Is it possible to have zero leaks with these cars?

Everything that I have replaced new a few years ago is now leaking to different degrees.

power steering, leaking. Valve cover, leaking. Oil pan, leaking…

Asking for a friend.

 

No leaks whatsoever (so far)!

 

306k on the R50. Two leaks of late, one weeping power steering hose that I replaced with the PS pump earlier this week, and driver's side axle seal just replaced. Of course now that the bad axle seal is fixed, the passenger side axle seal has a very small drip.

 

Yes, it's possible. 2004 MC40 here. I have a tiny oil filter housing leak but only because it's such a PITA to change it and I've been lazy. I've had the gasket for 2 years!! But, that's the only leak.

 

I've had my 04 R53 since new (2003 w/3 miles). It has just now rolled over to 100,101 as of today.
I had replaced:
harmonic/crank puley seal - 12years ago = no oil leak.
Both powersteering hoses w/$28 no name eBays - 3years now, not a drop lossed.
Valve cover gasket w/Fel-Pro (no RTV used) - 2.5years ago = no leaks
Had the oil housing and oil cooler gaskets replaced (3rd time now), 5months ago = no oil leaks
Had both oil cooler hoses replaced at same time above (5mo ago) = no coolant leaks

Currently:
Timing chain cover gasket just started leaking last year = it has never been changed.
Crankshaft positioning sensor has been leaking for more than a year = ?
Oil pan has had several points where oil has been dripping for as long as I can remember
Total oil loss = about 4oz/month or 500 miles. (yes it adds up)

Last year I had added a quart of Lukas between several oil changes which did eventually slow some of the leaks.
The largest loss of oil was due to the oil filter and cooler housing gaskets failing.

I have all the seals and gaskets to make the repairs this Spring.

 

05 MCS that I bought new then with 7 miles. Now it has 150,800. I have been obsessive with replacing any leak that has developed throughout the 19 years I have own this car and a year ago June I did multiple major maintenance and replaced ANYTHING that could leak while I had the sub frame off. However, the mechanic I hired, who is well qualified and extremely well versed with MINI's, didn't put the new main seal on perfectly correct when I had him redo the clutch and flywheel. So I have a tiny, tiny, leak of oil that seeps down between the oil pan housing but not enough to leave any drips on my garage floor. Other than that, I have not a single oil leak anywhere on this old car. With that said, every time I back the car out of the garage I always look for that first drip on the garage floor so I can address any leak asap.

 

Ok sounds like it is possible. That is encouraging. I’ll keep trying then. Thank you for the replies, gents

 

Are the axle seals hard to replace after removing the axles? (got to pull my motor anyway). Congrats on the mileage, that's fantastic! Motor rebuild?

 

The seal is difficult to pull, they are very tight. Once removed, the new one is a bit tricky to install, again because it is such a tight fit. I used a 2" pvc fitting as a tool and carefully tapped to get it started, then it takes some solid taps on the tool to get it fully inserted.
The motor and transmission are original, not been opened beyond valve cover off for adjustment or seal replacements.

 

Yes it's possible. When I installed a new (used) engine in my car a couple of years ago, I replaced every seal on the engine prior to installation, the input shaft seal on the transmission and all new cooling system components (everything except the heater core).

That scaled my leaking down to power steering fluid from the power steering lines. I replaced those late last summer and was leak free briefly. My aluminum radiator has a small leak, my power steering reservoir cap - which came on my new reservoir that I installed a few months ago - is leaking and my supercharger is leaking out of the snout seal.

 

I'm at 180k miles now and I did an overhaul in march of last year at 170k, replacing the gaskets for the valve cover, oil pan, oil cooler, and oil filter housing, the CPS O-ring, water pump and its O-ring, and the lower pressure power steering hoses and reservoir. No leaks to speak of after 10k, but before that, it was an oily mess. lol.

 

No... Not possible. The moment you've fixed a leak, it is in the process of starting to leak again. I've fixed 7 different leaks and currently have 1 (possibly 2) that are going. I check every year or so and always find something. Had minis since 2013 and my current r53 since 2017. I own 3 at the moment. They all leak.

Anyone saying they don't is delusional... kind of in the best way possible 😁

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This was my suspicion. I'm wondering how it compares to other cars. My guess is that some cars don't leak as bad as the gen 1 mini does. Its a spectrum, with mini's on the leaky end?

 

Honda Accord, Toyota camry dont leak often... german cars do

 

that is what I’ve heard. I’ve never owned anything other than German

 

More work on this.

Cleaned the engine. Put some dye into the engine oil. Took a 10 min drive. Put it up on stands.

Most of the oil looks like it's coming from the oil pressure sensor area (left side of oil filter housing). The oil pressure sensor plug was wet. Dripping down on to the right (passenger) axle and getting flung all over that area, on to the subframe, the power steering line, and the two hoses that go into the oil cooler.

Is it common for the oil pressure sensor to be the source of leak?

What runs in those two hoses that go to the oil cooler? Oil in both?

 

It is possible to have a leak-free Mini. My MC40 has no leaks. And, yes, I've replaced every gasket/seal on the little beast.

 

Coolant As those are coolant lines, oil comes from the block / filter housing

 

We've been managing the seepage to keep the drips to a minimum with my kid's 2005 R53 with 254K miles. Just did the valve cover gasket to address the very slight oozing. It seems though, the majority of the leakage is coming from is the timing cover seal. It's likely original so not surprising. I've thrown in a can of LM Engine Oil Saver to see if that will slow down the drips. It's been about 2 weeks and 200 hundred miles and it appears to be slightly less drippy - less driveway clean up. Time will tell if this bandaid will help or make the engine seals become worse.

 

Something I found out only a month ago is that the timing cover bolt right above crankshaft contains a tiny little rubber o-ring. These can go hard and brittle and weep.

 

coolant in both. Ok good to know

most likely going to replace those when I drop the subframe related to other work

ill update here

 

Thanks for that heads up... Added to my list of seals and gaskets for my car. (#9 in diagram)
Looks only available with bolt ... $18 from ECS..
Is it bonded to the bolt??

http://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-m...h/07131485184/

 

Yes it is unfortunately