Uhhh yeah, my drain plug was wayyyyy over torqued. I ended up stripping the damn nut. I had to go out and pay $40 for a full set of irwin bolt extractors. Those are some seriously high quality parts, super hard steel, and worked like a charm.

 

After only reading the first page with everyone asking about the specific filter design I may have an answer. From looking at the design and the way it works did it dawn on anyone that this filter design makes it easier to see what kind of crap your filter is catching? Wrap that thing up in a Ziploc(tm) and take it with you for an oil analysis. There has to be some purpose either than "keeping the customer coming back" and tracking how often they change their oil, BMW trying to play big brother?

 

I just completed my first oil change..BIG thanks to you!!

 

Hello,

New to the forum. My wife owns an 05 Mini Cabrio (R52 I beleive). Now that we are over the 50K mark I am doing the regular maintenence items...oil, lube, brakes, etc.

When I went to change the oil, using a recommended 36mm socket, the hex part of of the oil canister/cap/housing broke. The dealership must have had a gorilla reef it to 100+ lbs rather then the recommended 18lbs. Now I will have to use a starp/chain wrench to get it off.

Does anyone have one for sale or could recommend where I can buy one at a reasonable rate?

From what I have read there may be a conversion kit so that standard filters can be used, is this true and if so is it a reasonable upgrade and where can you get the kit? Or is it not recommended?

Thanks in advance.

 

I hate it when son of kong works on MINI's. I'd recommend calling Classic MINI in Ohio. They give a nice NAM discount too.

Phone:800.388.1098 or 440.266.6700Fax:440.266.6701Email:mkost@classicautocampus.com
Address:Classic MINI
6920 Center Street
Mentor, Ohio 44060

 

on contacting Classic Mini. I'd also contact the dealer who last changed your oil filter and demand a new canister.

 

+ 1

 

Reached underneath the bumper to get started, found drainplug, pulled, pulled, pulled a little more, tried another angle, pulled again, no luck. Called big burly fiance out to the driveway who gave it a shot, still nothing. Ended up taking MINI to the shop where I had just bought new tires and had them raise the car and get the drainplug started. They were nice enough to break the seal and screw it back in like normal people would. Got back home, drained oil from engine, didn't spill a drop

Now for the filter... put socket/ratchet onto filter housing, started pushing. Pushed harder, put my legs into it, SNAP! Uh oh - what was that? Fully expecting to see the filter housing in shambles, I look down and discover:



Well let me just say I was a little impressed with myself

After realizing that nothing on the MINI was damaged, I took the scooter out to Lowe's and bought a breaker bar. Came home, finished the job with no more problems.

THANK YOU for this how-to! I never new how *easy* (well maybe next time it will go a little smoother) an oil change could really be! Oh, and I can't forget to mention the deal that Autozone gave me - 5 quarts of Mobil 1 plus oil filter for $25. Awesome.

 

Yes sometimes son of Kong at the dealer gets things a little too tight. If the drain plug was over tightened it's a slam dunk that the filter housing will be too.

As far as you ratchet goes. Buy a decent one. As you found out your Chinese tools are made of pot metal. I've had very good luck with Sears Craftsman tools.

 

Speaking of tools, I changed my oil for the first time a few weeks ago and obviously needed a torque wrench. The instructions seemed geared to cover several of the manufacturer's wrenches and I hope I used it correctly. It seemed all I needed to do was screw or unscrew the handle until it underlined a base number, lined up with the "0" running up the handle, then using the 1-4 on the ring, dial it in and locked. Does this sound correct? When I dialed in and torqued down the oil filter, it seemed to be correct as it felt a bit tighter than hand tight once it "clicked"..make sense?

 

Just wondering if using an autoxray reader can clear the codes and oil light etc. Is there a particular reason to use the specialized Mini/BMW code reader? Has anyone tried using any other brand/type of reader? Have they had any success or encountered any issues?

 

I did it! After 4949 miles and much fretting and procrastinating, I changed my oil. I wish I'd done it much sooner. I did take a sample for analysis, so we'll see how that turns out.

The taking off and draining was easy. The filter housing seemed to go on without too much difficulty, but i didn't get a very secure sense that I had done it right. As I used the 36mm socket (after hand-tightening) I felt the gap between the housing and the engine close so I guess its on right.

A test drive (slow and freeway) didn't yield any disasters. I'll check it again tomorrow for leaks and tightness.

One last thing, I don't have a torque wrench. I've done plenty of oil changes with hand tight and the 3/4 turn or after the gasket contacts. No disasters. I think I will by one soon, either from Sears or Tire Rack.

Thanks for all the great suggestions, shared experiences, and pictures!

 

I wouldn't wait for your next oil change. I'd buy a torque wrench now, loosen both the drain plug and filter just a tad (half a turn won't cause any loss of oil) and then torque both to 18 ft.lbs. Will make life a lot easier when you have to do your next oil change.

 

Can anyone tell me where all of Randy's pictures in the first post went? I have this bookmarked so I can use it as a reference when doing the oil change. Accck!

 

You might try sending him a pm & asking for them. I believe all of his how to pictures went missing.

Here's another one for you. I hope they help.


https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=58600

http://www.promini.com/technical/tec...oil_filter.php

 

Thanks Crashton! I appreciate the help! Out there now making it happen. Just came in to check as couple of things.

 

PM me an e-mail that will accept a half meg attachment and I'll send it as a word document.... I saved it.

 

PM sent. Thanks guys! I appreciate it. Got the filter on and everything looks good. This is why I like NAM.

 

FYI:
Pass on the 13 mm socket and Use a 1/2 socket instead !

The 1/2 inch socket fits tighter around the plug than the 13 mm, and you have less of a chance of rounding off the plug if Magilla Gorilla did your last oil change

 

I got bashed and smashed when I pointed out that the plug was actually a wee bit smaller than 13mm.....

 

Using a 6 point box wrench or socket really reduces the possibility of rounding off the hex head of the bolt. I've used a 13mm with great success.

 

Thanks for the tip. I'll try the 1/2" next time.

 

Can someone send this to me so that I see the pictures?

Jack

 

First attempt at my own oil change ..... Royal Purple on the floor ..... The brand new O-ring split. I put the old O-ring back on and screwed the filter back in. Tomorrow morning I pick up more Royal Purple and PRAY that the old gasket is OK. Yes .... I lubed the new one up with WD-40. Plenty of oil on the old one going back in. What a suck butt design!!!!

 

As you already know WD40 is not the right lube for the job. I use a bit of silicone grease on the O-ring, oil works well too. Make sure that the old O-ring is not brittle. They become that way with age.