My R53 (2005, 100k km) is burning oil. I'm thinking about 1.5 litres per 10k km, but I haven't calculated accurately, and plan to do so following my next oil change. Note this is NOT a leak. It's definitely burning (parked in a very clean garage).

Does your Mini burn a fair amount of oil? Any ideas what it could be, and what potential solutions there could be? Are R53s prone to leaky valve seals or anything like that?

 

My 2002 R50 with 227,000km uses maybe a half liter in 16,000km (my OCI).

Given my car is not an R53, it's probably a worthless comparison, but it's the best I can do.

 

Mini engines, seem to burn oil often....kinda depends on luck, history, and (imo) how they were broken-in). Just keep it filled up, and some leaks get blown back to the point if no drips...so still look around, but does not sound like a concern.

 

FWIW, after I spun a rod bearing on #1 the dealer told me I was 3 LITERS low. The previous oil change was less than 6 months before and there was no evidence of a leak or burn.

Needless to say, I'm in the process of a full engine rebuild ($5300+) and will be checking my oil weekly (silly me for owning cars previous to this that didn't consume copious quantities of oil). Idiot tax paid in full.

BTW -it was 20,000Kms I travelled during that 3L burn so be careful


(2005 MCS 95,000Kms)

 

There's a few spots that the W11 engine likes to bleed oil. One is the oft-mentioned crank position sensor. It will leak oil on the crankcase behind the SC. Leaks will almost never appear on the ground, instead being blown back or burned off. Second is the rear main seal. Its just a piece of nylon but it will go bad. Lastly, the oil filter housing has an o-ring seal on it. If this is not replaced at every oil change it will dry out and air can seep in and burn the oil.

I too fell prey to not checking my oil frequently enough and had to replace it last year. That engine was not only seeping out of the rear main seal but also the CPS. Oil starvation caused me to throw the #1 rod bearing. I got out fairly lucky and doing it myself only cost about $2200.

 

I'm thinking I should have a closer look at the crank-position sensor. I'm going to have the SC off before too much longer, and that would be a perfect time, but I stupidly forgot to order things I need to fix this. Is it just a seal? An o-ring? A new crank-position sensor?

 

http://www.waymotorworks.com/cranksh...or-o-ring.html

Just the o-ring will do. FYI, you will need to put the car in "service mode" in order to change the CPS. Its not difficult just follow the instructions in the Bentley manual. Oh yeah, and get a Bentley manual :P

 

Also consider you might be pulling some oil through the PCV hose. Both my old '02 MCS and current '06 MCS seem to go through about a half quart every 2K miles or so. No smoke or burning that I can ever see. And it is common the oil pans develop small leaks. Both of mine did/do, too.

 

The expectation that your car should automatically have such low oil consumption that checking it between oil changes is unnecessary is not reasonable. Oil consumption varies from engine to engine, even with new cars.

Mini says you should check your oil at every refueling; while this may be a bit excessive, to let a car engine go for thousands of miles without checking oil is gross negligence on the part of the owner. I monitor mine every month or so and if it would start using more, I'd monitor more frequently.

The consumption rates given by the OP and the person who damaged their engine are quite reasonable overall at about 1 qt per 4K miles. There is absolutely nothing wrong with an engine using this much oil. It is well WELL within the range of normal for any car engine.

- Mark