Ok, so my son and I changed the o-ring on the crank positioning sensor and the oil pan gasket this pass weekend. I have not refilled the oil yet and this morning I noticed that there was oil under the car from the front of the motor. The oil appears to be straight down from the CPS but without oil in the motor yet I can't believe it would from that. I was dressed for work so I couldn't climb under it but does anyone have any ideas?

 

There isn't much in that area that can actually leak, besides the CPS O-Ring, esp with no oil added yet.
So that leads you to a few things:
- Motor oil that had pooled over time or while f doing the job, that you didn't catch on clean up.
- Motor oil trailing from somewhere else.
- Other oil trailing from somewhere else.

Unfortunately (or maybe not, for the experience and/or coolant refresh) this may call for putting the car in "Full" Service Mode, removing radiator and core support, for a thorough inspection.

Good Luck

 

I was thinking we would have to do full service mode, if nothing else to clean all the old oil off the motor. I didn't want to have to do that but I guess it looks like we'll be getting dirty again this weekend!

 

Personally, I think "Everyone" should have to do Full Service Mode at least once, if they plan on working in their own car, it's a great way to get a better understanding of how things are put together and work together.

 

I agree. I have minimal experience working on cars and none on Mini's but thanks to Youtube and friends, my son and I are slowly learning and enjoying it, when I don't lose bolts or that dang 10mm!

 

Once you go FESM, you'll be able to do it again in 20-30 minutes -- easier each time you do it. There is only 10-12 fasteners. You'll spend most of your time unhooking lights and horns. The beauty of FESM is that you get complete access to your motor, i.e., supercharger, water pump, generator, AC compressor, pulleys, etc. Makes it super easy to work on.

 

Would be even easier if there was a damn drain on the rad lol

 

What's FESM?

 

Front End Service Mode

 

So I went out and looked tonight, I think it's antifreeze leaking from the water pump. It appears to be coming from the drivers side of the supercharger. Good thing I bought a new water pump today.

 

You may not need to replace the water pump just the seal, or the hose.