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Stock Problems/IssuesDiscussions related to warranty related issues and repairs, or other problems with the OEM parts and software for MINI Clubman (R55), Cooper and Cooper S(R56), and Cabrio (R57).
i would ask that they show you the problem. i never take anyones word for it, not a dealership, no way. especially from what i see mini dealers claiming or doing.
dont let them take it in the shop then 1/2 hour later come get you. ask them to lift it and show you on the spot.
coolant could have been a verbiage mistake, they may have meant to say lubricant (oil) but maybe not. the service writer, and/or person who told you that should have caught it if it was a mistake in words and asked the tech what he meant ?
there are water lines right near the oil filter area but that would mean the tech was a complete idiot and cant tell the difference between an oil filter leaking oil or a water line leaking coolant.
if you are able lift the car yourself, just the drivers side is enough, lay under it and see if you can see oil running down the engine or oil pan or coolant anywhere.
the fact that your floor is dry is a good indicator you might be ok but doesnt mean its perfect.
are you smelling any burning oil or antifreeze? at any time after you drive it?
how full is your coolant tank?
oil filter housing only leaks if the big o-ring is bad or filter housing is cracked... thats not a $1700 fix, maybe a 50-100 if they have to replace the housing.?
This is, unfortunately, a somewhat common problem. I would say that the water pump & pipe and the thermostat leaking coolant are a little more common, but this comes along once in a while, also. It can be caused by overtightening the oil filter cap during an oil change, believe it or not. Overtorqueing the cap twists the housing and can warp a pliable gasket or crack an old one (60k miles or more).
The reason the dealership charges so much for the repair is tied up in the labor charge. Anytime you have to do anything other than changing the air filter, it's a lot of work (time) to get everything out of the way. Fortunately, most things aren't that hard if you have average mechanical ability and can follow instructions. If I were you, I'd tackle this repair myself. It's not technical, just tedious.
I've attached a picture of the gasket you need from ECS. There's probably a couple of other things I'd replace while you had some stuff out of the way, which I can detail if you're going to do the work yourself.
DM me if you need instructions on the work.
Because coolant runs through the oil filter housing just like it does on tons of modern cars
what is this witchcraft you speak of.
i did find this directly bmw related, will have to explore the "most modern cars"
i do love learning about all this new fangled car stuff
Get BMW Oil Filter Housings Checked Regularly to Avoid Repair Bills
If you are the owner of a BMW X or Z, 1,2,3,4,5 or 6 series, from 2011 onwards, which features the N20, 4- cylinder engine, we recommend you bring it to us as soon as possible, regardless of mileage, so a mechanic can check the oil filter housing.
If your car does a plastic oil filter housing, it is in your best interests to have it replaced before the warning light flashes and the component fails, potentially causing coolant to mix with engine oil in the sump and engine oil to leak into the cooling system. If you wait till the ‘coolant low warning’ or ‘losing coolant warning’ lights come on, it will be too late and the damage will probably already be done. Act now and save thousands of hard-earned dollars further down the line!
Your car does not have a plastic oil filter housing...... However, the oil filter housing and oil cooler seals will eventually leak. See the FAQ's. You can go a long time after the leaking starts before replacing the seals. Be sure to check your oil level (should be doing often anyway). The cost of the seals is low, but the labor can be high because they are difficult to get to. An independent shop familiar with MINIs should be less expensive. When you go through the FAQs, note that there are some other jobs that should be done at the same time....esp the oil line to the turbo, which attaches to the block near the oil cooler and oil filter housing.
Edit - my mistake, missed that the OP has a non-turbo.
Last edited by bugeye1031; Jan 14, 2019 at 01:06 PM.
Reason: thought that the OP was discussing a turbo S
To the OP: As the proud owner of a base model, you do not have the oil cooler/heat exchanger attached to your oil filter housing. Compare these two diagrams:
Base model:
"S: model:
You can see the difference. On the S model, there is a channel through the block that diverts come coolant through the oil filter housing through a heat exchanger bolted on the side of the oil filter housing. On the base model, the channel is blocked off on the housing. However, the hole for the coolant is still there on the engine block. So, the coolant flow is "deadheaded" against the oil filter housing on the base models. There is still a gasket there, though, so that the two different oil filter housings (the "S" with the channel for coolant, and the base with the flat plate) mount to the block in the same way. In either case, after 60k miles or so, the gaskets can get pretty brittle from use & the heat of the engine. I speak from experience. I just changed this gasket on my son's car over Christmas break, and I was surprised - it literally crumbled in my hands as I dug it out of the housing. The new one was very pliable.
As I said before, a technician in a hurry can overtighten the filter cap, and place some transverse torque on the housing, causing a brittle gasket, that's only purpose is to keep that deadheaded coolant from mixing with oil, to fail.
That, my friends, is how you get coolant to leak from an oil filter housing. Please don't pay $1700 to get it repaired. Even at dealership prices, that sounds about $500 high to me. But, again, you probably can do it yourself. Hope this helps you out.
Yep, the non turbo just has the single described here, make sure you set them in place and then torque down.
