Cold and wet today. Took the day off work and decided to change oil in my 05 MCS w/2300 miles.

"Dingo" has burned about one-half quart since new. I kept it under 4500 rpm for the first 500 miles then gradually bumped it up until an occasion quick run to redline after 850 miles. This is pretty much how I have broken in every car or bike I have ever had and never had problems, so I figured the MINI cold handle it.

The Dipstick sucks. I like to keep the oil level at the top of the range and it ain't easy with that stick. I don't trust it, and have to check at least 3 times before I'm convinced where the level actually lies.

The drain plug was NOT AT ALL tight! I think I could have broken it loose with my fingers for cripes sake. Still, it was not leaking but I am not at all confidant it would not have backed out in 10,000 miles. Scary.

Oil filter canister was tight. I got a half-inch drive socket for it at Home Depot. Shortened it with a hacksaw so it would fit in easy and it worked great. It took quite a bit of force to break it loose but probably normal.

I'm impressed. I could detect almost no metal filings either in the filter or the housing. Just about enough "dust" to smudge the tip of my finger. To me that means a well built engine. My Honda bikes and cars were all like that, so I compare this engine favorably with Honda. Some of you might not like that comparison, but I personally think Honda's engineering rocks.

Refill took about 5.2 quarts not 4.8 as the manual says. No biggie but why didn't they just leave it at 5 quarts in the manual.

That's about it. Oh ya - so far I love this little car!

 

I have an 04 MCS. Was going to put Mobil 1 full synthetic in myself. Never done it in this car. Any cautions or suggestions?

 

Just one: After lubricating the new o-ring on the oil filter housing with fresh oil, take your time re-installing the oil filter & housing. Getting it started may require some patience. Once it's started, tighten it slowly enough to be sure the o-ring stays seated.

Piece of cake.

 

Also, do a search on this site. There are a few great how-tos that people have written up with lots of photos and helpful hints. I had never done my own oil change before, and it was a snap with the MINI.

 

I am still about 3 weeks away from getting my MCS, so I don't have a manual to dig through.

What kind of oil is recommended for the MCS?

What is the recomended (normal driving) oil change interval?

Why did you guys decide to change your own instead of letting the dealer do it? Aren't the oil changes coverd for the first 36 months?

Thanks,
-Pete

 

There are lots of posts on what type of oil people prefer. Some names are

Red Line
Amsoil
Royal Purple
Mobil 1
BMW/Mini
Castrol Syntec
and on and on.

You'll find about 5000 opinions on why each is best for the car.

Matt

 

I'll second this, but I'd add one "trick" that makes getting the filter housing on easier - look at the threads on the filter housing cap. You'll notice that they are on two sides, with two corresponding "flat parts" which have no threads at all. If you look at what you're going to screw it onto, you'll notice a similar pattern. It will go on *very* easily if you push it on with those thread flat spots matching the same direction on the engine block. The easiest way to see it is to try screwing the housing on with no filter at all; it's extremely obvious that one way will thread with no effort, and the other will be very difficult. Once you get the correct orientation, look at the top of the filter cap; mine had a blue dot painted on it. Use this to figure out which to hold the filter cap when you put it back on with the filter in place.

Also, you can use this blue dot to count the number of revolutions before it's "tight". You should always use a torque wrench to be sure it's the correct tightness, but making the sure the housing cap spins the right number of revolutions is a good sanity check just in case you have cross-thredded the filter cap; if that's the case, the cap will be "tight" way too early, and you will shortly have oil leaking under the hood once the car warms up. :(

 

A lot of people (myself included) don't trust the 10-15k intervals that MINI changes the oil at, and nor do we join them in considering Castrol Syntec to be a synthetic oil with the corresponding longevity.

Seriously guys, use the seach button, and you'll find more info and opinions on this subject than you could ever read. This is definitely one of the most common discussion topics in this forum. The bottom line is, if you follow the dealer recommendations and use their service intervals, you're probably OK, but we are a group of perfectionist car freaks, and I'd venture to say that the majority of people here are, at the very least, doing an extra oil change in the first 5k miles, and one extra on between the MINI service appointments.

 

Thanks! That's a great tip. Now, I'm thjikning I should have noticed that on my own.

 

would you ignore the recommended break-in period?

