I've got a oil leak on the passenger side just inboard the wheel. Under the hood the only oil visible is all around the engine mount. There's a canister that rests on the frame, and on top of that canister is bolted the engine mount. I'm assuming that canister is some kind of damper?

All the oil is heaviest at the base of that canister though it's also run for and aft. It sure looks like thats the source, I don't see any oil elsewhere...

 

I don't know anything about oil in the motor mounts (thought they were just rubber) but my "mystery" leak turned out to be a bad gasket on the oil filter canister.

 

The engine mounts are oil filled (at least on the 05's). My Mini had the same leak and the dealer replaced the mount. Time to make an apppointment...

 

I'm a '05 and suspected that was the case...

 

i have the same thing. dealer told me it was nothing. so they refuse to fix it. oil is leaking right from the bottom of the mount on the passengers side. so what will happen to my car if it never gets fixed. because it looks as if the dealer is not acknologing the problem. please help!!!

 

can you post a picture please. what am i to do now???

 

The dealer has to fix it. It is def a warranty issue. I first noticed a small pool of oil on my garage floor from the mount leaking and it got progressively worse. I can't imagine a dealer telling you this is normal.

 

if the insist thats not what it is then they dont have to fix it.

one day i noticed a pool of oil around my passengers side engine mount. dry oil. and took it to my dealer and they said that it was not oil but some fluids that must have splashed there during the last maintenence. but believe me it looks like oil and it is a pretty large amount of it coming right from the engine mount. what is going to happen if it is the engine mount oil and i dont get it fixed??????? and is this an expensive fix. i cant think of any reason the dealer would lie about it. they have fixed other issues with my car without any problems. so in other words is it really bad for my car not to get it taken care of if it is the engine mount?

 

When I contacted Rasumussen Mini (local Mini dealer in Ptld, Or), the service advisor was aware of the problem. Have your dealer call Rasmussen Mini and ask for Ann Fry. They have record of a few motor mounts with this problem. As for what may happen, the mount uses the fluid to dampen shock/vibration from the engine. If all the fluid leaked out, the mount would no longer work as designed, but I'm not sure of the detrimental effects to the car. You have a warranty-use it.

 

here are pictures of my leak. or so called leak. and remember the dealer says this is absolutely nothing at all. what do you guys think. and how about you guys that had an actual engine mount leak. did it look like this.

 

Mine is the same way except all nice and wet with fresh oil. I can also see the oil pulsing around the base of the damper when the engine is running (from the vibration).

Will take pictures today when I get home if it isn't all dried up and looking the same by then. I noted only a few more drops of oil this a.m. Don't know if it all leaked out now or if a fresh batch will leak after running the engine.

 

i feel like it is the oil filled engine mount too. but i showed the dealer and the mini tech (pointed right at it) and they said it was just extra fluids from previous maintenence, and was unrelated to anything going bad in the car. the dealer has been very good to me. fixing and replacing anything that has gone wrong with my car over and above normal service. thats why im so confused. i mean this looks terrible. but they say it is nothing. what do i do. if i take it in again they wont do anything about it. and im not a mechanic so i cant prove anything is wrong with the car. i dont want to call mini usa because my dealer has been so great to me and im not looking to get them in trouble. i just dont want my car to go unrepaired especially after warrenty. please help.

weird thing was the mini tech sprayed some engine cleaner on the stain and it did not wipe off (or at least not very easily). he said "see, oil would have wiped right off". well then what is it.

 

They say it's normal? Have them show you the same thing on other customer/new MCS's in the shop. If they don't ALL have the same leakage, point out that they need to fix those without the leak as they're abnormal.

 

...with Sterling. The SA there says there is no oil in the mount damper.

But then he's trying to convince me that's the oil filter! I guess words just don't describe it. As soon as I said oil leak he's thinking elsewhere.

 

Mine started to leak some kind of watery oily fluid. The leaking has stopped but I think this is because all of the fluid has leaked out. I don’t notice any difference in engine vibration or movement. My car is about 3000 miles from a service I will be reporting this problem then. Looks like a new issue that dealers don’t know about or don’t want to acknowledge for some reason say like crappy windshields.

 

There are several different kinds of motor mounts on MINI's. That looks like the liquid filled mount to me! There are mounts on some models/years that are nothing like that, and use rubber bushings.

I think your dealer is full of a dark substance...., but perhaps they are not familiar with the mount.

J. D.

 

I spoke with Ann yesterday after reading your note and she was very helpful!

 

So the 64,000 dollar question is- Are the motor mounts oil filled and if they are leaking should dealers know if this issue and replace them under warranty?

 

Glad to hear it Ann is great! We had a number of issues with our MCC and she was always very helpful.

 

SCMCS-The mounts ARE fluid filled (at least on the 05's). If they are leaking, they should be replaced.

 

eww that's gross. It makes me glad I have the old engine mount

 

...And in today looking at some underhood photos taken of my car a couple weeks ago I can now see that it started as a small leak a while back. I hadn't noticed anything amiss as it was a small dirty area but now I realize there had been some leak already and dust and dirt was sticking in that area. I caught it purely be chance the one time the majority leaked out. Most folks would probably not have the luck to spot it, and I wonder how many are running around this way and don't know.

I spoke with the sales manager by chance today at a club event and mentioned it to him. He said he'd investigate and pass the word around that dealer too.

And yes, it was repalced under warranty...