Hi. Yes I did. That helped as it’s the first time I did this type of job that needed heat shields removed. So that made it fairly straightforward (but altogether very long job. I did it over 2 days). However, when I was finished and roadtesting I saw wisps of smoke. At first I was ok cos I thought it was just burning off fluids from where oil filter housing was removed etc. But it seemed to continue and I was paranoid one of the seals or oil feed line was weeping even though I had been so careful.

so I wasted a whole day taking off the heat shields and down pipe again to be able to examine all my work - there was no leaks or problems! I was too hasty. So on this second time I didn’t put it in service mode and was able to remove the heat shields and down pipe. So all in all, in a way it’s not worth it. But on the other hand the first time you do it the extra space really helps. Also there is 1 10mm bolt on the bottom of the turbo that attaches the diagonal support bar (that attaches to the middle of the block). By having it in service mode I was able to hit a spanner on that with a deadblow hammer to loosen it. It is impossibly tight because of the turbo heat, so it would be a struggle to undo that one without being in service mode, as there’s not enough space to hit it if not in service mode. See pic.

now I’ve done some long high speed trips and I definitely have no leaks, so if anyone else has the same (wisps of smoke afterwards) do a long trip before you decide to strip it back down!

 

Man I've done that job twice. What a pain in the ***.

Probably good idea to spray everything down with carb cleaner after its all together to minimize smoking. Mine was smoking like crazy afterwards.

How many miles on that motor?

 

I did this job a few days ago on my Justa N12 non-turbo MINI. I didn't put it into service position because the bolts holding the subframe to the lower radiator support frame were incredibly rusty and I don't have a lift (13 years driving on salted roads). There is a video on YouTube of a guy in England doing the job on his MINI One which was very helpful to me. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMXxEgv6uQA&t=11s) The layout was exactly the same as on my N12. As he says, doing it this way is very tedious because you don't have much access. Small hands helped. You have to pry the heat shield away from the block about one inch to give yourself room to get to the 2 bolts on the left side of the oil filter housing and then bend it back when you're done. Once you break the bolts free and give them a couple turns, you can use your fingers to remove them, so not a lot of wrenching in a tight place. Same going back in. It helps to have some wobble extensions for your socket wrench, too. I also completely removed the top radiator support to give me a few inches more room to work. I was worried about getting the upper O2 sensor out but it came loose on the first tug on my breaker bar on a cold engine (it had never been removed before). As others above mentioned, I got wisps of smoke when I first started the car and panicked a little. I had tried to clean the engine block as best as I could with brake cleaner but there was still a residue of fresh oil spilled that had to burn off, so don't be alarmed. The one advantage of doing it this way is that you don't have to remove the exhaust downpipe and replace the exhaust gasket, just work around it. Three of the four bolts could be torqued properly, but the upper left one wasn't accessible so I just gave it a similar effort with my ratcheting wrench as the others (10 Nm).

 

Ive done this job twice on a 2008 N14 motor. Sux bad. Having to drain coolant adds extra pain.

 

Hi all,
Not really new here but had to change my handle, mostly just troll unless I have something amazing to say.... :-) Well today I have a good one! I am in the middle of changing the oil cooler gaskets. I have done this once before on my other mini. The problem I am running into is so weird I feel odd asking it but here goes. All four bolts that bolt the assembly to the block go in fine by hand until they are about 2mm away from the casting if the casting was flush. Then they feel like they are going to break off if I tighten them any further! All four are doing the exact same thing. I know what you are thinking..... you have the wrong bolts, but sadly I put them in a specific spot so this would not happen and also they are the only 8mm headed bolts I have. The rest are for the exhaust shield and are 10mm heads. I don't know where to go from here other than to tap the holes out. Has anyone run into this before? I was thinking maybe something got in the holes so I shop vac'd them out but still no joy.

Thanks,
Jay
2007 Mini S Turbo Auto

 

Curious. Did you get OEM or quality gaskets? Maybe they aren't thick enough?