"Dingo" has burned about one-half quart since new. I kept it under 4500 rpm for the first 500 miles then gradually bumped it up until an occasion quick run to redline after 850 miles. "

 

plantain, thanks for the tips on getting that canister back on. It took awhile for me, but got it back on w/o stripping it.

Did any of you guys spill oil from the filter housing when you pulled it off?
There didn't seem to be any way of avoiding it, next time I'll be laying down some cardboard. Afterward, I was able to clean it all up with engine degreaser.

 

No spillage here.

Somewhere I read that if you break the filter housing loose and give it just a turn or so before replacing the drain plug, it may allow more oil to drain out of the filter housing and help avoid spills.

Can anyone confirm this?

 

eMINI, now that I think about it... when I cracked the filter housing loose, I pulled it all the way off w/o giving it a chance to drain first.

We'll see wah happens next time.

 

that not doing that makes a mess! But I can't confirm that doing that prevents it (haven't had the chance to do it again yet).

Matt

 

Yes, this definitely works - I lost maybe a tablespoon of oil after loosening the filter housing and leaving it for a few minutes. Put a paper towel directly beneath the housing to soak this little bit up. No mess :smile: . BTW, my MA copied the pages out of the dealer manual on changing the oil, and it says to loosen the housing first, then drain the oil, followed by the filter change. I guess this bit of oil from the filter is more likely to be removed from the pan if it first flows into a full pan rather than an empty one.

 

I didn't for the first 500 miles or so. After that I did exceed rpm recommendations. After 500 I think its more important to not lug the engine, and to vary rpm's rather than keep the lid down. The logic:

500 miles @ say an average of 45 miles/hr and roughly 3000 rpm (please, this is rough cipherin' here) would translate to 11.11 hours of driving and if my math is correct the engine would have revolved 2,000,000 times. I think that would be sufficient revolutions to allow a little fun after that. Like early oil changes there are many diverse views here, this is just mine.




Plantain - thanks for the tip. I did have trouble getting the filter to start spinning on. I'll use your method next time.

 

I agree. I had pulled the drain plug and only drips were still coming out when I loosened the oil filter. After about a turn out, another batch of oil came out of the oil pan drain. After waiting a couple minutes for that to subside I lost very little when removing the filter housing the rest of the way.

 

I fitted a drain valve to my oil pan which has a hose nipple attached to it so draining is a snap and always loosen the filter canister to allow it to drain - you want to loosen it just enough to break the o-ring seal so it breathes. Hardly any oil is left so there isn't any spillage. I've found that wrapping a regular paper towel at the bottom of the canister when pulled off pretty much catches any residue.

 

The first time that I did my own oil service the drain plug leaked, although it was a slow drip. Didn't lose much oil, however I did manage to temporarly rust proof the undercarrige from the drain plug back. I did not replace the drain plug sealing washer. I did properly re-torque the drain plug and the oil canister with a torque wrench. The next service was on the dealer and my Mini came back leak free. My question is has anyone had similar leaking when the drain plug washer is not replaced?

 

This actually works really well when the engine is warm. This is what I do: After a nice long drive, when the engine is hot, I drive it up on ramps. I position my oil pan under the car and remove the nut slowly, so that I can get my fingers around the nut and pull it away without spilling any hot oil on me. It's much easier than it sounds; just wear rubber gloves if you're paranoid. Let the hot oil come out, and after about 10 minutes, you'll notice it slows to a nice fine stream.

Get out your wrench and start loosening the oil filter housing. Keep turning it until it starts feeling loose, but then *watch* the oil stream below. At some point, the fine stream (which seems to take forever to drain) will increase its flow, and you will hear the sound of an air vacuum near the oil filter. Turn the oil filter in the canister another 1/4 turn *at most*. This is all you need to do; now just wait. I go inside and chill out for 20 minutes or so. When you come back, the oil filter will be empty; as long as you don't swing it around wildly, you will not drip a single drop! Just bring a rag or paper towel near the cap when you turn it over if you're really concerned about not dripping a single drop!

 

My drain plug doesn't look like it has a removable washer; there is a rubber washer bit that's attached to the plug, and as far as I can tell, it can't be removed. It's never leaked, but from past experience I bought another drain plug just in case; it also has the rubber washer embedded in it. I suppose some day it might leak; in that case I'll just replace the plug and washer combo at the same time.

 

The washer on my drain plug is also permanently affixed thereon. Keeping a spare plug handy is a good idea.