Hey everyone, I have an 09 mini non turbo..... I just recently discovered an oil leak from the right (passenger side) somewhere behind the top of the block, I have ruled out a head gasket being the problem as the oil isn't milky in color. Looking at the car while its on the lift I can see maybe the leak is coming from the sending unit... but I'm not totally sure unless I do a dye test which I don't have the tools for. lol In the past couple of months I just broke 50k miles on the car. I was curious about others experiences with this sort of thing. I love my mini and I keep it well maintained with regular oil changes and such. I'm trying to avoid getting the dealers service department involved, knowing that the charges will get a little ridiculous. Has anyone had similar problems with their mini? Thanks for the help, Motor On :D

 

Assuming a mechanic was at your side viewing the car on the lift, what did he have to say? Did he mention the chain tensioner?

 

Hey thanks for the quick reply. I have worked in automotive for several years and was able to ask one of my customers to put the mini up on the lift so I can see where the leak was coming from as a favor. lols. only by having the car up a few feet in the air was I able to look it over with a couple of the shop guys they were baffled with the amount f oil that was literally covering half of the underneath the car. only by spraying the living hell out of the car with brakeclean were we able to see what was going on. looking from underneath we can see that its coming from somewhere behind the block. looking up at it were thinking oil switch, oil seal or oil sending unit not really sure of the leaks exact location because everything is so tightly packed under there its hard to see with out the dye kit and whatnot. lol. Just for the heck of it I called the dealers service department and the tech was trying to tell me it was the drain plug gasket or the filter housing. I think he was just saying whatever to me because im a chick and guys get put off by talking to a chic that loves and knows her car. lol I have ruled out both of those options out because the leak is coming from the passenger side not the driver side which is where the drain plug and oil filter housing is. Any ideas?

 

Just for the heck of it I called the dealers service department and the tech was trying to tell me it was the drain plug gasket or the filter housing. I think he was just saying whatever to me because im a chick and guys get put off by talking to a chic that loves and knows her car. lol I have ruled out both of those options out because the leak is coming from the passenger side not the driver side which is where the drain plug and oil filter housing is. Any ideas?[/QUOTE]

Hi Sarah,

I have seen first hand how some mechanics and parts people can be to women. My wife is very mechanically savy and gets the same crap.

I believe the oil drain plug is on the passenger side but not the problem. The valve cover gaskets have been known to leak and could leak oil in the places you mention. I hope this is your problem since it would be relatively easy to fix. The crank shaft seal on the passenger side is another possiblity. Unfortunenately that seal would take a lot of work or expense to replace. I think the oil pressure sensor is located near the oil filter housing on the drivers side so I doubt it is the problem. Good luck and let us know what you find.

Byron

2011 MC, PW/B

 

Thanks for the quick response. I will no doubt look into that. A fellow employee was saying those parts as well so I'm hoping its something simple. this mini is my baby barely broken in at 51,000 miles on it. This is my first new car finally over all the used cars and pieces of crap. lols. Thanks for all the help :D Motor On.

 

So if anyone has read the previous comments I have figured out the problem. I decided to break down and call make an appointment with the people in the service department at mini. Turns out that the oil leak was coming from the timing chain tensioner. Luckily because I'm not a total moron. lmao. I continuously was adding oil to compensate for the leak I was told that me doing this saved a lot of other parts to have to be replaced in the long run. I wanted to come on here and post my findings in case anyone else was having similar problems with their minis. Thanks to everyone who responded to try and help me figure this out. I feel much better now that I know what the issue was and it's being fixed. yesssss

 

Glad to hear you found the problem, and it's a relatively inexpensive fix.