MINI Cooper R50 Engine And Transmission Mount Replacement

One of the most common parts to deteriorate on the MINI are the engine mounts.

The rubber that is contained within the mounts becomes old and brittle, and doesn't perform a good job of isolating the drivetrain from the rest of the chassis. This eventually can cause a whole host of problems and cause wear to other critical components. In the later MINIs (2004 on), they use a liquid filled engine mount on the passenger side that can leak and eventually collapse.

Begin the replacement by jacking up the front of the car and placing it on jackstands. This procedure will cover the replacement of the lower mount under the engine. Remove the front wheel liners and splash shield under the front of the car. Now find the lower engine mount. It's located on the passenger side and secures the engine to the front subframe (See Figure 2).

Remove the two 16mm bolts securing the lower engine mount to the subframe and also to the engine (See Figure 3). To remove the mount from the engine compartment, you'll need to unbolt the mounting bracket from the engine. Just remove the four 13mm bolts holding it in place and set it aside (See Figure 4 and Figure 5).

With the mounting bracket removed from the engine, slide the new mount up into place and thread the 16mm bolt up the center of the mount and into the threaded section of the subframe. Refit the mounting bracket over the end of the new lower engine mount and torque the four 13mm bolts back into place. Now thread the 16mm bolt back into the front end of the mount (See Figure 6, 7 and 8).

Now, let's move on to the upper passenger side engine mount. Make sure the battery is disconnected and then remove the ground strap from the engine mount bracket on the passenger side of the car. The R50 has a mount without the said zip tie and strap (22-11-6-759-732). The R53 has said zip tie and strap (22-11-6-760-448). (See Figure 9). Be sure not to lose the bolt which fits up underneath the bracket as it can fall out once you remove the ground nut. Now remove the fuel tank vent valve directly above the belt tensioner and supercharger pulley. In this picture in Figure 10, you can see the upper vent valve connection (purple arrow) the electrical harness connector (green arrow) and the lower vent valve connection (yellow arrow)

Remove the lower vent valve connection by squeezing the two tabs on the out side of the connector and pulling it off. Take care not to use too much force on the plastic line. Next, remove the upper vent valve connection by pressing the tabs on the connector and pulling it up. Again, take care not to damage the plastic line. Use a small screwdriver to pull back on the plastic tab securing the electrical harness plug to the valve and pull it down and off the valve. Use a small screwdriver to pull back on the plastic tab securing the electrical harness plug to the valve and pull it down and off the valve. Press the small tab on the mounting bracket and slide the vent valve off. Set it aside for the time being (See Figure 11 through 14).

Place the floor jack under the center of the engine with a block of wood to distribute the weight of the engine and also to protect the oil pan. This will support the weight of the engine with the mount removed (See Figure 15). Move back up to the mount and remove the small 8mm bolt securing the bracket holding the two hoses to the engine mount brace. Pop the hoses out of the bracket and set the bracket aside (See Figure 16).

Next, remove the 16mm bolts securing the engine mount brace at the both the front and rear. Keep in mind that the engine may move back a little. Make sure that the jack with the block of wood is fully supporting the weight of the engine. Now remove the brace and set it aside (See Figure 17). Now remove the 16mm nut holding the engine mount bracket to the engine mount (green arrow) once removed, carefully jack the engine up and remove the engine mount (See Figure 18).

Now a side note. On 2004 and later MINIs, the passenger side engine mount was redesigned. If you own one of these cars, you simply remove the 16mm nut on the top of the bracket (green arrow), and the bolt securing the mount to the frame (purple arrow). Also, don't forget to remove the ground strap (yellow arrow) as shown in Figure 19. The rest of the procedure is virtually the same.

Remove the E12 Torx bolt underneath the passenger side engine mount. This long bolt secures the mount to the frame rail. Once removed, take the engine mount off the frame rail. Place the new engine mount in the same hole from above the frame rail and thread the Torx bolt back in and torque it to 68Nm (50ft/lbs.) (See Figure 20).

On cars up to 12/03, remove the three bolts holding the upper engine mount to the wheelhouse. You can reach the rear-most bolt with a long extension. Take the new rear mount, thread the bolts in and torque them to 68Nm (50ft/lbs.) (See Figure 21).

To replace the transmission mount, you'll need to first remove the airbox assembly. Refer to our article on installing a performance intake for more info (See Figure 22). Make sure the battery is disconnected, then remove the harness that plugs into the front of the fuse box as shown here. Use a screwdriver to press the tab in, then pull the harness out (See Figure 23).

Now remove the two 8mm screws holding the fusebox to the chassis. Also remove the 10mm bolt holding the 12v lead wire for the aux driving lights if you have installed them on your car. (See Figure 24). Move the fusebox to the side to access the bolts underneath.

With the floor jack under the engine and secure, remove the long 16mm bolt securing the mount to the bracket arm (See Figure 25). Now remove the three 16mm bolts holding the upper mount arm to the chassis (See Figure 26 and Figure 27). You need to remove this arm in order to access the mount underneath. Remove the four bolts holding the mount to the transmission.

Now place the new mount on the transmission and thread in the bolts holding in place. Keep in mind that the front left bolt secures a bracket to the front of the mount There is also a bracket for the clutch slave cylinder feed hose that is secured by one of the transmission mount bolts (See Figure 28 and Figure 29).

Once all the bolts have been fitted, torque them to spec (See Figure 30). Take note of the orientation of the rubber spacers that fit onto the sides of the new transmission mount. Transfer the spacers onto the new mount as shown (See Figure 31).  Now refit the upper mount arm over the rubber spacers and transmission mount. Refit the 16mm bolt loosely though the center of the mount and place the mount arm back into position on the chassis. Torque and refit all bolts (See Figure 32). Now lower the jack under the car. Now, just reinstall the fusebox, airbox and you're all set.

R50 Cooper: The procedure for replacing the engine and transmission mounts on the R50 Cooper is virtually the same as the R53 Cooper S. The main differences here is that the both the airbox and battery box must be removed to allow access to the transmission mount. Once these items are removed, you must also remove the slave cylinder to access the mounting bolts. (Please see our articles on clutch master and slave cylinder replacement for more info).