thanks for all the schematics & quick replies.
I undid bolt 6 & 7, & nothing happened, so then undid 2, 3 & 5 until it all fell apart.

The problem is that to access most of those bolts you have to move other engine components out of the way.
I called the MINI dealer parts department Sat morning & left a message asking if the transmission oil I bought from them is something I can add myself or should I bring it in to have it done? No reply. (yet)

I will look for a MINI service shop to have it towed to. Fortunately I have a backup Tundra to drive.

Will post the outcome when available - could take a few weeks.....

 

Thanks for everyone's help.

I called a few repair shops that specialize in transmissions, asking if they knew how to work on MINI Coopers, but quickly gave up. 1 guy at a major franchise proudly claimed, "Oh yeah, we work on all domestics, when can you bring it down?"
Another franchise chastised me "we don't need your transmission oil, we got our own stuff."

I quickly had the MINI flat-bedded to a MINI dealer & informed them what I did.
They had to drop the front subframe to access the fill plug. They refilled it, ran all the diagnostics & road tested it - it passed & drives fine.
Labor was $560, transmission oil $175 (I already bought from them), & took about 3 work days. At least I got a complimentary car wash & detail.

So don't ever drain a pan that cautions "Warning: Lifetime Oil", unless you know how to drop a subframe.

 

Ouch, I feel for you, that's a tough lesson. At least no long-term damage was done.

It also shows how ignorant some shops can be. That's good you knew enough to tell which shops were ignorant of Minis, good job.

 

Good to hear that you're back on the road.

 

Yes, so far the MINI drives fine & seems normal.
I appreciate all the replies - very helpful.

It is clear that pretty much anyone you call will claim they can work on a MINI, so beware. The Mobil guys told me they could do it, but the poor guy they sent was stumped when he saw it. I cannot believe 1 transmission shop told me to take my oil back to the dealer, that their 'stuff is better'. & I am pretty sure I called a local # in Texas when another major shop proudly stated 'we work on all domestics, so bring that MINI Cooper in'.

Hopefully no 1 repeats my cascade of mistakes.

Just remember for U.S. automatics '07 & later, the engine oil drain pan is on the passenger side with no sticker & takes a T50 torx bit or 8mm hex key, & the transmission pan is on the driver side with a sticker: "Warning: Lifetime Oil" & takes only a 5mm hex key.

& if you get in over your head, going to a dealer will get it done right.

 

All's well that ends well, I'm glad for you. Nice looking car, too.

 

Wouldn't you know it, I didn't have 27mm or 1-1/16 socket ( I did, don't ask me where it went). Car was already on the ramps with oil draining in the pan.
Thankfully I've a machine shop in my garage. Made a nice one from White Delrin, now it's easy to spot as single use only tool.

 

Just did this in an 09 MCS, god the oil dipstick was worse than anything I have ever seen. It's different from what is pictured in the first issue of NAM magazine..

 

Great post and thread, just did this today at 1440 miles and this write-up helped a lot. Oil looked used but not as bad as I expected, no metallic particles I could discern in the filter when looking at it under direct sunlight.

4.4 quarts of Mobil 1 European Formula 0W-40 put me just under a quarter inch from the high point on the dipstick after running it up to temp then waiting 5 minutes. I will have to get the Cravenspeed dipstick when I save some pennies, the stock one is truly awful.

Either a T50 torx or an 8mm hex would have worked for me on the oil drain plug. I used the torx for no particular reason.

I got the filter kit and the filter socket from minicarparts.net, and a decent price on the oil at Autozone.

Really an easy DIY, easier than any other car or truck I've done. I shoved some paper towels under the filter housing before opening up the filter, and it caught all the oil that came out, not more than an ounce. I did the change after letting the engine cool only about 10 minutes, and it was still darn hot.

 

Just wanted to say thanks to the folks here for participating in this thread. I cant go 1 year or 18K miles for oil changes. That is just too long.

I work at Fort Belvoir here in northern VA. Its and Army base, and my job is a contractor.

On base there is a garage with 13 bays, and 9 of them have lifts. The shop is open wed - sunday. For $4.50 an hour to use a bay with a lift, i can do all my own work. They have all the tools to use for free, and they have the oil catch can with the long funnel while the car is hoisted. For $2.00 for the day, i can use the air gun to rotate my tires.

They even have the 8mm hex and 27mm in their tool set. So i just buy the oil and filters and do it myself.

Way cheap, and soo easy with the cheap bay rental.

:thumb:

The place even has a tire changer and some of the more complicated tools to rent. The compressor to change out your springs is like $4.00 for the day.

I can barely do anything but change my oil, but this place lets me get my confidence to let me do more things. No way i can do it in my own garage.

 

I just called my dealership. They can change to oil for $86.00 (max) while I wait as long as I make an appointment 2 weeks in advance (I am a working stiff and this is due to a limited schedule for Saturday service). Since the car is still under warranty, I feel this is a good price. I will need to buy a socket and a torx bit to do it myself which I will eventually once the car out of warranty. If I buy a kit (oil and filter included), I am at $57.00 roughly plus shipping. I could go to the dealership and buy the oil and filter for more, but I still feel letting the dealership do it and not void the warranty is money well spent. As most have said, whatever makes you feel comfortable.

