cmcveay

Charles, I tried to reply earlier but I was defeated by the forums... Not sure if anyone got in touch with you via PM or email for this but honestly, it's not hard to do. Since you have a 2nd Gen, the hose you are looking for is on the passenger side of the valve cover, on the rear end of it (the corner nearest the passenger seat). The hose has a neat little "clamp" with two sections that you squeeze with your fingers and tug the hose right out of the valve cover. You can practice it a couple of times while the engine is cool and not running just to get it down. When you are ready to do this, you'll need to have the car warmed up to operating temperature (you want the carbon deposits to be warm so they can be "melted" easier). "Stuff" that you'll need - good quality nitril gloves, your can of Seafoam and it really helps if you have another person to help by sitting in the car to help keep it running or restart it. Put the gloves on, start the car, remove the hose, cover the end with a thumb or other finger. Personally, I always put one thumb over the end of the hose and one thumb over the opening of the Seafoam to control the amount coming out. Allow a slight opening in the end of the hose so it's sucking air in and then begin dribbling in the seafoam at a steady rate that isn't so much that you make the motor stumble and die. If that happens, cover the tube and restart it. Once you've run about a cup (roughly 8oz) of seafoam into the tube, pour just a little extra in, opening the tube up so it can get a little extra and then turn the engine off. Reconnect the hose, close the hood and head inside to wash up and have something to drink. Give it about 30 minutes to sit and soak. When the time has passed, go start it up and see how much smoke you make. The engine is going to sputter and idle roughly for a bit, that's okay, and it's going to throw codes - that's okay too. Once the idle starts to smooth out - mostly, you need to rev the engine and hold the RPM's but to 3-4k. If you can, get it out and drive it to do that. It won't take long - just a few minutes - and the smoke will stop and you should have a smoother idle, a little better throttle response and some of the "evil acts" will be gone. You will probably have to clear the codes with your code reader or they will clear themselves once it's started and run a couple of times. When doing this, make sure you are in a place that's not going to be impacted by what can be billowing clouds of smoke. When Edge did his a couple of years ago, it was like we'd all moved to San Francisco and the fog rolled in. You couldn't see 10 feet through the cloud of smoke. Others have had very little or no smoke at all. The last thing you want to do is piss off your neighbors by smoking them out of their houses on a wonderful afternoon... That's bad karma.

But the advantage of metallized tint is that it makes it harder for the black helicopters to monitor your thoughts so you won't have to wear an aluminum foil hat while driving! :idea:

I think only RSVP's for getting work done. It's an open garage day so everyone is welcome to come hang out if they like. If the weather is nice, I've already cleaned up and used the BBQ grill and it can be put to good use.

1975_Mini is correct, I would go with one of our local vendors, OEM or online like Out Motoring for the brake wear sensor. With my Big Brake Kit, I did solder the front sensor wires but if you are keeping OEM or sensor compatable pads on both end of the car, I'd suggest keeping the sensor. With that, if you get any unusual wear on the pads, it's going to tattle on them when they wear - of course that only if it's the front left or rear right that wears improperly...

+1 on the insanity of that quote. JAB's suggestions are on the "money" if you'll pardon the pun. Another option is doing it yourself. Thanks to a very generious contributions/loans by a couple of club members (Laura and Brian, please take a bow) the Garage Mahal has both 1st and 2nd Gen repair manuals and there are a few of us around that have done a dozen or so full up break jobs on MINIs. The biggest expense in this is the cost of labor so if you get that out of the way, your costs are only for parts. The MINI brake rotors are not designed to be resurfaced and they are reasonably thin. In MY experience, they are good for about 2 sets of pads adn then they need to be replaced. There are of course exceptions and your rotors may need to be replaced sooner than that but even that isn't a major piece of work to get done. Pads and a wear sensor (or both if you choose) are very reasonable and if you need rotors, there are lots of options for either OEM, OEM replacement or some upgrades like slotted rotors to improve your braking ability.

I'm going off-roading this weekend and I take the curves at the same speed here as I did on 129 so it's like I'm still there! I'm just glad I don't have to look for turnouts when someone gets behind me now! Welcome back everyone, we had a great time.

Yep, I'd be leaning towards a sheared output shaft for the tranny or a sheared pinion with those symptoms. I'll cross my fingers for a pinion gear as it's the less expensive alternative. Tell Brandy to stop doing those "J" turns, it's hard on the car!

