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I just wanted to thank everyone that contributed to this thread or any other thread about this repair and/or the turbo oil line repair. My income dropped tremendously a few years ago due to a layoff and a divorce so an expensive repair at MINI was 100% out of the question for me. Replacing the oil filter housing/cooler gaskets along with the turbo feed and drain lines is the biggest auto project I've ever taken on and I actually did it! But I could not have done it without NAM. As of this morning my '09 Clubby S has gone over 70 miles without losing one drop of oil or coolant and that is something I haven't been able to say in 3 years!
A few general tips to rookies from a rookie:
*Don't expect this repair to be quick if you have not done this before. I estimate I spent well over 10 hours over several days doing this because I took my time, cleaned a lot, and did a lot of research. Northamericanmotoring.com and Google is your friend!
*Although I do acknowledge that the extra room would have been a huge help, this IS possible to complete without putting the MINI in service mode.
*Clean as you go! I thoroughly cleaned every part and bolt that came off as I progressed and I cleaned pretty much everything else that I could reach along the way. So much easier to work with clean stuff and my car is no longer smoking from oil build up.
*Take reference pictures and keep all nuts and bolts organised. I used small mouthwash cups that I labelled with a Sharpie- Heat Shield, Downpipe Brackets, etc.
***Make sure you have plenty of coinage for your swear jar. I'm a little ashamed of the amount of cursing that came out of me directed towards BMW and Germany
Obviously I'm not very active on here but I will answer questions if you have them. Thanks again and happy motoring.
Did you mill the surfaces for a tighter fit with the gaskets? I did the same job and replaced the gaskets, water pump, thermostat, turbo oil hose, water lines,etc and the damn thing still leaks. I took the filter housing to a machine shop and they said the surfaces were flat and parallel. Can't wait to do it again. Top of my list.
Did you mill the surfaces for a tighter fit with the gaskets? I did the same job and replaced the gaskets, water pump, thermostat, turbo oil hose, water lines,etc and the damn thing still leaks. I took the filter housing to a machine shop and they said the surfaces were flat and parallel. Can't wait to do it again. Top of my list.
I did not do anything to the surfaces other than clean them extremely thoroughly. We're talking very light sanding to get the burned stuff off and a whole arsenal of chemicals, cleaners, and rinsers wiped up with lint free cloths and swabs.
I figured if it still leaked after this I would look into other options like you did.
Question regarding pressure restrictor on housing?
Hello from Peterborough in the UK!
I am in the middle of doing this pita job on our 2007 R56 Cooper S N14 and waiting for the gaskets to arrive.
This morning I noticed a small spring and plastic part in my oil drain waste pan which I believe is some kind of restrictor that sits in the bottom of the oil cooler housing.(pic2)
Can anyone advise if this is still complete as I only found the two parts.(pic3)
In various pictures I have seen this part seems to sit flush to the surface.
Although I can easily reassemble the two parts it now sits above the housing so I am thinking I may have lost part of it-perhaps something that retains it? I hope not!
Yes, i dont have one in hand right now to look at and when i did my gaskest that unit did not move or come out. Check up the line or in the black for a missing gasket or something that went on that end. That unit came out or fell out when you disconnect it from the block?
Yes, i dont have one in hand right now to look at and when i did my gaskest that unit did not move or come out. Check up the line or in the black for a missing gasket or something that went on that end. That unit came out or fell out when you disconnect it from the block?
Yes I only noticed it at the bottom of the waste catch can this morning after I emptied it....with luck it is somewhere in the gloop!
I didnt think it was a big deal until I realised I couldnt fix it in positions again.
Hmmm will have to go digging in the waste oil container.....wish me luck!
I have replaced this filter already and almost a month after it started to leak again. Has Mini done anything to remedy this issue. I’ve spent a lot of time and money fixing this only for it to do it almost immediately after being replaced. Not to mention, I’ve replaced the turbocharger cartridge as well. Can anyone help me out? I’ve recently switched my oil to Amsoil and it seems to not be losing oil as fast but it still leaks none the less. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!!
I had the same problem. I took the filter body to a machine shop and they looked at the surface and told me it was flat. I replaced the gasket and sure enough after a couple of months there was oil on the garage floor. I put up with it for over a year. Recently I removed the turbo to have it rebuilt and discovered that the rubber on the oil return line was cracked. I don’t understand how the oil didn’t simply get pumped into the street. I was lucky. Second, and this won’t cure any leaks, I switched to Liqui-moly oil, created, and oil conditioner. It stopped the oil burning radically. I was using a quart a week. Now less than a quart a month. FYI.
The thing that weirds me out is that the car runs well in lieu of the oil leak. But I’m amazed that Mini isn’t doing anything about this. I mean imagine the Mini owner that doesn’t work on there car and has the same problem...their car will seize up if it goes unnoticed.
