Mini had our Clubbie for almost a week after the check engine light / emmisions warning came on. Nice BMW loaner while they had it. Nice to have an extended warranty too [even though this is under the original warranty]

looks like they rebuilt the top of the engine

 

they took off the intake to see what was up, and used Sea Foam to break up and dissolve the carbon that had built up in the intake, head runners, back of valves and combustion chambers. They soaked the deposits longer than most who do the Sea Foam in thier own driveways do (I let it soak about 1/2 hour in a hot engine), but it's the same deal.

Anyway, Sea Foam (and there are other products that can do this) can be done yourself every so often. It's about $8 bucks a can, and can be bought at Napa Auto Parts stores. Search on "Sea Foam" here and you'll find a bunch of threads on it.

If you do it every 10k-20k miles, you should be fine.....

Matt

 

I'm glad you posted this. This is becoming a well know problem with the design of the Prince engine yet many owners don't believe that carbon buildup treatment or oil catch cans are necessary.

 

I saw cans of Sea Foam in the automotive section of Walmart as well. About $9/can.

 

Walmart carries it and is most likely the cheapest place. At any chain auto parts store it's gonna run you 10+ dollars a can.

 

Really? Another well known problem, eh? *sigh*

Well, since all I can do is roll with it, what's the exact technical process for using Sea Foam on a Clubman S engine?

 

Oxybluecoop has done an excellent "how to" and can be found here:

http://www.motoringalliance.com/foru...t-r55-r56.html

 

It sounds like the Mini dealerships have come up with a new excuse for the problems associated with our engines. It used to be "bad gas", but now the latest excuse is "carbon buildup". What's next?

 

Bad driver?

 

The port fuel injected cars would spray gas into the runners/back of the intake valves. This would wash a lot of the gunk from the PCV system into the combustion chamber where it would burn.

new direct injection engines don't have this spray of gas (basically a really good solvent) in the areas where the PCV system would put the gunk. When it hits hot components, it would cook, and coke up (leave solids behind when what could vaporize did). This is real, and not limited to Mini DI engines. BMW, Porsche, Ford and others have run into thos issue as well.

What does this mean to a DI engine owner? This means that owners of these engines have a new periodic maintenace issue to deal with, and that is decarbonizing intake/valve/combustion chambers. What's dissapointing is that the manufacturers didn't see this one coming so it's a big surprise to the owners. And it's not a say "every 2 year or 24000 mile" sceduled item.

In the future, I think manufacturers will deal with this by doing better phase separation to get the vapors out, and keep the liquids in, but this will only delay, not eliminate the problem. They will probably have to adopt some sort of valve cleaning maintenance schedule as well. But this is what you get for technology that ups performance AND gas mileage. While it's a pain, I still think it's a great trade.

Matt

 

Are there any signs that carbon build up is happening? My clubman has periodiacally been making a realy strange noise when I start it up cold. Sounds like a cylinder is not firing all the way.

Could this be carbon build up?

 

nevermind i found the issue i'm having here:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...lve-noise.html

But would be nice to know if there are any symptoms of the cylinder carbon build up.

 

Symptoms. Yes, running rough at start up. And then a dreaded check engine light. Wife's clubman has experienced this. Same #4 cylinder.

Looks like I can put the aftermarket intake back on....

 

Talked with my local Custom Mini Shop owner Steve and he mentioned that the BSH competition oil catch can is baffled unlike most of the other ones. Easily installed and where as I have a M7 Intake system installed it where the old air intake hose was.

 

My '08 Cooper S was due for service in two weeks (26k miles) and I noticed the rough idle on start up, especially on cold mornings. I also noticed a slight hesitation upon acceleration. Two days before my scheduled service appointment, the yellow engine light came on. When I took the car in for service, the SA at Universal City Mini said it would definitely take more than one day. The next day he informed me that there was a significant amount of carbon build up in all four cylinders and he would be performing a carbon cleanout. He immediately asked me what kind of gas I was using and attributed it to bad gas even though I only use premium from 76 or Shell. After reading this forum topic, I asked him if it could be caused by anything else (ie valve cover, PCV, etc).
In a demeaning tone, he said " you can't believe everything online. If it were as simple as a $35 valve cover, I wouldn't be having my guys spend 12 hours carbon blasting your engine". The carbon cleanout took 3 days and while it was covered under warranty, I am still afraid they didn't actually fix the cause of the carbon build up . Does anyone know what I should do next to get the cause resolved? Do I have to wait for another 24k miles for this to happen again?Does anyone know what the PUMA case no. entails?

My Service Invoice reads:
Excessive Carbon Deposit on Cyl, 4,1,2,3
Interrogate Fault
R and I Intake Manifold
Submit Puma Case No. 29762938
Performed carbon cleanout
clear adaptations and clear all faults

 

Use Seafoam at every oil change and change your oil every 3K-6K miles.

 

Schatzy -- I've read varying opinions on the recommended frequency of oil changes for MINIs, and I've also read that the Sea Foam thing should be done everywhere from 3 - 10k miles.

Does one need to do an oil change after Sea Foam-ing? I'm asking because I don't know, and I will be doing the Sea Foam thing to keep my car in good running order.

 

If you put seafoam into your crankcase then yes you need to change your oil within a few hundred miles after treatment.

 

Is there a write-up kicking around for seafoaming the turbo Prince?

I have seafoamed my old carb'd Johnnyrude 115's - it's quite a spectacle

 

although you can put Seafoam in the crank case I would recommend against it just on principle but as you say definitely change the oil after a 200-300 miles.

I should have made my statement a little more clear.

What I really meant was to use seafoam where you suck it in thru a vacuum line into the intake manifold.

And if you change your oil on a regular basis (much earlier than the MINI recommended aruond 15K or more) this will seriously help reduce sludge build up.

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...r55-r56-5.html

 

How good is an Oil Catch Canister at stopping buildup? If i install an OCC, can i get by longer in between Sea Foaming the cylinders?

 

A good Oil Catch Can will condense and collect Oil Vapors from the PCV. In good placement, the collection will happen before oil vapors have a chance to condense in your piping and intercooler. With an Oil Catch Can you will then minimize the amount of pollutants that cause carbon build up. For the R55/R56 and R57, we have a block off as well which will block off the PCV leading DIRECTLY to the intake manifold, therefore all the PCV gases are routed through the Catch Can for added security.

Here is a thread on an install of the BSH Competition Catch Can and Dual Boost Tap/Block-off https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...t-install.html

 

If a catch can will help reduce carbon build up why isn't it standard? If a can is installed is there a warranty issue? any negatives?
Thanks

 

Well, first off, there is a maintenance involved with a Catch Can. That's just one more thing the dealership has to keep track of during the warranty period.