I have had my Mini for 4 months and it is time for my first oil change. I have a 2003 5 speed. The dealer said it will be $200. That is insane. Is there somthing I need to know that I should do if I do it myself? Any advise would be much appreciated. Thanks

 

There are tons of posts about DIY oil changes here..just do a search. I buy my filters from minimania.com

 

Of course, if it's the 2033 Mini, the dealer may be charging for time travel...

Seriously, though, the Mini oil change is the easiest one I've done. You do need a 36mm socket to get the filter canister/housing off, and you need 5 minutes of patience after you've loosened the housing (not removed it) to let the oil drain, but it's basically a 2 paper towel job. You'll want to contact Mr. Dimple and get a magnetic oil plug - the OE one is 13mm, has a rubber gasket, and has a tendency to stick. The magnetic one doesn't strip (toe OE heads strip easily), and has a magnet to catch the ferrous bits floating in the oil. The filters are under $10 at the dealer, slightly less at NAPA but get the good ones and lube the o-ring on the canister housing before installation. Try to be sure the o-ring is seated properly. Check the search function, there are some great threads on this.

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Do NOT go to a dealer for an oil change.

 

Wow... does that include a courtesy wax job?

If you learn to do it yourself (DIY), shouldn't cost you more than $35. I pay $26 for the oil and $7 for a NAPA/Wix filter. $200/$33 = 6 oil changes.

 

I'd plan on it costing you more like $50 as the filter at the dealer is about $10 or so and full-synthetic oil like MINI recommends is about $7 per quart and you need almost five of them.

The hardest part of the job is getting the oil filter back on but it gets easier each time you do it. BTW, it's not "hard" to do, it just takes time to get it into position.

Check into a Fumoto valve as this will make each future oil change easier.

http://www.fumotousa.com/

 

I won't get into any discussion on where to get the filter or what oil to use. But I do want to say that the canister many times is not easy to get back on. Work with it and try it dry without the filter so you can see the angle it goes in. the fist time I did mine I thought something was broken.

Simply said it is not easy to get the canister back and I have now done 18 oil changes on Artoo as I change the oil every 5000 miles and Artoo just passed 90,000. Take you time and you'll eventually get it but doing it yourself is the only way to go. At the same time do a visual inspection and make sure all your fluids are toped off. I also check the torque on the plugs.

Doing it yourself is much more satisfying than a $200 dealer change. And eventually you'll get it down to a half hour or less including cleaning up.

Rich

 

So where do I find a 13mm magnetic oil drain plug?

 

As I just got my car a few months ago, reading about removing/reinstalling the oil filter canister sorta prep me mentally on how to approach it. And since my other cars all have filters at a slanted angle with little space for elbow room, the Mini actually turned out to be the easiest and cleanest oil change of my cars.

First, you need a shallow socket. Mine is a Lisle 14500 from Amazon for $7...


Second, you need a flex 3/8" ratchet for easy maneuvering...


To be safe, you should have a torque wrench as well but it's workable without one. Torque specs: 18.5 lb-ft (filter canister), 23 lb-ft (drain plug).

I do my oil change the lazy way...

The preliminary step is to loosen the oil filter canister just enough to let air through. (Don't unscrew it completely.) This shouldn't take you more than 2-3 minutes. (Leave the hood open as a reminder to not drive the car). Let it sit overnight and by the next day, all the oil in the filter will have drained into the oil pan and you can remove the filter it w/o spilling a drop of oil. Hence, this is the cleanest oil filter change of all my cars.

Remove the old filter element and rubber O-ring from the canister and install new ones. Remember that the filter element can go into the canister only one way as the hole sizes are different. Push it in all the way. Lube the new O-ring with oil and install it onto the canister. Clean the housing and smear it with oil. Having both the O-ring and housing smeared with oil will make it a breeze to screw the canister in by hand and also to keep the O-ring from tearing. You should be able to turn it a few revolution and it gets tighter. If you cross-thread, it won't turn more than 2-3 revolutions. Before tighten it down with a wrench, check visually to see if it's seated correctly.

Next to draining the oil...

It's possible to unscrew the drain plug w/o raising the car. (My Mini is not lowered.) As suggested above, you can also replaced the drain plug with a Fumoto valve which has toggle that can be twisted by hand to open the valve. It will make future drain much faster.

Refill with new oil to the correct level. Run engine for 5 minutes and turn it OFF. Check for leak at the oil filter canister and oil pan drain plug. Check oil level again.

If this is your first time, I would check for leaks regularly after you drive for a couple of days to make sure all is well.

Here is the link to the more traditional method...

 

Thanks, I will give it a shot.

 

only issue i have ever run into is putting back on the filter canister - you just need to tighten snug with your hand.. if you give it a bit more with a rachet you might have a tough time getting it off depending if the parts are hot/warm - it will tighten up with the heat.

phil.

 

true... that's why I loosen the canister with the engine cold.

 

Many threads with detailed instructions but the key to putting the filter and cap back on is:

Prefit the filter into the bottom of the canister (the part connected to the engine). Push it down to enlarge the hole in the bottom of the filter. Push, push, push, then it will just slide down. Pull the filter back out and now fit the top of the filter into the cap.

At some point fit a new O-ring into the slot of the cap.

Apply wheel bearing grease onto the rubber O-ring. Slime it up well.

With finger, apply liberal wheel bearing grease to the upper inch of the inside of the canister, all the way around.

Now just insert the cap with filter, it will drop down because you pre-stretched the filter's bottom opening and the threads of the cap fit nicely into the threads of the canister.

Tighten by hand until it bottoms out, then add a tiny bit of tightening with the socket and ratchet. Remember, it is the 0-ring that makes the seal, not how tight it is. Tighten it just enough so it does not loosen up.

You are done, super easy this way.

YD

 

I'm a little leery of the wheel bearing grease, prefer to use motor oil, but either way you'll want to lube the o-ring. Good idea to prefit the filter, makes threading easier. Still, it's the easiest and cleanest oil change of any of the cars I have

- Toyota Camry V6: Which moron engineer put the oil filter THERE, above the exhaust?
- Honda Odyssey: Can you say "oil in my armpit"? And how's that small filter helping that big V6?
- VW A3 Cabrio: Motto: "Same silly oil filter location since 1975"