Aside from the oil leak, when I’m driving at freeway speeds and I punch it to get around, the car jerks and hesitates really bad. Any idea as to what could be causing that? I have to replace the timing chain on this car. It literally feels like something is slipping.
First. I bought that woven wrap from a local speed shop. 2” wide and wrapped my pipe. The theory is to keep the heat inside the downpipe for better exhaust flow. They have SS ties to keep the wrap in place. Don’t cut holes in it for the O2 sensors however or it will fall apart.
Second. I had misfires and it didnt’ show up on the codes. I replaced my plugs Brisk QR12S and my Air Mass Meter. For some reason the meters get faulty and don’t send out a signal. I’m on my third AMM.
I got a big leak, theres oil all under the bottom of the car which has been there for awhile. but it doesn't seem to drip. I think it may be the oil cooler filter housing but I need to take a look under the car. I already replaced my turbo oil feed line few years ago but was too lazy to do this gasket with it. I dont think it looses oil when the car isn't running, cause my car was sitting in the garage for two days and there were no drips.
I lost half a quart in the past week. I'm tempted to use a engine oil leak stopper like the lucas brand maybe. any idea if it would work or harm things?
Don't drive the car. You either have a broken return pipe or the gasket is gone on the oil filter housing. Remove the shields, cartridge, downpipe, exhaust connection until you can get down to the culprit parts. Replace the turbo feed pipe, return pipe, Aux water pump and have your cartridge examined for play in the shaft. repair as needed. That's my advice.
I got a big leak, theres oil all under the bottom of the car which has been there for awhile. but it doesn't seem to drip. I think it may be the oil cooler filter housing but I need to take a look under the car. I already replaced my turbo oil feed line few years ago but was too lazy to do this gasket with it. I dont think it looses oil when the car isn't running, cause my car was sitting in the garage for two days and there were no drips.
I lost half a quart in the past week. I'm tempted to use a engine oil leak stopper like the lucas brand maybe. any idea if it would work or harm things?
You arent providing enough background for us to help you make an informed decision. How many miles on the car? If the oil feed line is the only thing you changed and the car has a lot of miles its likely the oil filter/cooler housing gaskets. BUT it could be the vacuum pump o ring. Could be oil pan, driver side crank seal etc.
Does engine oil leak stopper work on rubber gaskets? I dont know.
I just removed my turbo and other stuff to get the engine out. For some reason I replaced those gaskets last time I had a leak and it worked for about 5 minutes. Recently when I took everything apart begrudging the cheap gaskets for not working I discoverd that the oil return line from the turbo was the culprit. It was cracked. The damn things are expensive and it was new when I replaced it. It dripped for over 2 years. The gasket in the oil housing was fine. I will ship it off to a machine shop when I get it off the car to make sure its surfaces are flat and parallel.
I wouldn't put stop leak in your engine. You have a turbo with a tiny oil line. dig into the problem and find the real cause.
I just got done doing this and I pretty much want to tear my hair out. I learned a lot but it was very time conauming. One thing that I did have a problem with is the bolts for the housing we’re a little too short with the new gaskets. 3 of them stripped out the first 1/8 inch of threads. I ended up getting 4 25 mm long bolts and they threaded in very easy. I thought I was going to have to tap the holes and use bigger bolts but being persistent saved me a huge headache. Thanks for the informative write up....
I just got done doing this and I pretty much want to tear my hair out. I learned a lot but it was very time conauming. One thing that I did have a problem with is the bolts for the housing we’re a little too short with the new gaskets. 3 of them stripped out the first 1/8 inch of threads. I ended up getting 4 25 mm long bolts and they threaded in very easy. I thought I was going to have to tap the holes and use bigger bolts but being persistent saved me a huge headache. Thanks for the informative write up....
It's definitely a pain in the a$$ job. Did you use OEM gaskets? I felt like the OEM gaskets weren't thick enough.
I did this crap job twice in a row and honestly I think my new gaskets are still leaking every so slightly as I need to add a little coolant every 500 miles or so.
Yep, its a big job. When I did it all my knuckles were all beat up. Those gaskets just protrude enough from when i did it just to compress a little and flair out.
In this video, why isnt he using the "Service Mode" option to do the job? He would of saved all the coolant fluid if he did use the Service Mode option... wouldn't he?
Did mine this weekend, thanks for pics everyone. I replaced oil feed and return lines as well as the oil filter housing gaskets. Used various youtube videos too.
The return line is fully square to the turbo see pic - initially I had a gap and I didn’t know whether it was meant to be flush or not and couldn’t find any pics (I had already removed the original and hadn’t noticed). It is flush when seated correctly.
Oil line route New gaskets Make sure top of turbo oil return line is fully home. Mine took a bit of work to get fully seated.
