed on my 2003 R50 Mini shifts smoothly and has been no problem. Maybe that is related to my having changed the transmission fluid to Amzoil transmission fluid at 12,000 miles? It's smooth and quiet and easy to shift.........
Hi, I'm an original owner of an R53 GP and can attest to the coolant expansion tank issues (I've replaced 4!). Actually here looking for help/advice on replacing the reverse light switch myself as they have stopped working and I've ruled out fuses and bulbs (my aftermarket reversing camera is not working as well). I cannot find a video or tutorial anywhere on how to get to it, can anyone out there help or point me in the right direction?
Bulletproof engine imo. My waterpump wrecked my supercharger, so take care to replace your mechanical waterpump every 80.000 km or replace it with an electric waterpump from the racing department.
Tha fuelpump relay is hard to find in the fusebox, since it requires to take out the fusebox and deconstruct it. Other than that no issues with 267.000 km and running smoothly.
Unless the car has very low miles, most of the "issues" will have long ago been sorted on a R53. A lot of stuff wears out around 100k; power steering pump, clutch, struts, brakes, but once you get past that, if the car is well cared for, it can be smooth sailing. I would not buy a R53 without extensive service history, and would want one that has been garaged for the majority of its life. I'm at 142k on my '02, and it's a great car.
I have a 06 r53 jcw checkmate and the lsd still optional in my country… (i have it) add it cost 569€ in 2006
Nice car 😁 Thanks for adding the info, which country are you in?
Anyone wanting to check if their R53 has a Limited Slip Diff should look for a label with code BKL over inner CV joints or on the gearbox to be sure 👍 or the old school method of lifting both front wheels and spinning one by hand 😁
My 2004 didn’t have an LSD but I just installed one from Quaife. A very straightforward install when you replace the clutch at the same time.
I’ve had conflicting info on supercharger service intervals and have just done mine at 100k, please could you confirm this is correct
Hi Harvey, what age is your R53? 100k was the original service bulletin, some specialists like to quote between 80-100k miles now as low mileage early cars could be rotating 20 year old oil, which isn't ideal, so they lower the mileage quote 👍
@@themilesdriven Hi Miles, mine is a jcw 2003, I did the service at 101k and put it on Facebook to show people and had people telling me the the roots supercharger should be done at 60k. FYI the PTO end was empty( just a film of oil left inside) the pulley end had 60-70ml left in it. Cheers for replying and loved the video, keep up the good work. All the best Harvey
100 k is correct. However doing it earlier is also advised
Most of all R53 are now broken R53 project cars. No matters what.
I've been thinking of getting one as a weekend car to replace my 1999 SAAB 93 Aero that starting to show it's age. Arches and front of bonnet starting to bubble After watching this probably better throwing £2k at the SAAB
@@Lamster66If you want a weekend car to replace your SAAB, Mazda Miata: (M)iata (I)s (A)lway (T)he (A)nswer.
@@ChuckyDoll79
Nah don't like them or anything with a rag roof. I also prefer a car that can do 0-60 in under 7s
If I were going down that route i'd get a 350z or Hunt down a GTO twin Turbo.
I just fancied a mini.
@@Lamster66 Miata NB (facelift) can do 0-60 under 7s (because 6speeds close ratio). And that's not even the MSM. Also, only the MINI R53 (facelift, 2005-06) can do 0-60 under 7s. If you really want a MINI R53, just buy one and maintain it. If you don't want for the expensive maintenance, so stop dreaming about a R53 and move on on something else.
@@ChuckyDoll79
Dreaming? mate they're as cheap as sh*t you talk as if I'm some blurry eyed kid
If I wanted one that badly I'd sell my Audi and buy a new one! And avoid the hassle
And it's not the performance
My 93 will see off any Cooper S
I had a proper mini as my 1st car just fancied one of these as I can!
What I don't want is spending every weekend under it instead of in it.
If I wanted to throw money at an old car I'd sort the SAAB out. Unfortunately 26 year old cars start to rust and unless you going to get it all cut out and replaced with new metal there's no point.Unless you like throwing £10k at a car that's worth under £2K
K swap
this is an example of How to make a boring video from an exciting car.
Or just buy an MX5
We’ve just done a buyers guide for the NC generation MX-5 😁
A cooper s gaps the absolute fuck out of an mx5 lol. I've driven both so I'm well qualified to say that even a 12 jcw will embarrass an NC with a 2.5 swap.
Literally could not find an NA miata within the price range of an r53 mini cooper. All of them wanted at least 5k+ for a trashed out one, 10k for one in decent condition, found my first r53 for 6200 needed minor work, got hit and ran but for the short time I had the car and fell in love with it, bought my next one for 7500
Sc service is not even a couple hours job for a competent mechanic