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'02-'03 issue with spring & check valve in oil pump area?
forgive me if this has been covered already, I'm new to MC, and to this forum.. I've searched, but find very little about what I'm asking.
just bought an '03 CVT for my daughter's 16th birthday... 51K, appears to have been well cared-for... 2 days into ownership the oil light comes on, plenty of clean oil on the dipstick, a little noise on the top end.
mechanic says I need a new oil pump, then on closer inspection says I have a broken spring somewhere in the area around the oil pump, and that a check valve in the same area may be broken too ( I can't remember if he said it was broken or not, but he mentioned it. ).... don't need a new oil pump, just a new spring, he says...
I was told this was a fairly common problem on '02s and '03s, not very difficult to fix, and shouldn't have hurt the engine otherwise.
Anyone else know of this problem? is it common, easy to fix, etc. as I'm being told?
The CVT automatic transmission was never offered on any other US MINI model than the MC. So I think the implication that the car was an MC was a pretty strong one.
Back on topic, there is also a bypass valve built into the oil filter housing that have been known to fail. It is not available as a separate part so, although it's a cheap plastic valve, you have to pay for an entire filter housing to get the replacement.
I just wanted you to be aware of the other possibility. I have heard of far more bypass valves failing on the MC's and MCS's than I have the checkvalve. As a matter of fact your's will be the first if that is what it turns out to be.
__________________ SCOOTER - 2002 MCS DS/W, #1, Leather Sport Seats, (added front and rear fogs)
The CVT automatic transmission was never offered on any other US MINI model than the MC. So I think the implication that the car was an MC was a pretty strong one.
That's what I thought, and what I was trying to say in as few words as possible... '03 Mini Cooper, non-S, automatic transmission, but being so new to MC, I fully realized I could have been wrong. Thanks for the clarity.
Also, thanks for the explanation. The dealer I bought the car from (he took it as a trade-in) may have used the wrong word (check valve rather than bypass valve) out of ignorance. He's not a Mini or BMW dealer.
My mechanic says it's a common issue on '02-'03 MC and easily fixed, so it must be the bypass valve. Looking at the photos posted by someone else in the thread you referred me to, my problem must be a broken spring/bypass valve. I haven't looked, I had it towed directly to the shop as soon as the oil light came on..... been there since Monday, (today's Thursday) waiting on parts from BMW. I hope this isn't how long all my visits to the shop are going to be. Hopefully the parts arrive tomorrow in time for a weekend of Mini driving.
Last thought, the dealer I bought it from said he had the oil changed just before I bought it. I'm wondering if he sent it out to a quick-lube place that didn't know what they were doing when they changed the oil? Sounds plausible.
i just blew my control spring inside the oil filter housing or had to replace the whole oil filter housing @$300 in just parts not fun but should be fine now but when that spring assm breaks the pressure builds up in you filter housing and blows right by your o ring and cap and spills all over the ground
sounds like the same culprits that are involved with my MC... I'm thinking somebody did an oil change just before I bought it and didn't quite get that spring back in the right place... my mechanic says the spring and the bypass valve are broken.... dealer I bought from says he had oil changed "down the street" .... won't admit it may have been done wrong.
still waiting on parts from BMW since Tuesday... I'm being told there was no other damage, and once these parts are replaced, it should be fine.
thanks for the info. mine's going to cost $480 parts & labor, fortunately for me the dealer that sold the car to me is paying for it.
mine was 547 total and i just got it back but yeah you have to watch who you take it get an oil change im goona take mine to the same speacialty shop that fix the housing cuz the gave me a 18000 mile warranty on it
