I know it's my first time to change oil on a Mini, but good lord could they have made it any more awkard to change the oil! Dang. First Mongo who last changed the oil at the dealership rounded the drain plug and torqued it to about 150lbs I think lol. Some people should not be allowed to have a wrench! Then of all the tools to be missing was my 36mm socket. So after using assorted tools I got it loose to now understand why all the oil residue on everything..Took me about 10 minutes or so of getting oil every where to finally figure a place to bring the cap out!!! Just once I think the people who design these things should have to work on them...... Ok, off my soap box just need to vent....

 

Get a Fumoto valve and never worry about the drain bolt again.

 

I have one and I agree. Only thing is that you have to warm up the engine before, otherwise it will take a year for the oil to drain :p

 

this is my secound german car, and i still ask my self why i buy german....

oon another note, you should always have hot oil coming out. and run some motor flush as well, gets all the crap out of their easily and quickly it also helps to tkae the oil cap off so it suck in air form the top and not from the drain hole, keeps it from going everywhere.

 

The problem with oil everywhere was with trying to find a way out for the oil filter and it spilling till I found to take it out from the wheel well. Really messy, did I not wait long enough after the pan drained to empty it?

 

Better yet get a MityVac fluid extractor and never jack up the car again.

Or lay on the ground.

Or collect oil under the car.

Or deal with that valve getting sheered off..

 

if you wait long enough the oil will drain from the filter. i usally pull the plug and have a beer... then go and get the filter. it should be easier. i use the 36mm socket on a 2ft long ratcheting breaker bar and it come out right from the top. when you put the new one on make sure o put oil on the seal so its easier to pull of next time.

 

I tried every cotton pickn' angle I could to bring it out from the top but no luck...

 

I never have any trouble pulling my filter out through the top. Is your car perhaps an automatic?

 

well ill be changing oil soon maybe ill make a video for you lol

 

Stop it... and yes its an automatic.. Dang thing needs diapers when you change the oil

 

With practice, you can change the oil in a gen1, and not drip any oil down the back...
Just remember, first loosen the filter cap...then drain the oil...by the time you yank the filter, most of the oil will have drained....
Getting the filter cap back on can be a pain... But sometimes a half turn backwards to align the threads, then tighten....
New mini branded oem drain plugs are only a few bucks... I can usually get 3 or more uses per plug before the rubber part gets iffy or the end can get slightly distorted....so I bought a couple extra....guess you could use a std drain plug with a copper washer...
The fumoto/fumoto clones on a gen1 are great.... But a $5 drain plug works great for me.

 

This is why I just pay $80 to have my oil changed every 6 months. Completely worth not having to deal with it myself anymore...

 

The fact that your car is an automatic may explain your difficulty in extracting the oil filter from the top; I believe the engine is offset slightly towards the passenger side in order to accomodate the somewhat larger transmission housing.

 

Thanks for the tip ZippyNH, I'll give that a try next time, along with a new plug.
The valve would be nice but not sure about clearence once it's lowered.

 

I'm with you. An oil change is not something worth doing yourself IMO.

 

Oil & filter change is a 1-2 day project for me. (I sometimes fall asleep under the car.)

First, I loosen the oil filter housing to vent it and let the oil drain down to the pan. Then I go take a nap for a few hours or overnight. Not one drop of oil is left in the filter to drip, so no towels or diaper is needed. Install a new filter, torque to 1 million ft-lbs as most Mini techs were taught to do.

Next, I remove the pan plug to drain the oil. I go sleep some more before replacing the plug and torque it to 1 million ft-lbs and overfill the oil by 2 quarts like most Mini techs do.

Voila... done... 2 days!!!

PS: I use this with a breaker bar (w/flex joint) for the filter housing. Fumoto valve is a good idea; speeds things up.

 

Only 6 months? Why???

My over-the-counter Mobil 1 5w30 oil has life after 10,xxx miles and 32 months!!! See here...

 

I've had no big issues getting the filter out the top, but like others have pointed out, I have a manual, not automatic. Cracking the oil filter canister prior to draining the crankcase has always resulted in a canister with very little residual oil and very little mess.

The only tricky part is getting the canister cover to thread on straight and avoiding a pinched o-ring. I proceed very cautiously here and if I sense any binding, back off and re-start.

Still wish the Germans would just go with spin-ons though. On my two Japanese cars, oil filter changes are completely foolproof.

- Mark

 

Actually, you can blame British engineering for this as Rover designed it. :P

 

Tritec engine is a BMW/Chrysler gig. But Britain is still at fault for letting the Germans have it their way.

Making it easy for the owner/user is against policy at any German auto engineering school. Please don't ask how I know.

 

Tip to save your drain plug: Coat the threads with wheel bearing grease. I'm still on my 2005 MCS's original drain plug.

 

Thanks for the tip when the new plug goes in I'll do that the next time around

 

Off subject, but did the Tritec eventually find a home in China in another car like was initially the plan? Is it still being made today?

- Mark

 

Mark-

Google Lifan 520 + Tritec.