so, i just got off the phone with Mini of Orlando, after requesting pricing on SC oil change out, and my service rep talked to the head tech about it.

The head tech has "never done that before" and doesnt even "know how" or feel comfortable with that service...

??? also, the rep says the "oil is toxic, and mini wont sell it to them (the dealer)"... (something to that effect).

so, is that oil really toxic? that seems strange to me...
its kind of annoying this isnt a "recommended" service, (neither is the fuel filter, which mine was black dirty).

How vital do you think that service is? could it prolong the life of the SC? would it be beneficial to do it myself?

i should drain the oil out and burn the damn thing up, make mini put in a whole new one... thatd give me new SC oil! lol

 

All oil is hazardous - especially used oil. What part of no service don't you understand. Heck even the coolant is at repairs only, that's the one I can't believe. Yet they want you to change your brake fluid every 2 years.

Actually even your black dirty fuel filter was probably more efficient at trapping small particles than the new filter. Up to a point oil, air and fuel filters do better as they get dirty.

 

brake fluid, i can "see", bc its constantly under stress, both pressure and heat. when i had mine changed out, i def felt a difference!

i disagree about the fuel filter however. the filter will only trap particles so big, yes, when its new, and i can see how it may trap smaller particles, the more the larger ones built up (a filter on a filter), but by that point, your filter trap size is so small, your not allowing the normal amount of fuel through the filter, and or, particles will now Bypass the filter entirely, ending up in your engine.

what do you mean about the coolant? as in, they wont flush / change it unless you have to repair the car, and a fluid change is required? also strange...

 

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/NAL-12345982/ Here's the oil

 

mr. jim,

what do you think, in general, about this concept, changing the SC oil. I have an '06, so, that oil is 6+ yrs old, 70k+ miles... wouldnt you think it will break down here at some point? it is just oil after all....

 

Fuel filters have no bypass mode..... oil filters do.




Yep - that's per the manual. Yes pretty strange since most makes recommend 5 years these days.

 

makes me wonder sometimes, what / if the engineers were thinking... maybe theyre thinking too much... not "letting" us replace "replaceable" fluids... conspiracy?!

 

With some people having problems in the past with the SC oil "disappearing" and then burning up the SC you'd think they would be willing to changing it out for you at your cost of course.. but there is more money in selling and installing you a new SC !!!
A friend of mine had to have his SC replaced because of this at 55,000 miles...

 

Old thread but... changed mine out at 72kmiles, LOTS of life left. General opinion is that "if they're gonna fail, they'll fail by now". Had a friend go 120k+ and drive it like he stole it every day, his was also clean as a whistle. Replacement isn't hard, but is very involved, meaning taking the front clip off, draining coolant, removing supercharger, removing endplates, cleaning THOROUGHLY (=acetone in my case), replacing anaerobic sealant and refilling the Really Stinky s-charger oil (obtain from GM dealer, you'll need not quite 2 bottles).

It was a good idea to get that far into the engine bay, though, found a couple vacuum leaks and a couple worn hoses, a few "rub spots" that could be taken care of, and much easier to install the boost gauge and change coolant.

It's a 6-8 hour repair for someone who knows what they're doing.

 

MINI certainly won't do this for anyone. To them, that is a solid unit that is replaced. I also had mine done by Pete (Greasy's garage) and I had oil, but it was dirty. The oil is nasty stuff and should be handled with care. Pete used Amsoil in mine and to be honest it seems to be a little quieter.

Totally agree above, it was a good idea to do this. I replaced all the hoses, the fan module as well.