Wilmington and Millsboro Auto Repair

When you need to swap out engines on a Mini Cooper, you might be surprised to learn that the whole front of the car needs to be removed. The front clip as it's called, is removed to gain favorable access to the engine and all accessories such as the air conditioning compressor, power steering pump, alternator and other pulleys. This gives you a clear view of the entire engine bay.  Once the front clip is off, we remove the belts, hoses, and all fuel lines, a/c lines and air box. The engine will be pulled out straight away from the body. Once we have it out and rested on our movable bench, we begin to dissect it. That means, we're taking off all of the parts that get swapped over to the new (used in this case) one. MINI Parts like spark plug wires, manifolds, pumps, alternators and other pieces necessary to get the engine back in running condition.  After its finally set up, it's re-installed just about the ... read more

There are times when you'll look under your car and notice some drips occurring in various areas underneath of the car. Some of these leaks really do (or should) require a trained eye to determine where they are coming from and if they warrant repair. In this particular case, the client had a concern when they noticed a "clearish" fluid leaking from the center of the car. Once we investigated the leak on the lift, we realized right away that the "clearish" fluid was simply water. The A/C system is designed to remove the humidity from the cabin which makes you feel nice and cool. That humidity (moisture) is condensed into water as it passes over the chilled evaporator which rests inside a specially designed box. Once that vapor changes state to water, it fills up that box. The box is designed with a relief tube that allows the water to drain out of the box. If it didn't, the box would fill and you probably would have a damp carpet on the passenger side of th ... read more