I did mine on my R56 MCS, you have to clean out the two ports a little and change the oil to get the coolant out of it, might be good to flush the coolant afterwards to get the oil out of that also, I did my thermostat at the same time so that was done anyway.
i would ask that they show you the problem. i never take anyones word for it, not a dealership, no way. especially from what i see mini dealers claiming or doing.
dont let them take it in the shop then 1/2 hour later come get you. ask them to lift it and show you on the spot.
coolant could have been a verbiage mistake, they may have meant to say lubricant (oil) but maybe not. the service writer, and/or person who told you that should have caught it if it was a mistake in words and asked the tech what he meant ?
there are water lines right near the oil filter area but that would mean the tech was a complete idiot and cant tell the difference between an oil filter leaking oil or a water line leaking coolant. if you are able lift the car yourself, just the drivers side is enough, lay under it and see if you can see oil running down the engine or oil pan or coolant anywhere.
the fact that your floor is dry is a good indicator you might be ok but doesnt mean its perfect.
are you smelling any burning oil or antifreeze? at any time after you drive it?
how full is your coolant tank?
oil filter housing only leaks if the big o-ring is bad or filter housing is cracked... thats not a $1700 fix, maybe a 50-100 if they have to replace the housing.?
Thank you kindly. I asked they furnish me some pictures. I will lift the car and look at driver side as you suggested, and post back here.
I am not smelling burning oil or antifreeze. Coolant tank is perfectly fine. About 3 years ago, I had a leaking waterpupmp - which was replaced under warranty.
Yep, the non turbo just has the single described here, make sure you set them in place and then torque down.
I did mine on my R56 MCS, you have to clean out the two ports a little and change the oil to get the coolant out of it, might be good to flush the coolant afterwards to get the oil out of that also, I did my thermostat at the same time so that was done anyway.
To the OP: As the proud owner of a base model, you do not have the oil cooler/heat exchanger attached to your oil filter housing. Compare these two diagrams:
Base model:
"S: model:
You can see the difference. On the S model, there is a channel through the block that diverts come coolant through the oil filter housing through a heat exchanger bolted on the side of the oil filter housing. On the base model, the channel is blocked off on the housing. However, the hole for the coolant is still there on the engine block. So, the coolant flow is "deadheaded" against the oil filter housing on the base models. There is still a gasket there, though, so that the two different oil filter housings (the "S" with the channel for coolant, and the base with the flat plate) mount to the block in the same way. In either case, after 60k miles or so, the gaskets can get pretty brittle from use & the heat of the engine. I speak from experience. I just changed this gasket on my son's car over Christmas break, and I was surprised - it literally crumbled in my hands as I dug it out of the housing. The new one was very pliable.
As I said before, a technician in a hurry can overtighten the filter cap, and place some transverse torque on the housing, causing a brittle gasket, that's only purpose is to keep that deadheaded coolant from mixing with oil, to fail.
That, my friends, is how you get coolant to leak from an oil filter housing. Please don't pay $1700 to get it repaired. Even at dealership prices, that sounds about $500 high to me. But, again, you probably can do it yourself. Hope this helps you out.
Thank you very much. Plan is to find the part online first, and try it myself first and see what happens.
Your car does not have a plastic oil filter housing...... However, the oil filter housing and oil cooler seals will eventually leak. See the FAQ's. You can go a long time after the leaking starts before replacing the seals. Be sure to check your oil level (should be doing often anyway). The cost of the seals is low, but the labor can be high because they are difficult to get to. An independent shop familiar with MINIs should be less expensive. When you go through the FAQs, note that there are some other jobs that should be done at the same time....esp the oil line to the turbo, which attaches to the block near the oil cooler and oil filter housing.
I have been checking oil level every few weeks - with no discernible changes. Dealer did say "its all labor, and its a hard job, thus the high price."
I will look through the FAQ. This doesn't have a turbo, so shouldn't be an issue for the oil lines to the turbo.
I did it myself but I was doing other things also. I bet a normal shop could knock it out and in an hour or two. Is just takes time to get to that housing.
Hope you can get that loaner back, if the loaner is broken then call MINI Roads side assistance and have it towed back, Sticker or info should be in the glovebox.
This is, unfortunately, a somewhat common problem. I would say that the water pump & pipe and the thermostat leaking coolant are a little more common, but this comes along once in a while, also. It can be caused by overtightening the oil filter cap during an oil change, believe it or not. Overtorqueing the cap twists the housing and can warp a pliable gasket or crack an old one (60k miles or more).
The reason the dealership charges so much for the repair is tied up in the labor charge. Anytime you have to do anything other than changing the air filter, it's a lot of work (time) to get everything out of the way. Fortunately, most things aren't that hard if you have average mechanical ability and can follow instructions. If I were you, I'd tackle this repair myself. It's not technical, just tedious.
I've attached a picture of the gasket you need from ECS. There's probably a couple of other things I'd replace while you had some stuff out of the way, which I can detail if you're going to do the work yourself.
DM me if you need instructions on the work.
Yeah my waterpump did leak before, and it was replaced under warranty.
I am sending you a message.
Yep, the non turbo just has the single described here, make sure you set them in place and then torque down.
I did mine on my R56 MCS, you have to clean out the two ports a little and change the oil to get the coolant out of it, might be good to flush the coolant afterwards to get the oil out of that also, I did my thermostat at the same time so that was done anyway.
Wow 2019 not shifting, tranny error, wow.....
and thank you @seandallen , that picture is saved in my folder of must have diagrams.
we use ARI Partsmart in my indstry for Powersports engine/body diagramps. Would love to have that for Mini.
Wow 2019 not shifting, tranny error, wow.....
and thank you @seandallen , that picture is saved in my folder of must have diagrams.
we use ARI Partsmart in my indstry for Powersports engine/body diagramps. Would love to have that for Mini.
