What's the best MINI forum out there?
 

The Pelican one is pretty dormant. My wife just backed into a boulder in our front yard and says the car sounds like it has no muffler now. I didn't witness this and she just kept driving to work and then called me about it. I suspect I have some exhaust repair coming up, but don't know where to research stuff. From the online parts places, I don't see anything listed for exhaust parts other than gaskets and hangers. Where to go?

Check http://www.mini2.com/forum/

I can't help but chuckle at this a little bit.

Hope the boulder wasn't pregnant.:D

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/



I have personally dealt with this place and, Pete, the owner is top notch.

http://www.minspeed.net/


Time for an exhaust upgrade?

Thanks. Last night she got two new front tires, as the steel belt was showing in one from her driving so long on it with low tire pressure. She had been driving my 330i to work this week until her tires came in. Thank GOD, this wasn't in my car, which I'm trying to sell. We're driving to LA on 12/22 to fly to China and I was really hoping to take her car to keep the miles off mine. It's gonna be a very busy week.

You can probably find a used exhaust on North American Motoring.

One other place for parts: www.minimania.com

I'll be eagerly awaiting her return home this afternoon.

Feeling horny, huh? :D

Tsk, tsk Rick. As the man of the house & the car guy it is your duty to make sure her car doesn't kill her. A thankless duty I might add.

Ian

Actually, I've been keeping an eye on her tires. Before this issue, when I last checked, they were all equally low, which I attributed to the change from crazy hot to mild weather. When I noticed the left front tire looking low after a few weeks, I checked it and it was 20 psi down!!! Other three were fine. I aired it up and kept it in mind to check it again that night. Well, she drove 100 miles that day and it was down 10 psi when she got home that night. That's when I knew it was a problem and took it off the road.

However, running into that boulder in the yard is not something any kind of maintenance could have prevented. I could have been blindfolded, backed it straight out of the garage and not come close to that rock. Even if I had, I'd have not gunned it enought to move the rock like she did. I couldn't believe my eyes when I went out to look at it. She's due home any minute now.

Laughing harder now.

Ok, fixed it. Turns out it was just the heat shield she had bent and it was vibrating on the muffler.

However, that rock is at least 400 lbs. I can't budge it. I can't imagine how she managed to moved it a good 8". Turns out she also bent a large aluminum tab that was welded to parts of the bumper mount and used for for bolting the plastic and trim down tight. When I tried to bend it back, it snapped off in my hand at the weld. So that's gone now. She backed into a guy about two weeks ago and the guy was a mechanic. No damage to his car and he was very cool. But he told me that Mini's have a piece of foam behind the bumper that's good for one hit. I fear her hit today transferred a lot more power to the body because that foam piece was already bad. The right end of her bumper definitely has more give to it now than the left side and it can't be because of that aluminum piece that broke off. Car is certainly driveable and quiet now. But another good hit to that bumper is probably gonna do some real damage to the rest of the car.

Get her a bus pass RL


Good luck