Email martyn.knowles@kelsey.c o.uk Follow us on Facebook @ Car Mechanics
MINIs of the BMW sort seem to come my way from various sources. I do own six of them and I really must get one or two ready for sale next year – Ican’t keep them all. The 2001-2006 R50 models are my favourites, but the R56 hatch is the one I’ve worked on recently – owned by a young lad who asked me to service his Cooper model and take it for its annual MOT. No problem!
Mannol engine oil is cheap on eBay. Very cheap in fact, at £16.50 for five litres (delivered to the door). I ventured down to my local ECP for a Mann oil filter. The job was done easily enough, raising the front wheels up on my plastic ramps. However, the owner had mentioned that the handbrake light was flickering every now and then. That usually means the rear pads are worn and sure enough after raising the rear of the MINI and taking off one of the back wheels, I could see the friction material was low.
My next move was to purchase a set of pads and discs. Now, the fun started. I couldn’t find my wind-back tool set. Had I lent it to someone?
Dropping into my preferred local garage the next day, I asked them if I could borrow a parking space outside to perform the MINI rear brake job there – so one, I can use their wind-back tool and two, if I needed any help they were on standby. I hadn’t considered the banter I would receive from my lack of ‘quickness’ in completing the brake job, but for me I didn’t need to rush. I’ll never be as fast as those pro mechanics that work on vehicles day in, day out.
Anyway, the main concern was the caliper piston – was it seized or would the wind-back tool get it moving? It was hard going and the tool digs into your hand. Fifteen minutes later, the offside caliper piston was back as far as it would go. Something I was aware of before starting – the offside caliper has a wear sensor clipped onto the inner pad. You have to pull it out. Except, usually, it just snaps and is then unusable, which was the case here. The carrier shims were in a bad way too. One of them broke in half.
