I have been enjoying Artoo (September 2002 build 2003 R53) for over 12 years now. It was meticulously broken it in and it has always burned oil. At the beginning about a quart for each 1000 miles and both Prestige and Morristown Mini said that was in the normal range. And I have been diligent fixing every leak imaginable. AND have changed the PVC valve. And done oil changes every 5000 miles since the beginning.

As I have now passed 150,000 miles, it's burning about a quart every 250 miles. WAY too much but I love it so much. I recently changed the head because of a burnt valve and it did not change anything so it was not the guides or seals. I tried to love another ride and am close with an M2 but not quite ready yet as, I got to tell you, the R53 brings a smile to my face every day.

So, any ideas? There are still no leaks. I have always used 0-40 M1 or Mini Branded Castrol but am considering a change to see if anything changes.

I tell people that if they get a Mini, or any other car for that matter, the forums are the place to be. Nothing will happen that hasn't happened to someone else first.

Is there any wisdom out there? I'll consider any suggestions short of a new short block. And if necessary, I will continue to buy oil by the case until there is a new M2 in the driveway.

///Rich

 

Had same thing with a non mini 2003 car. Wasn't burning oil but it was disappearing at similar rate. Could never cure it and just bought the cheapest oil I could to top off. Finally traded it in for my countryman.

 

Might try switching oil....
Some oils tend to burn off more than others....but oil use in a higher mile motor happens...just a signal of overall health....with so many miles, doubt it would be worth it to just do a ringjob, since the cam, rollers and lower end is likly worn....so me, I keep driving it, if it runs good, and top off the oil!!
Someday you might have a choice to make....dump it or do a motor swap....unless something has changed, rebuilding a motor is way to $$$ due to high prices of parts.

 

Just something to think about, I bought a 2005 Mini Cooper S with 86,000 miles on it as a parts car to rebuild two other cars. The motor in it could be for sale if you were interested.

 

2005 MCC and at 260K+ , I burn about half a quart now in the last year about every time its ready for oil change which is about 5-7500K. Its a Cooper ( NON S ) . So its held up well , factory MINI 5w-30 .

Some people have luck going with a different viscosity oil that meets the LL-01. Thats allot of oil per miles for gen 1 MINIs. I would check the head, do you have blue smoke at start up or anything ?

 

I am jealous.

Head is new and there is no smoke. Either at startup or under load.

///Rich

 

That's a lot of oil to go through. If you have a new head and can't find any leaks it only leaves pistons and rings.

What are you going to hurt trying different oil? Find the right oil and it might even help.

 

As an owner of an R53 that consumed 1L/1000Kms ("within spec") I feel for you.
That engine died and was replaced with a new crate JCW.

I know it's a religious debate, but I broke it in against the manual's instructions (I broke it in on a dyno with the "Drive it like you stole it" method). Yes it's a new engine with only 47K kms on it now, but zero consumption with this one (knock wood).

Unfortunately, my history, and knowledge says it's time for a lower end rebuild if you want to get that problem removed. That's a crazy amount of consumption.

I'd be curious on UnbreakableLump's opionion

 

huh, has to be going somewhere, I would go back over that engine , also have you checked the coolant ?

 

The base engine was designed to burn no more than 1Qt/10,000 miles, which durability test engines met. I don't remember if that level of oil consumption was achieved with the supercharged engine as durability testing hadn't started in earnest when I left the program, but I know of no reason that it wouldn't have.


1Qt/1000 miles is not normal or acceptable. If it was doing that new, the most likely mis-build causes would be:


- Valve stem seal missing
- Valve cover PCV plates not properly sealed (early covers had some kind of goop on them to seal at the heat staking locations). Poor sealing could be an issue on either side (make-up air or PCV valve side). If for example, the rocker arm oil bleed holes are spraying oil into the oil separator (which is sealed by the stamped steel cover plates), this would overwhelm the oil separator and pump oil into the intake. You would see this with oil in the intake manifold and intercooler.
- An intermediate (middle) piston ring is installed upside down. (will pump oil into the combustion chamber instead of scraping down into the crankcase)
- Missing oil control ring (bottom ring)
- A poorly bored and/or honed block.


