I have an 07 S with approximately 74000 miles on it. I had an "oil pan gasket leak" that Mini of Baltimore fixed. I put 1200 miles on the car since then and went to look under the car today, only to find the underside and the front of the oil pan to be covered in oil.

My concern is that it's not just the oil pan gasket that is leaking. I checked the lines for the turbo and they seem to be fine. Is there anything else on the front of the block that could be leaking? You would think that Mini would have been competent enough to do something as simple as an oil pan gasket.

Any suggestions of what to look for? I'm used to working on Hondas, but I'm normally pretty good at finding where leaks come from. The underside and front of this engine just seem to be really cluttered.

I can post pics later when I get home. Any help would be appreciated!

 

There are many people replacing the turbo oil lines due to leaking. There is a thread in the 2nd Gen Stock Problems/Issues regarding oil leaks that has some good info you should check out.

 

I checked those and it doesn't seem to be coming from them. Just thought I might be overlooking something simple.

Maybe I just can't see exactly where they connect. The dealership confirmed the oil pan was leaking before it went in for sevice originally, which is why I don't understand if that was the only thing leaking, that it still leaks.

Thanks for the input!

 

I recently had the crankshaft seal replaced on my 2010 due to a leak.

 

The Bentley manual warns not to try and pry off the oil pan but to tap it gently with a rubber mallet if you have difficulty removing it. Before I started chasing other leaks, I'd try to determine whether or not the oil pan is still leaking by degreasing just the bottom of the engine (think Gunk) and then checking it again after a few days. Maybe the dealer did a poor job and damaged your pan in the process. After only 1200 miles, I would expect them to stand behind their work. Good luck.

 

The crank seal is on the end of the block though, this is coming straight from the front of the block, above the lip where the oil pan connects to the block.

I can't get the pics off my phone, but the leak is on the front, and front/left side of the oil pan looking at it. The oil isn't coming from the crank seal though. Looks like the oil has made its way back behind the oil pan and all under the body of the car.


Fro some reason the images wouldn't attach, so here's links to them.
http://tinypic.com/r/9llaq0/6

http://tinypic.com/r/1z39v1v/6

 

Yeah I would expect the "2nd Biggest Mini Dealership in the US" to be top notch with their work.

Unfortunately, my warranty runs out in about 400 miles.... I need them to figure it out before it leaves this time. They said that the only thing that they saw leaking. Time is against me on this.... I love my Mini, but this is a pain.

 

All that means is they have a good sales staff and are located in an area near people with plenty of money to spend.

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Hahaha. Yeah. I guess you would expect them to have a service department to back it. Taking it in tomorrow morning with fingers crossed.

 

On a gen1 the crank position sensor would be a likely candidate; they frequently leak. Changing the o-ring is relatively simple.

 

That's what I heard. I have a 2nd gen. Not sure where the CPS is on this motor. Haven't had the chance to pick up the Bentley manual yet. I'd do the work my self, but this was fixed under warranty less than 2 weeks ago. The dealership should stand by their labor and service and replace it.

 

I am not able to see where the turbo feed line connects to the engine block due to the heat shields, but the leak there would come out along the front edge of the oil pan. When I replaced my feed line, I also replaced the oil return line. It is in the same general area and I think that was at least part of my original leak. That would eventually drip out in the same area. Another possibility would be the heat exchanger if any of the gaskets have gone bad on it (or the unit itself).

If you can isolate whether any oil is actually running down the front of the engine block, that would help narrow things down.

 

Cool I'll check that out tomorrow when I drop it off. I'm going to see of they can put it on the lift and allow me to look at it with them.

The car has been sitting since Friday night around 6:00pm and the oil spot on the ground has gotten bigger. Gonna check my oil level in the morning before making the trek to the shop.

Thanks for the input!!!

 

Please do follow up and let us know how it goes!

And despite my cynical comment about sales, most people are honest and the guys wrenching on your car are almost always doing the best work they can. You don't go into fixing cars because you are trying to get rich (unless you own the dealership).

