Recently purchased a 2002 MCS W/ 42 K miles on it.
In the past 2 months I have had to replace the following engine seals due to oil leaks- valve cover, oil pan and now the timing cover gasket. Is this normal or is this a sign of something more sinister?

Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

Something's amiss somewhere. There's no normal reason any car, much less a Cooper, should need those seals replaced. Especially with 42k miles on it.

 

Welcome to NAM

and congrats on finding an '02 with so low miles.
That in itself may be part of your issue.
That is a 6 year old car with low miles so it may have sat for a while ...
That will dry out the gaskets and seals a bit.
Are you doing the work ? Were they all done at once ?
I ask because oil leaks can be fun to track so it may have pointed to suspect on gasket or seal but may have been left over oil leakage from somewhere else.

With those miles and your gasket changes needed , may I make a sugestion and point out that a brake fluid flush may be in order.

You shoud be good to go

Happy motoring

 

Thanks for the responses.

It did sit at a dealer from Sept 2007 until I purchased it in Feb 2008.
I have the local MINI dealer taking care of the work. Initially the valve cover and oil pan gaskets were replaced in March but it kept leaking, a few drops every couple of days. It went in last week and the timing cover and one more seal( I cannot recall which one) were replaced.

Brakes and brake fluids were all changed out as well.

I am sort of on the fence with this, whether this could be normal or not. Sort of that "Did I buy someone elses problem?" syndrome. Makes me nervous.

 

Seals will dry out and leak if they've sat without being run for months. Sounds like you've replaced them so drive more and worry less - with regular use things will sort out and settle down to a "normal" operation.

 

My oil pan and valve cover gasket are leaking. I'm waiting untill after finals to replace them.

My car had sat 3 months last fall with no use while I was out of the country. My timing cover gasket is not leaking though.

 

If it is just the seals drying out should I be worried about the main seal leaking? Or is the odds of it drying out and leaking minimal?

 

Mine sat from November through March... no signs of leaks. Just another datapoint.

 

In the old days of automobile troubleshooting, this would be a sign of the breather, or later the EGR valve being stuck. This causes the crankcase to over pressurize, and the seals to fail.

That is probably too basic for a computerized work package tech.

Good luck,
Jim

 

The main seal is pretty dureable so if its not leaking by now its likely fine.

Drive more and worry less - life is short so enjoy it while you can!

 

Just picked the MINI up. It was the timing cover gasket and the crank seal that were replaced.
Are these all seals on the top end of the engine? That would make sense that they dried out by not being driven for 6 months.