I don't know what it is, but it seems like my mini always has some type of small oil leak. I've fixed the common crank sensor leak in the front of the engine block, I've replaced the valve cover gasket, I've replaced the oil pan gasket....I finally thought I had it all taken care of. Then, after my car sat a few days in the garage...I got it out, and there is another tiny dot of oil on the garage floor.....crap! So now it looks like there is a small drip of oil coming out of the oil cooler?? What else on these things can possibly leak?? It seems like it's a never ending battle.

Anyone have an R53 that doesn't leave a drop or two of oil on the ground after a while?? What a pain!

Anyone have any info on fixing the coil cooler leak?

Thanks!

 

i leave no oil on the ground =)

but i do have a little bit around the pan

 

no major leaks on my end my friend.... but you do have a now 10 yr old car, and oily rubber gaskets only last so long i reckon.

although i will say, i do notice a small drop coming out from btwn the to metal halves of what i think is the oil pan? its squeezing itself out from btwn the metal, its strange, but super slow, i think its just blowing away when i drive.

here is a pic from pelican... look for the oil plug, then to the right, there is a seem on the far right of the picture just before it cuts off. that is where i can reach up and grab a drop. dont think i can "do" anything about it, so i just let it be :P

 

Me...
Don't want to jink it....but only 77k...
Original oil pan gasket, etc....it does have some caked on grime...so might be a weep...but never a drip....
A couple posts about oil coolers in the last month....can mostly do it from the pax side wheel well....just have a couple extensions for your ratchets....

 

I'm at 106K and no leaks yet. I haven't replace a gasket yet either. It been a great ride, zero trouble just regular maintenance stuff. Oh I did change out the coolant tank. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones.....

 

No leaks that make it down to garage floor but I can't say it's squeaky clean under the bonnet. 06 with 94k miles.

Hope this does not jinx it.

 

No leaks, but I have had the P/S hose leak and a motor mount take a doodie all over my driveway. Small weep at the pan gasket, but besides that my floor is dry. Car has 54k miles.

 

like this? this is what mine looks like

 

thats exactly what i have. what the hell is it?!

 

I'm not 100% sure. Let us know if you find out though!

 

Loads of leaks everywhere but no drips (Smashing fist on wooden table). Had the typical coolant bottle and p/s "exhaust manifold" return hose leak but have repaired those. Just had mine in for an alignment (thank you Baron MINI) and it is apparently leaking all over the place but no drops.

Your MINI is just trying to remind you that it is not a car but in fact a child. You have to bathe, feed and take it to the doctor for its yearly checkup. Oh, did I mention it poops everywhere?

 

I have had to replace all the same gaskets too. Seems around 90K and up these natural rubber gaskets go stiff. The last leak was the Oil filter housing to block triangular gasket. A real PITA. I posted somewhere else about that change.

I'm still losing oil slower now... I think its ending up in the intercooler.

 

Artoo has had every gasket that contains oil changed. No leaks at this point but he is still consuming about a quart every 1000 miles and has been doing so almost from new. Compression is good in all cylinders. I wish I knew where it was going. I am over 140,000 miles now and still running strong.

///Rich

 

What oil are you using? That's a fair bit of consumption. Your oil may be too slick. I found that to be an issue with Pennzoil Platinum in my old car. Rotella T6 worked the best and I ran it in everything. Now I'm running Royal Purple.

 

You may be on to something...I use Mobile 1 full syn 5W30 may need to bump to 10W30 or 10W40. Then check into a catch can at the valve cover pcv hose.

 

Artoo has only seen M1 0-40 Euro or Castrol European 5-30. It’s been this way for well over 100,000 miles already. That is a quart per 1000 miles.

When under warranty the dealer said the consumption was normal and there are lots of post here that say that as well.

I watch it religiously. But I know a lot of people don’t and it always seemed a problem for cars that have a 10,000 mile change cycle.

The car runs perfectly and the plugs are never fouled. No codes and the cat or O2 sensors have never been changed. So I have learned to live with it but it would be nice to “know” where it’s going.

///Rich

 

Maybe I'm just paranoid or proactive, but I replaced

The oil pan gasket
Dip stick tube o-ring
Crank sensor o-ring
Valve cover gasket
The entire oil cooler/filter housing (That plastic check valve broke.)
The front crank seal
Both output drive seals
Both the feed and return lines for the power steering

She's still dry

 

Too all folks with leaks, weaps or oil consumption....
Any of you ever changed your pcv valve?
Might be worth a try....often overlooked.....

 

Next to go is the rear main seal... Do that when you do your clutch.
The way it looks in the above picture, it could either be rear main seal, oil pan gasket or crank position sensor O-ring.

 

I had this look before and it was a coolant leak being missed with old oil off the engine as it ran down to the bottom. All leaks are currently gone.

 

Nope, I have oil leaks everywhere.

I just replaced the crank position sensor gasket as that one was especially bad.

The argument that the cars are 10 years old doesn't hold water (or oil ) in my opinion. I've had lots of cars (primarily Japanese) that didn't leak a drop or even show signs of weeping after 20 years and hundreds of thousands of miles.

I used to autocross a 1986 Corolla GTS with 228k miles 4 times a month. It was still on it's original clutch (installed in 1985) when I sold it at 235k miles with no oil leaks.

That said, there is a reason why I'm on the Mini forum now. They are just so much more fun that it's worth putting up with issues like this.

 

Again.....
often overlooked...
and if not 100%working...case pressurize the crankcase a bit....causing leaks or making them worse...
Very overlooked and SIMPLE to change....
Sometimes the little things can make bigger things fail....


http://www.waymotorworks.com/crankca...0-r52-r53.html

 

If you have a lot of leaks, I would look at a bad PCV.

 

Where was the coolant coming from?

And how can I tell if my pcv valve is bad?

 

Mine had the usual crank sensor seal leak that I fixed. Now it's the steering rack...