The Tritec plant was state of the art when built and had very few quality issues, so I'd consider these things to be pretty remote possibilities. Unofficial (verbal) reports from BMW 2 years into production were that the Tritec engine had the lowest PPM's ("zero mile" defects) and warranty costs of any engine in the BMW line-up. Understandable given it's simplicity of design but also testament to the build quality.


IMO, "break-in" procedures are pretty overrated. Our typical dyno break-in schedule I think was only 8 hours, varying speeds & loads. At an average vehicle speed of 35 mph (which is about what my car reads), that's only 280 miles of break-in. From there, we'd go right into some extremely abusive durability tests and never had what you might consider to be break-in related issues.


If you have a bottom end related oil consumption issue, running the heaviest weight synthetic oil you can find is a good option. The ONLY reason that the manufacturers have gone to very low viscosity oils is for friction reduction and the very slight fuel economy improvement. Switching to something like a 20W50 (if it's available) will only affect fuel consumption by about 1%. If you can't find synthetic, I'd go with 20W50 Castrol and do oil changes very 5000 miles.

 

I had a 200,000+ mile Honda civic years ago......castrol 5w-50 syentec might be an option...maybe toss two bottles of it in....see it slows down oil use....started in subzero temps no issues with the 5w-50, since it dies test as a 5w oil when cold.....

 

Had similar consumption issue that only went away when I pulled the head and Pistons (with the engine in the car) honed the block lightly and re-ringed. Found the piston ring gap to be around 1.5 mm. So, way out of spec. At 140,000 miles, could be attributed to normal wear I guess.

 

As a car guy that was my thoughts too... But nope... Consumed without showing any signs. 3L gone, no trace/evidence/signs in 3000kms.


Thanks for weighing in UL! As for 1L/1000 kms being "within spec" that is unfortunately the line Corporate verbally fed me when I went after them (both USA and CDN separately in 2012). Whether or not it's documented internally or even technically true (pretty hard to believe if it is) that's the line they said to get rid of me.

 

Mini always said that 1 qt per/1000 was within spec. Trust me I asked and even pushed them. They couldn't do anything because corporate said that it was spec.

I did change the head so that is tight. The bottom end, sure rings are a clear culprit.

And it has been rock solid for me except the consumption.

I absolutely agree. As long as it heats up fully and it's not simply short runs to the store, I think it's good.

Tomorrow i am going to put in 5 quarts of Castrol 5-40 edge. If that makes no difference then I am going to try 10-60 Castrol Edge Gold.

For me the price of oil is a small price to pay for the fun the Mini brings. And when this dies, seems to be strong at this point, I am sure I will love the M2 that will be in the driveway. But I doubt I will like it as much.

I will keep everyone posted.

///Rich

 

Ouch. Oil by the case (sadly) seems to be the best solution. Curious to see how it ends up. WAG would be rings - how/where else would it go?

 

My thought too. But I also had a friend follow me when I stomped on the gas. No smoke. That's why I also changed the PVC valve. And whatever precipitated that burnt valve could have overheated a ring or two as well. But the compression is still good. Hell, the engine has 155,000 miles. If this is the only problem....

But yes, oil by the barrel works for now. Fortunately Amazon delivers to the front porch.

Now i am going out to try the 5-40 Edge but I am thinking I will also eventually try the 10-60. At least it's not cold here in New Jersey for the next 6 months or so.

///Rich

 

Adding my experience here because this is in the top results of google: my 2002 R50 used to DRINK oil when I bought it at 50k miles, a quarter gallon every 1000 miles. Not cool.

The problem was COMPLETELY SOLVED by switching to "VALVOLINE SUPERSYNT 5W-40". It has a much higher thermal stability and lower volatility than the other oils I did read the datasheets at the time and it even respects BMW-LL01. Now at 140k miles the consumption is still low, a quarter every 6-8k miles. Only thing is that at around 10k miles the engines starts to get "noisier" and it's time to go for an oil change (intervals of almost 16k miles are very popular and even encouraged by the dealers in Europe).
OF COURSE not being the recommended oil choosing to use it is AT YOUR OWN RISK, I can only report that it cured my car's oil consumption problem and I had no problem even when I took it to the racetrack or when it was 0f in the morning.