:congrats:

:stupid:

Welcome to the forums, welcome back to the States and welcome back to your MINI! We have several vendors that give club members discounts on parts or labor or both. We also have club members that are always willing to help others with mods of different sorts. Here's a list of our Vendors, I hope you find something useful here.

At some point, someone always posts a weather update for Fontana so here it is...Fontana Dam, according to Weather.com Looks like rain and Thunderstorms Monday, Tuesday and part of Wednesday. BUT! for the rest of the week, it's looking pretty darned good!:top: :motor: :rock: :motor: :congrats: Now, I'm certain that I've used my entire emoticon quota for the month.

Aren't you heavily medicated right now? Shouldn't you be listening to your doctor's instructions? Everyone should be texting pictures of food to you, I know you are hungry!

Nobody will be offended...

Okay, it's time to clear out some of my "extra" camera gear. I've checked the prices and condition against both KEH and Adorama for this stuff so you are getting a reasonable deal. So, here we go: Nikon D700 body with MD-10 external battery tray, charger, 2-8GB CF cards, and 3 batteries-$1,000 Nikon D40x with 18-55mm kit lens, charger, battery and 2-8GB SD cards - $200 Tokina AT-X Pro f/2.8 11-16mm - $200 Nikon/Nikkor ED f/2.8 70-200mm lens with 77mm Tifen UV protector (comes with original box, documents and case) - $1,200 Tamron Di f/3.5-6.3 28-300mm lens w/ 67mm circular polarizer - $150 Tamron Di f/4-5.6 70-300mm lens - $150 Both Tamron lenses are made for the Nikon FX sensor (like the D700, D3, D4) so if you use these on a Nikon with a "DX" sensor (like the D40x and other "prosumer grade Nikon cameras), the focal length is actually about 1.4 times greater than advertised. When not in use, my gear has it's own cabinet and when in transit, I use a Pelican case to protect it. Exceptionally well maintained so it's all in "like new" condition. I'm going to be out of town 4/27-5/4 without cell phone coverage or internet access so I'll respond to questions when I get back.

hey everyone, the shirts have arrived and they are all bagged up and ready to go. We plan on taking them to Fontana with us on Sunday so give us a shout on the radio when you arrive and we'll give you directions or meet you with your awesome DCMM MOTD shirts!

Did you say bacon mac? I think I just drooled on my tie...:top:

I woke up at 2:30 this morning thinking about the stuff that I need to pack...

I'd love to hear the response of the trooper writing the ticket for that...:rofl:

It looks like we'll add a pork loin to the smoker and I think I'm going to add a few boneless chicken breasts as well. I may include a small beef brisket or some venison tenderloin for some variety. The absolute WORST part of this will be driving 500+ miles with all of this smoked goodness in the back of the Jeep. I may have to go topless.

A summary for safety? HWY 129 (The Dragon) is a public roadway, not a race track. Obey the posted speed limits and "rules of the road". Stay on your side of the yellow and white lines, be cautious and aware of those who don't. In general, you don't have to worry about the sport bikes, you won't be able to keep up with them (and you should never try). The full dresser bikes (full fairings, saddle bags, etc., etc.) and trikes, are typically going to be at, or just below the posted speed limit so honking at them and getting upset isn't going to help. If a State Trooper see's you doing so, it could end up being a substantially dissapointing experience. The same goes for other vehicles that use the road as the shortest route between points A and B. The legends of tickets are actually true and while I hate the idea of ticket writing for revenue purposes, these tickets are for safety... For a reality check, take a look at the document in this link. I don't think I've heard of a single year in which the troopers didn't write a few tickets during the Dragon Parade and speed limits and rules of the road will be strictly enforced - especially on Sunday morning when every state and local law enforcement agency knows that there will be hundreds of cars leaving on a limited number of roads. Enjoy it to it's fullest and survive to go again, and again, and again.

Ali - you have picture duty for this!

I'll be the first to volunteer for the following: #1, #2, #4, #6, #7 (and repeat if needed), #8, #9, and #10. I may also get #5 in but we'll see. You will be missed.

You could try vinyl first as it will come right off if you don't like it. I have a roll of 3" wide, heavy duty vinyl tape if you 'd like to have a go with it.

To show that you could hear the singing from car to car?

Other than a little chill at the start, this was once again such a fun event. I will give credit to Haemish- he DID NOT underestimate the quality, quantity and ferocious nature of the potholes out there today. It was kind of like inverted autocross... Instead of avoiding the cones sticking up, you avoided the holes in the ground. Great event, great time - so good to see so many smiling faces!