That said, dealership wrenches are paid for their labor based on "book rate" -- if MINI's repair manuals say a task takes 1.5 hours, but they lose an hour to rusted fasteners and bad luck, they get paid for 1.5 hours even if they spend 2.5. And if they take shortcuts and spend an hour, they got paid 1.5 hours.

Result? A really experienced tech can "bill for" 50-80 hours in a 40-hour week. Which creates an interesting incentive plan. I think only the fact that most people are honest keeps the work good quality.

(Source on all this: a friend who worked in an Audi/VW dealership service department for years.)

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when I've paid for MINI service it always came with a 2 year warranty . . . MINI policy.

 

Bratling..... I'll definitely let everyone know.


I know all about shop rates and actual time on cars. One of my best friends is a lead tech at a performance shop. I've seen that stuff first hand. Most of them are honest. I'll give them a second chance, no questions asked....

 

So it's back at Mini. They're extrememly short-handed on techs. Some cars have been there for 30 days +

They're going to diagnose the problem to see if the pan is warped or damaged. They also said the way the oil was on the pan, the crank seal on that side might be leaking. Hopefully the extended warranty I have will cover it all.

I find it hard to believe that they didn't check to make sure the pan's surface was true and square. That would be something that I would automatically look for.

Earlies they will get to look at it will be Friday of this week. So I probably won't be getting it back until next week some time. Ughhhhh. I just want my Mini back!!!!!

 

I am glad you took it back in before time ran out.

I tried all kinds of cleaners but in the end I jacked the car up
and crawled under it with a can of carb cleaner and paper towels.

You have to be really careful with the hose on these cars.
Way back a guy sprayed his off and it shorted out the something
computer. $2500.

 

We have been going to MINI of Baltimore, previously known as MINI of Towson, for 7 years. I have known many other MINI owners thru the clubs, DC Metro MINIs and Central Maryland MINI Motorists who take their cars there too. Vast majority of us have been completely satisfied with their service.

I'm confident they'll do right by you.

 

I surely hope so. My Service Advisor is seems to be a truely legit guy. He was disappointed that they didn't fix it the first time....

The only problem I have right now, is the amount of time the car has to sit there. Apparently the owner is making the mechanics seem to disappear. Not sure what that says about the dealership, but the 2 or 3 people that I have worked with are as nice as can be.

My extended warranty is through Chrysler, and they seem to only want to fix the oil pan, even though the crank seal might fail soon. I'm going to try and see if my advisor can some how say that that is leaking as well and have them cover it as well.

 

Who is your SA.... Allen? Yoni?

Odd... I just had $1600 in repairs to one of our MINIs done there this week.... oil pan gasket, transmission seal, control arm bushings, and engine mounts all replaced. Was all done in a day and a half. Had a nice loaner MINI too.

 

Jess is my SA. He's been pretty cool so far. I had a brand new Mini loaner the last time (2012 S with 8000 miles on it), but he said they had none left for me to use, so I ended up getting a loaner through another dealer.

I'm just hoping they can some how loop the crank seal into the whole warranty thing. He quoted me $580 for parts and labor. Waiting to commit on that, until I get my service manual. I'm pretty handy when it comes to cars.

He showed me the list of cars that were there before mine..... didn't look promising. I even asked if they would honor covering the work at the Rockville dealership, just to get it done faster. No dice...... Not to mention the fact that 2 weeks ago, I dropped the car off on a Tuesday morning and it wasn't done until Friday afternoon.

 

Alright, last update.


Got my Mini back today! The general manager from the dealer where I bought the car, called the Mini dealer and had them push it through.


Turns out it was the front crank seal and not the oil pan gasket. Something that Mini told me was "on its way out" the first time I brought it in, which I declined service on. It ended up being covered under Mini's 2 year parts and labor coverage..... My mini had been in for this same thing about 5 months ago. I wonder why they tried having me pay for this the first time, when it was what the problem was in the first place.


Good news is, its home, its fixed, and even when my warranty runs out it will be covered for another 2 years under Mini's service warranty.