Took my 2006 (6/06 build) Mini Cooper S to the dealer for a routine oil change, and they gave me a list of repairs I should get done soon. The car will be 8 years old in June 2014.

Here's what they found:

Oil Pan Gasket Starting to Leak: Repair cost: $640
(They are correct, as I see one tiny drop of oil on the garage floor every morning...so it's leaking, albeit very slowly).

Crank Sensor Seal Leaking: $194 with oil pan

Lower Control Arm Bushing Starting To Crack: $710

Power Steering Lines starting to Leak, and Steering Cooling Fan Not Working: $530

Will need front brake pads and rotors soon (wait for light on dash): $540


Oy vey! Are any of these items are imminent safety hazards? The dealer doesn't seem to think so. If the control arm bushings crack completely, could they come off while driving? What would happen if this occurred? Is there something I will notice in the steering should a bushing completely fail?

I can't believe the repair cost for the oil pan gasket replacement and crank sensor seal... $840 for both. Could a local garage/independent mechanic do this repair for cheaper? Is it a very difficult repair/difficult to access? I would think it would be on the more simple side, unless they have to remove tons of parts just to access the pan, but I doubt it.

(My water pump died due to a bad leak last summer and they had to remove the entire front end and supercharger just to access it! This cost me $1200, the bulk of the repair cost was labor charges.)

They said since it's coming up on winter here in Jersey, that the Power Steering Cooling Fan could wait until spring/summer 2014 to be replaced.

The car is 8 years old, so I suppose these items are normal wear and tear items... but for all of them to go bad at the same time... ugh...

 

If I were you, I would find an independent that is comfortable working on MINIs. Many oil leaks of the type you describe are attributable to the crank position sensor (CPS) o-ring only, and it is a much easier repair than the pan gasket. Replace the CPS o-ring, and monitor to see whether the pan gasket really needs repairing. The power steering pump fan should be replaced immediately; otherwise you risk damage to the power steering pump itself. Both of these items are the subject of a campaign to repair/replace at MINI's expense, but I'm not sure your model-year is covered; you should check. The fan can be bought for $50-60 and is extremely easy to install.

You don't say how many miles are on your car. Lower control arm bushings do fail at about 75K +/-, but they fail progressively, not suddenly, and there is no reason to panic. If you are going to keep the car, replace them with Powerflex.

 

I do all my own Mini work and although I am not justifying or confirming the prices, most things on the car are tough to access and take quite a bit of time to remove and replace.

As far as the list you mentioned, nothing is an imminent issue. The leaks sound small so I would just pay attention to the fluid levels and continue to check to make sure the leaks don't get much worse. The control arm bushings will not cause anything to fall out...ride might get a touch worse, steering might not be as precise but probably nothing you would even notice in daily driving since it has probably been progressive. BTW - the PS cooling fan is actually an easy replace so if that worries you, find a friend who has some mechanical skill and that one can be done in an hour.

In regards to pricing, talk to other Mini owners in your area to see if they have found a trustworthy shop that knows Mini's. You can always find someone to do it cheaper but I don't recommend going to a shop that doesn't know Mini's

Just my $.02

 

a fan to cool the PS pump ? WOW, that's strange. Never had a car with that. Some like an old Police car had a cooler , small radiator type and my truck with towing had the same but an electric fan on a small car, seems like over engineered or under engineered pump.

And $740 for an oil pan gasket ? Do they have to pull the engine ?

 

It is not uncommon for a dealer to find $5000 or so of "urgently needed" or "suggested" repairs on a gen1 car....USUSLLY about half of what a dealer wants for repair is a fair price...and often half of what they suggest can be put-off, and monitored or watched for it to worsen....
My suggestion....find a independent shop that works on mostly mini's....have then look at it...
Dealers tend to find "lots of stuff to fix"...they are used to dealing with NEW CARS UNDER WARRENTY.... where the driver never sees the bill...
Taking a car that is 10 ish years old to a dealer Just gives then an opportunity to for them to make you want to buy/lease a new car by showing you how "terrible" your current cars condition is....and make the pitch, directly or indriectly , that it is time to start thinking about a new car....furthing the NEW CAR DEALERS BUSINESSES MODEL......
The dealer figures...you WALKED INTO A NEW CAR DEALER....you are gonna be looking....and their repair costs are about 50% higher per hour....it seems logical (unless you do the math) that the dealer will take your broken down old hunk of junk as a deposit on a new car...then take the $$ you were going to spend on repairs.... And you will save a ton on a NEW CAR WITH A WARRENTY!!!...and a month bill, higher insurance costs, and an instant 30% loss of value as you drive off the lot....
Rant over...
Find a non dealer to look at you car...any of the items you listed could be urgent or minor...no way to know without us looking, feeling and wiggling stuff....

