So woke up this morning and found a half dollar oil leak on the floor. Raised the car and found where it was coming from, sorta. It seems to be coming from under the passenger side, rear of the engine, under the intake. Can't quite see exactly where but noticed a black plastic box looking thing bolted to the block with oil on it.

I had to remove the air filter box to see if I can find the exact spot but the intake was in the way. Does anyone know what might be under the intake that could be leaking oil from? Could it be a oil switch?

Had the car for since March 2013 and already spent $300 (parts,labor,towing) on replacing the temp switch along with an oil change. Don't feel like taking it to a shop, trying to see if I can fix this myself. Any help would be appreciated. Plus i'm suppose to do a 3k road trip in a few weeks and don't want to dip into my trip $$ and i'm taking the Cooper.

 

Back side of the engine passenger side sounds like the chain tensioner. Could have backed out enough to cause a leak.

 

Seems to be farther back but I could be wrong. Oil was dripping from the rear lower trans bracket. The oil was running down from up above that bracket located near the cv axle.

Where is the tensioner bolt located? Is it the front side (near radiator) or the rear (firewall side)?

 

Tensioner bolt is on the backside (firewall).

 

I have a similar leak, but I can not locate it,somewhere in the back,firewall side.I suspect that the leak slightly increased after the installation of the OCC.It`s not leaking valve cover gasket,I just replace it.

 

Mine had a leak once and it turned out to be a pinched o-ring in the oil filter housing. You might want to check there as well.

 

My 2010 clubman has the same problem, I discovered this during my monthly self inspection 3 months ago. The oil is mainly leaking from the passenger side. I took it in to the dealership and they replaced the improved version of chain tensioner for me under warranty. And no more leaking since then.



Let's motor!

 

Well woke up this morning and oil leak is bigger. Going to dealership later on to find out what's under the intake. If leak is were tensioner bolt is located I'll see if they will just do the complete chain kit.

 

I had this a few months ago, and the dealer got pretty nervous about it. It was related to the tensioner. They indicated that they can go from not-too-bad to really-bad quickly. I think that they charged me about $80 to replace a $3 part, but I didn't have time to get to it then.

Mike

 

Hope like hell your chain tensioner isn't backing out!

The easiest way to check is by removing your passenger side wheel and removing the wheel well liner. You'll be able to shine a flashlight on the back of the cylinder head where it's screwed into the head.

 

Well just got back from dealer and I was told a number of things it could be:

1) bad valve cover (because they sell a lot of them)

2) a bad o-ring from an oil feed hose

3) bad breather hose

I did mention to them about the tensioner bolt backing out and they kind of laughed!!! I made an appointment for tomorrow to do a diagnostic check to see if they can find out exactly what it is.

Just got home, popped the bonnet open, removed the air filter housing and checked the valve cover and nothing, its clean and oil free. After the engine cools I will be taking off the passenger side wheel cover and look underneath myself for that tensioner bolt see if its coming from there. Maybe I can see where the leak is coming from that angle.

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

Well the Cooper will be in the shop on Tuesday to get the vacuum pump, tank, and hose replaced. I have no idea what those parts do but there is oil going into the tank and leaking from there. Part of my warranty(nonMini) will cover the parts and labor I have to pay the balance.

Owned this vehicle since 03/13 and already close to $1k into it after the vacuum stuff. Like the car, love the hatchback design, just hope it treats me better in the future.

 

I read so many stories on the forum where owners reported just plain weird stuff happening to their Mini's. Hope yours turns out okay.

 

Is it possible to change the tensioner "just take off",without the cams or chain locking?No fear of the wrong timing?I doubt myself also leaking gasket of tensioner and at the same time I could also change the tensioner with the "latest update".

 

OK this MCS is really pi$&ing me off!!! I've put less than 60 miles since I left the dealer and now the engine is getting louder!!! Could it be the tensioner now? I've asked the dealer since they are doing the vacuum pump if they can do the chain kit and they said no. Not until it goes out. WTF, do I have to wait til my engine goes boom!!!

Why won't they do it. Well let me the you what they said, he said if "just cause 1 vehicle has problems at 30k miles doesn't mean we have to replace them all". He said Mini would loose lots of $$$ if they just decided to change them when us the consumer wanted them change.

 

Is the loudness you are referring to "rattling"? If that's the case, they should investigate the problem further to make sure everything is fine.


Maybe a video helps...

 

Its loud inside the cabin while driving and kind of like a vacuum leak, slight rattle when accelerated. I'll look into it more when I get home.

What gets me upset the most is that I paid $120 and realized that I told them where the leak was located and they didn't look anywhere else for problems or did a so called diagnostic test. They were done within 20 minutes.

 

I also have a slight oil leak coming from the vacuum tank. Boy that sucker is hard to get to! I took a closer look at it and noticed the two lines weren't even connected! The lines were also quite soft and covered with oil. I cleaned things up a bit and trried to reconnect the lines which was very hard to do, but the lines were very very loose. Gonna try to replace the ends of those lines. What the heck is supposed to going through those lines? Shouldn't it be just air? What does the vacuum tank hold? What's the deal with the oil? Did you ever find out what the function of this whole system is?

 

I've just spent a few hours with this exact mystery leak, and it turns out that it's almost assuredly the turbocharger vacuum tank. I removed the valve cover and the airbox assembly, but there's no oil dripping from there. The tensioner bolt is fine. I replaced the oil pan and valve cover gaskets a few months ago, and the turbo oil lines this past December. As you can see in the link to the pic, oil is accumulating at the hoses, and flowing over onto the torque arm and onto the ground. I noticed this in March, but thought it was related to the oil pan gasket. The good news is that the tank and hoses are inexpensive. The bad news is that it's nestled above the RH drive shaft and the lower engine mount, and may be a challenge to remove. This is my daily driver, but my wife's Civic is pulling duty in the meantime. I'd rather fix it right the first time.

I'd like to ask for advice whether this leak is symptomatic of a bigger issue with the turbo. It's not a large amount of oil, but is this blow-by normal?

My car (R55S) https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1...it?usp=sharing

Parts diagram: http://mini.sewellparts.com/oem-cata...R55S-2008.html