As a note to everyone. I am just getting ready to sell a 2000 Jeep Wrangler with 230K miles on it. It has a 4.0L 6 cylinder. I ran Mobile 1 in it since the first oil change. Last year I had to put a timing chain in it due to some spark knock and lose of some power going up hills. I aslo decided to replace the oil pump with a hi-volume unit and change the rear main seal. The rear main bearing looked like it had very little wear. The cam shaft lobes were in real good shape. I could also wipe out the oil pan with a paper towel. More than once I ran this engine over 15K mile between oil changes. Granted many of the miles were highway miles, but the engine did not suffer. It truly made me a believer in synthetic oils.

 

Let me get this right. You are going to pay the dealer for oil changes not to void your warranty? As long as you have the dealer required services done by them your warranty is fine. Doing your own changes between the normal ones will not void your warranty. The R56 is an easy car to change oil on.

230K on that Wrangler is great. I'm also a believer in synthetics.

 

What happened to the good old days when I'd put the front wheel on the curb over a storm drain, crawl under, drain oild , remove filter and drop it down the drain screw on a new filter, fill with oil and drive off. Life has become way too complicated!!!

 

Proud to say even an old fart like me never did anything like that.

Maybe the good old days weren't all that good.

 

Yeah I bet the fish downstream really liked the good old days.

 

Just wanted to say thanks again for this DIY... I've referred back to it three times now. Just did oil change #3 (15k miles, after one at 2k and another at 10k). Would've preferred to squeeze another one in at 6k or so, but whatever.

Amazes me that oil change #1 isn't recommended for another 5k miles. Guess they don't have to worry when 'free maintenance' is overwith.

Anyhow, thanks again!

 

so i just went and rented the lift bay for an hour. Rotated the tires also.

This was the first oil change for the car. I bought it last july and it had 10,000 miles on it.

I couldnt wait any longer. I was having nightmares. I should have gotten pix, but the oil was DEFINATELY dark black. running my fingers in it, it wasnt really gritty, but the color was obvious it needed to be changed.

I know this doenst add much like others sending the oil off to get tested, but I really cant understand going 15 to 20 thousand miles between oil changes.

Since i have access to this cheap lift bay for $4.50 an hour, i will be chaning my oil every 5K from now on.

thanks again for this thread.

 

I changed my oil in my 2009 MCS today. It had 2200 mi. and even though my MA said the oil change could wait until 15,000, I wanted to get the break in oil out. Everything went according to plan. I had to tip the coolant tank out of the way as per the pictures to get at the oil filter. As I am in FL, the ambient temp was near 90 and the tank was hot as I had just driven the car. I put everything back together with no problems and no leaks. I drove the car 40 miles and checked again for leaks and there were none. Later this evening we went to dinner, about 15 miles away. When I came out of the restaurant, about 45 minutes later, and started the car, it was smoking (white). I pulled over and there was a hissing under the coolant tank and it seemed that was from where the smoke was coming. I loosened the coolant tank cap (with a rag over it in case it overflowed) and heard a loud POP. the coolant in the tank rose. I then drove home with no problem. Since then I have tried to duplicate the problem (waiting a while to restart the car), but it seems okay. Nevertheless, when I loosen the cap, there is a little pop and a little coolant surges back into the tank. Has anyone had this problem, or an idea what is going on? I am going to be driving back to NY this week and I certainly don't want any problems. Help!!

 

Your best bet is to get the system pressurized and watch for leaks. You must have disturbed one of the connections and now it's angry at you.

 

other than a Fumoto value, does anyone have a source for a hex oil pan drain plug to replace the inverted OEM plug that comes with the MINI? My question is based on the numerous posts in which the difficult of removing the OEM plug or stripping the plug is common. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

Mini Mania sells a magnetic plug.

http://new.minimania.com/web/item/G2.../InvDetail.cfm

 

I thouht I'd chime in on this thread. I changed the oil in my Clubman S for the second time at 9500 miles. I did the first change at 3000 miles. The oil was much darker this time but still translucent. One minor misshap, I drove a mile to the grocery store for a test run. On the way home I smelled oil. A quick mental check list reminded me I'd left the oil cap on the valve cover. Fortunately, the cap was still laying there and only a scant amount of oil had spattered on the inside of my hood. Speaking of dip sticks, I replaced the factory dip stick with an after market one (I believe its an M7). I can't say its much easier to read, however.
I'll share a funny oil changing story from childhood. My dad and uncle Bud were changing the oil on the family car. After about 4 quarts my little brother, who was around six at the time, squatting at the front of the car declared "yep uncle Bud its going right through." I guess theres a genetic cause for oil change misshaps.

 

I've skimmed through this thread and it seems everyone bought a OEM filter from BMW or MiniMania,etc. Has anyone used a purolator filter or are these too cheaply made?

 

I could only find one aftermarket oil filter it was German but I forget the brand. It did not include a replacement copper crush ring so I just took the 140mi/rt to the dealer and bought a couple. They were $9.78/each if I remember correctly.

 

I found this one. It is a cartridge drop in type (not like the one pictured). I just hope it's the right one when I do it this afternoon. sorry - the pasting of the website doesn't look right on here but the part # 15831L. The link works better. Pepboys has the filter in my city.

http://www.purolatorautofilters.net/...%20S&year=2007

Application Guide Search Results



2007 - MINI - Cooper S

QualifiersOilAirCabin AirFuelBreatherPCV 4 cyl. 1.6L D.I. Turbo 16VL15830A25825
Not Available - Availability To Be Announced.C15831L/FN/RN/R
Click the part number for detailed product specifications
N/A - Currently Not Available
N/R - Not Required
N/S - Not Serviceable without disassembly
L/F - Life-time filter





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