 

All gen1 cars have one to cool the electric PS pump...
If left dead, the $700 (parts cost only) ps pump can fail much faster....
Little details like this is WHY we say find a nondealer mini specialist....fixing a minor item can save big $$.

 

I just had a couple of those problems sorted yesterday at an independent shop. The control arm bushings (OEM) $110., labor 3hrs @ $84. and the pan gasket $30, labor 4hrs @ $84. Also had the P/S hoses replaced at the same time. Saved a lot of time having it all done at once.


Search this website for independent shops in your area. You'll be glad you did. http://soopercooperinfo.com/

 

+1 like zippy said.

The PS fan which is for the Gen 1 MINIs only looks like this, of course early MINIs did not have the grille or the inline resistor.

P/S Pump Cooling Fan W/ Grille


http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/32416857718/




Or you can just get the fan itself.

P/S Pump Cooling Fan


http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/32416781742/ES2627297/




And if you need any parts for any future projects, let me know. If you are able to do some of the minor work yourself, there are some great DIY resources on this forum and linked sites.

Thanks

 

Thank you all for your input and advice. Much appreciated!

I just found a step-by-step pictorial guide on how to replace the PS Fan, and it really is quite simple, and something I am comfortable with doing on my own. Heck, it seems to only require a socket wrench and a drill, pretty much. I found an OEM fan assembly for $118 online.

The other repairs I probably can't do myself, a little too involved for my comfort level.

Question: If the Power Steering Pump fails while driving, what will happen? Can the car still be driven safely? I'm assuming it's just very difficult to turn the wheel if the PS Pump dies while driving, but I'm also assuming it is possible to drive it... correct?

 

ECSTuning, I like the entire ps fan assembly you offer... much easier/quicker fix than drilling out the rivets to remove/replace the fan only. I'll likely be ordering that from you soon! Thanks!

 

You are welcome. But your fan (2006) mounted to the frame with the grille above should have screws holding it, like yours. I believe early MINIs w/o the grille came riveted in, which will have to be drilled.



Either way if you lost your grille or its old one is damaged, its a little easier with the whole unit. Unplug the main wire from the harness, two nuts at the main units bottom towards the rear of your MINI. Replace in reverse.

Thanks

 

+1
Fan swap is SIMPLER than an oil-change...less messy too!!
Heck...if you park you car on a high curb (start from a driveway cut) you can get under the car on your back and do the change in 10 minutes if you are a reasonable size....remember if you jack the car up...use jack-stands!!

 

Great advice all the way around in this thread. I really think if you want to own a MINI you should learn to do your own maintenance. It makes the ownership experience much better! I feel sorry for people that have to pay to have every little thing fixed on their cars.

 

After seeing the prices that shops charger for simple fixes like that...I'm sure glad I know how to work on my own car.

The one think that I could be concerned about first would be the power steering cooler. If it's not working, you could overheat some other stuff and cause more problems. The other stuff is pretty minor.

 

As soon as my MINI hit the dealer after the warranty out they found all kinds of stuff that needed to be done or el$e. I passed on their sugge$tions. The friendly SA said my oil pan was leaking terribly & needed to be changed now. No oil on my garage floor & I'm not losing oil hmmm. My PS needs to be flushed out??? Well I didn't have any of their cash flushing of my wallet done. This is common dealership procedure.

By all means change the fan out. If you don't it will become very costly for you. Car ramps make this job pretty easy.

My best guess on the oil drip is that it might actually be the a leaking PS hose. Crawl under & take a look. Is the PS reservoir full or is it low? Is your car using oil between changes?

The lower control are bushings all go bad on these cars. If you have more that 70,000 miles they are shot. Your MINI will not fall apart with bad bushings. Mine were changed out by a respected MINI vendor (Helix) at the dragon. They had 100,000 miles on them & they were dust. They were replaced with Powerflex poly bushings, the difference in the car was pretty big.

A brake job will be a lot less if you can do it yourself.

There is a very good shop in Philly who do great work on MINIs. Give Eric a call.

http://store.helix13.com/mini-cooper-performance-parts/

 

Lots of good thoughts here! I'd comment on one point you mentioned: of course these parts didn't fail "all at once", each has been deteriorating / wearing out at some rate. Your dealer's shop just was able to catalog them all during your oil change visit to tell you about them. I'll bet there's some profit motivation of course, but I'd wonder these days about liability claims driving some of this behavior. As in a customer saying: "OMG! The power steering hose failed on the highway, causing many moments of sheer terror. And I *just* had the car in the shop, and they didn't say a word about it! I'll sue!" or similar.

