So I'm kicking myself and praying no permanent damage has been done, but I'm hoping someone here can ease my concerns or at least tell me what's wrong. Here goes:

Bought my '09 MCS a little over a month ago. My wife took it out in the snow last week because ironically her Jeep Grand Cherokee (2WD) is much worse in the snow.

When she got back from work and spent a few minutes spinning the tires trying to get up our driveway, I noticed smoke was coming out from the front (through grill). It dissipated quickly so I couldn't open the hood in time to see where it was coming from, but the smell told me it definitely wasn't just steam from the snow. And under idle it sounded a little strange, like it was missing or small exhaust leak or something. No CEL or any warnings.

I immediately checked the oil (nothing on dipstick) and it took at least 2 quarts and was still pretty dirty. I kicked my own *** a few times for not checking it recently or changing it right after I bought the car.

I let it sit 'til the next day when I went out and changed the oil and filter (Mobil 1 0W-40). I've been driving it since and it seems to be running fine but occasionally I still smell something odd in the front and the idle still doesn't sound right when I open the hood, though it doesn't fluctuate if I look at the tach.

Any thoughts on what happened or anything else I should do? Could it be Turbo? Or just keep an eye on it and hope for the best? Thanks.

 

UPDATE: I did a search on here and google and it sounds like steam due to rain/snow on the exhaust manifold or coolant evaporating from the radiator and pouring through the grill is not uncommon. I'm hoping it was just this but like I said it had a pretty awful smell to it.

Anybody else ever have this steam/smoke from the grill problem?

 

If you don't mind, an unpaid political announcement:
To all who read the OP's editorial, take a lesson from him and check your oil on a weekly and refuel basis. MINIs are not zero maintenance utility grocery getters. They are high performance street legal go-carts. Coolant, PS and master cylinder reservoirs should also be checked regularly.


Hope all turns out well and there was no long lasting damage. Two quarts is pretty low but shouldn't be terminal.

 

steam, water burn-off does not have an awful smell. you probably have a leaking turbo oil feed pipe.

 

+1 to the leaking turbo feed line or the return line. Could also be the oil filter housing gaskets. All of those leak in an area that will eventually run down and drip onto the exhaust resulting in the smoke and burning oil smell.

 

If the "smoke" did not smell of oil - don't worry about, it's just turbo heating up and evaporating the moisture out of the engine compartment. BTDT every time I had uphill snow traction adventures this winter.

If the "smoke" smells of burned rubber - well, that's self explanatory. BTDT every time I had uphill snow traction adventures this winter.

If the "smoke" smells of oil, you are likely:
a). at around 50K miles
b). have the turbo oil line leak that effects all R56 Prince engines
c). tell-tale signs of that is oil wetness around upper oil line, similar to this one: http://www.google.com/imgres?sa=X&es...tart=0&ndsp=43

Your choice is to either replace the line with another 50K mile-worthy OEM line, or fix it for good with this: http://www.detroittuned.com/detroit-...-oil-line-kit/

Either way, plan on 4-8 hours of labor to DIY it, depending on your enthusiasm and skill level.

HTH,
a

 

I agree on checking and replacing all fluids after a used car purchase, but there is nothing special about MINI engines that would imply excessive oil consumption.

MINI and BMW have long advertised "max acceptable" oil consumption rate of 1 liter per 1000 miles. That's pretty high, though none of my bimmers or MINIs have come anywhere close to that rate. The worst was my E30 that started using 1 liter per 3500 miles after it crossed 250K miles. What is critical, however, is identifying and tracking the ongoing oil consumption rate and any increases in thereof.

I have 55K miles on my '08 R56, and to date, it still uses exactly 0 quarts of oil between oil changes every ~5K miles (one in the spring before autoX season, one in the fall, afterwards). YMMV, but if your engine does not have a history of consuming copious quantities of oil, it's not about to start doing so without a cause.

a

 

Thank you all for the feedback. I've definitely learned my lesson and will keep an eye on the oil level more often.

In terms of the smell, despite the size of my nose, it happened so fast that I couldn't tell you if it was evaporated coolant or burning oil (didn't smell like burned rubber), but was definitely not odorless as I'd expect water vapor to be.

Odometer just went over 70k, so I'm going to take a closer look at the turbo lines as suggested by afadeev and jcauseyfd. I'm up for the DIY if need be, but hoping for the best... Thanks

 

Next time that you are under the car, look for oil on the block above the exhaust. This is either the turbo drain line or the oil filter housing gaskets.

Look at the turbo where the oil line comes into it on top. These lines have an o-ring inside which will eventually dry up and start to leak. If you see any oil on the line or on this area of the turbo, the line needs to be replaced.

Realistically, if you have a leak in any of these areas, replace the turbo oil line, turbo drain line, and the oil housing gaskets. The tough part of the job is to get the heat shields and downpipe off, then all 3 of these can be replaced at once.

There is also a common leak on the engine (passenger side near the crank pulley) with the timing chain tensioner. If you see oil in this area, that is likely the problem.

Some cars also have leaks at the valve cover.

Have fun with your MINI. It may just need more TLC than you are used to.

Mike

 

Got the car up on ramps this morning and inspected above and underneath around oil filter housing and turbo lines. In general, I didn't see any obvious oil leaks. Found a few small dirty and oily spots around the valve cover and oil pan but nothing of great concern. Also, I've got 400 miles on the car now since the oil change and no drop whatsoever in the oil level. I'm feeling much better (for now, at least) that the car is okay, and just poor maintenance by the previous owner and my stupidity in not checking and changing the oil when I first bought it. knocking on wood...

Thanks again to everyone for the feedback.

Just an added 2 cents: I'm not usually one to complain, but the oil filter housing gasket went on my '03 330i (previous car) and was a PITA to replace. Hard to believe BMW/Mini hasn't addressed this issue yet through either better design/materials or easier access to replace.