Don't tap the holes...you might perforate the block. (Sorry I see your point..you mean chasing the threads. ya...sounds reasonable)

Measure the depth...and then maybe try and pick out whatever crud is in the bottom of the hole.

 

RealOEM shows those bolts as M6x30. So just to be sure, check the length of the bolts are 30mm.

 

Thanks, I will measure them now but that appears to be the size, they are all the same size with a pointed end. I think at this point chasing the holes is my only option.

 

The gasket is a Mehle which seemed to fit pretty well and stuck out about 1/2mm. the part fits up against the block if I hold it there.

 

Cool ok so maybe there is some Loctite in the last few threads... Definitely chase the threads and make sure they are clean then try again and let us know.

 

Jay so they didn't screw down all the way WITH or WITHOUT the cooler in place?

 

Thanks for the fast response! I just went and got the right tap. Will let you know.

 

They go in the same depth, either way. If I hold the cooler flush with my hand they are about 2mm out. But what is weird is they are all the same. I did verify they are 30mm long.

 

...but with the cooler in place, which doesnt allow the bolt to go a the way down into the hole, you should not be bottoming out.

 

Lockwashers

 

If need be lock washers yes but you need to make sure youre getting enough bolt into the hole to hold it in place. Definitely use Loctite blue.

 

Easy solution: Go to ACE hardware or anywhere that sells metric taps. Be careful on the first couple of rotations of the tap. Chase the threads all the way to the end. Clean the tap threads after removing from each hole - a toothbrush works. Preferably your wife’s... While you are at ACE maybe invest in stainless bolts the same size and a few mm shorter. I’ll bet you have hardened thread locker in the threads.

Let me know what you find.

Dan Raabe

 

He is chasing the threads as we speak Dan.

 

Soooo, I chased the holes and ran the bolts through the die. There was definitely some debris on those threads possibly lock tight. I cleaned the holes out with WD40 and compressed air, not much came out even after chasing. Ran the bolts back in and they went in further but still were tough to go the last few turns. I said F-it with one of them just to see if I could get it all the way and it went flush and stopped so I then did the rest the same way and they went. Only thing I can think is possibly someone was in there previously and put too much lock tight on the threads and it gathered up at the end of the bolt hole. Funny thing is the bolts were not hard to get out and were even easy to take out by hand once loosened. I have been working on cars and engines for 20 years and never seen this.

 

Someone must have used a lot of Loctite before you

Do you mean flush with the cooler in place or without the cooler?

 

Update, all back together and no leaks so far. That was weird. Pulling the motor out of the other one soon to rebuild the trans and do a bunch of other work, will check those bolts as well. Thanks all for the help!

 

Sometimes we just need a little moral support to keep on keeping on.

 

Hi, old thread but maybe someone would still know: I'm about to replace the oil filter housing gaskets on my 2013 MCS as it's leaking a bit of coolant. Is the recommendation to replace just the turbo oil lines (items 1 and 2 below), or also the coolant lines?
I found these for oil:
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-rein-par...657534454~ren/
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-rein-par...658617069~ren/
And only this one for coolant:
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-rein-par...537565433~ren/

For the record, my local dealership (which quoted me $1638.59 for the job) didn't suggest replacing any turbo lines, just the o-ring on the oil return line.

 

Its totally feasible but put the car in Service Mode or you will hate your life.

Its messy and you will need to drain coolant.

This is from realoem for my 2008 Cooper S, but should be similar.

Part 12 and 6 are the 2 oil lines plus associated washers, o-rings.

 

You don't need to change the coolant lines but this line https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/min...ni-11539845352 to the auxiliary cooling pump could be drying out afer 12 years and access is tough so while you have everything exposed, change it.

Change the auxiliary turbo cooling pump too while you have access if you plan to keep the car. It's a plastic pump exposed to crazy heat 11537630368 and there was recall on the original for my 2008. Not sure about 2010.

There are 2 vendors that sell a "better" high pressure line to the turbo, less prone to leaking at the joints. Instead of OEM https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/min...in-11657534454 use this or equivalent.

https://www.sneed4speed.com/detroit-...rbo-2007-2013/