I also make use of the Repair Pal app, to give some idea of repair costs. It isn't a be-all, end-all, just another data point to look at.

All advice to find a great independent shop that you trust, and master doing some of this on your own are familiar themes and good ones.

 

There's a stage in life you obviously haven't reached yet at which that idea will become less attractive. Just something to think about and look forward to along with a little arthritis, dimmer vision and less muscle tone. Also, having a certified mechanic in charge mitigates things falling off and forum entries starting out with 'I just installed.....and now the....what should I do' followed by smart a$$ remarks like this for punch lines.

 

What is the size of the two hex nuts that hold the PS Fan assembly to the car?

 

If I remember right I believe they were 13mm nuts. They hold the main bracket ( photoed above ) to the PS pump bracket.

 

I just hit 50 and can relate to the dimmer vision, but that's what cheater glasses are for. The arthritis is starting to kick in, sure, but that's what Ibuprofen is for. Muscle tone...no problems yet. :P


But I understand where you're at. I will fight it until the end though.

 

I'm just about to hit 40 and I agree with you... about a few years ago I started having difficulties raising my arms above my head and my strength was failing.

Too much hard fun as a youth resulted in torn rotator cuffs and other fun things. Not to mention my back from a wreck on a racing lawnmower... you know, come to think about it... most of my body aches are from racing lawnmowers. Or crashing bmx bikes way too many times without a helmet.

At that point you sit down and say "Yeah, I could do that... but who am I trying to prove that to?" I've swapped out engines in my youth... do I want to do it now? Heck no. I've got the tools, the garage, the lift, etc... but I'll be danged if I'm going to do it again.

I don't heal as quickly as I used to.

 

I agree with you Mr Brick. I'm there too. Knowing about my car & looking it over often keeps me ahead of maintenance issues. I'm lucky to have a good honest local independent BMW/MINI who helps me out. The dealer is driven to make as much money as they can in service. It costs a lot to keep the lights on at a dealership. Most of their money is made from service not sales.

 

I had my car in for a leaking t-stat gasket and they found a few of the same issues. I usually do my own work, but this was emergent and I simply didn't have the time. I like to plan my garage days well in advance. They found the oil pan gasket, CPS seal and they wanted to replace the PCV as well. It is generally a very slow leak, so it isn't anything to worry about. My car has 53,000 miles and spent most of its life in the northeast (now in CO) so I'm dealing with the "advanced wear" of suspension components from the crap roads out there. It definitely needs CA bushings but they aren't terrible, it can wait until the weather warms up. Oil pan gasket and CA bushings are both pretty large jobs, so it's good to see what other maintenance or upgrades you can do "while you're in there." I plan on testing my PS fan this winter to ensure its health, maybe add an oil pan baffle while my oil pan is off (planning on AX next spring). As far as the CA bushings, the whole subframe comes off, so it's a good time to check P/S leaks and replace sway bushings and all of the ball joints. Even though things on this car are a little more tough to get to than your usual BMW, working on this car is MILES easier than working on any of the 6 Audis I've owned.

 

Did anyone catch the fact that the "Stealer" quoted $194 to fix the leaking CPS O-ring(in concert with replacing the oil pan gasket)? What a crock! The labor to put the car in service mode would've already been done. $194 to reach up and replace a lousy $2.00 O-ring! Run...Do not walk...away from them and never return!

 

That's why I like my local mini guy...
While he usually charges "book" for most stuff, for the crazier ones, he will discount it to make it more "fair"....
Most shops give the mechanics bonuses for hours billed vs actual hours worked... That's where the REAL $$$ is made....
Ever wonder why the dealer keeps your car for 5 hours for a 4 hr billed job, that a trained pro foes with a few tricks in 3....you will find the car parked in theback or on an unused lift for the extra hour they don't need....
Heck my local guy will still sometimes bill me for the full "book" on a single job...but will give the car back to me early so I can leave....he knows I understand, and time is also money to me also....the fact he charges less than $90 per hour when the dealer is $150+ ($170ish plus shop supplies) makes me happy to give him what he wants....he does a great job...fast...parts are often oem, delivered by mini, and discounted.....
The fact the op's dealer priced all the jobs out individually makes me think they want the op to "consider" getting a new car....ensuring their profitability.... Besides....I bet they might "kindly" offer a year end deal...so you are not stuck with a broken down car for the holidays....lol...a cynic I am....