I just discovered a small, slow oil leak at the bottom of my 07 MCS while I was changing the coolant. Any idea what is going on here in these pictures? Thanks to anyone with useful tips and info.

Tyler

 

Three questions:
1). There is oil on the exhaust pipe, where it hasn't burned off just yet, but it will. Have you been smelling burning oil fumes lately?
2). It looks like there is some oil on the engine block as well, right next to the exhaust. It must be dripping from somewhere higher up. Have you traced the possible source up the engine block (oil filter housing? turbo cooling line's connection to the block? valve cover gasket)?
3). How many miles on the car, and what oil-related maintenance have you done on the engine post 50K miles?

a

 

I have been smelling oil burning for a while now. I recently had my oil feed line replaced. The old one spewed oil everywhere. But I haven't noticed significant oil loss lately, just slowly losing it. I thought it was just burning off since its a high mileage car, but after looking under there I'm scared its something worse.

 

Btw there are about 95k miles on it. I bought it with 90k miles. I've changed the oil once so far at 94k and not much oil related maintenance.

 

Check the line that goes to the block, looks like its leaking down. Check the pan also. Wipe the pan clean and see if oi comes back. Also if the oil leaks to more near the transmission side its usually the oil cooler and oil filter housing gasket to the block.

Oil Line connection to block.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...leaking-5.html




oil filter housing gasket / cooler

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...placement.html



Thanks

 

Thanks for the tips. That write up is awesome and really detailed, but it seems way out of my league. I'm 19 with little experience mechanically. You think I should take it to a mechanic and propose the problems you listed?

 

Also, I just got my oil feed line to my turbo replaced no more than 2 months ago. You think that might still be a possible problem?

 

Ok,

"I recently had my oil feed line replaced." have whoever did that check it. So it was done right. If the line against the block crush washer was not replaced or not torqued down all the way it could be leaking again.

Keep the oil level up and check it often. You don't want to be low on oil. Carry an extra quart. If you cant do the repairs , show these thread to a local EURO mechanic or someone who knows MINIs.

Thanks and good luck.

If you need parts , we have the list. And they are linked.

 

Thanks a lot for the help! I already carry a quart with me like its an extension of myself. I'll keep in touch on how the issue resolves

 

Who performed the oil line repair? You always want somebody with knowledge and experience working on Mini Coopers to do the job right the first time. You take it to the average joe mechanic you never know what will happen! It could be leftovers from the old line, but you need to wipe up the oil so you can find exactly where the leak if any is coming from. Keep 2 quarts of oil in car.

 

I got it replaced at a BMW specialist who works on mini often. There were 3 other minis in the shop when I dropped mine off but I will get under there and wipe it down once the rain that just blew in subsides. I hate north eastern weather.

 

I also want to add that my mini has been having rough idle issues at start up. the RPMs fluctuate from 600-1000 and it seems to stutter in first gear. My mini is an automatic btw.

 

My first thought is cam position sensor. My MCS has done this a few times when stopping at a red light, hasn't happened is quite awhile. Nice and sunny here in California, 86 degrees.

 

Is that something I can replace myself?

 

Easy as it gets, here. I would make sure that this is indeed the problem, you might have stored codes that only Mini can pull.

 

Any other suggestions as to what it could be? Could it be gaskets?

 

The hardest part of the oil filter housing repair is the removal and reinstall of the heat shields, there is just not much room to get at the bolts. The rest of the work is straightforward.

Clean the front of the engine, top to bottom. If you can get the car up in the air that is great. I prefer brake cleaner, but you could use simple green or something like that. Start washing the front of the engine from the top of the engine (valve cover) down as far as you can get from above the engine. Then get under the car and wash the bottom half of the engine.

After a few days of driving, check with a good flashlight and see how high the oil starts. Check the corners of the valve cover (mine was leaking on the driver side front corner). It will be pretty hard to see if the turbo oil line is leaking or the oil filter housing, but you should be able to see if you get under the car. If it is an oil filter housing leak, expect to pay someone $400-600 to fix it.

As far as the rough idle, have you ever had carbon cleaning done? These cars get buildup in the intake ports and valves, and when this buildup gets severe, bad things happen. There are threads to do this yourself, I had the dealer do mine. Fuel treatments or additives won't eliminate this buildup. Expect $300-600 to get this done. If you have never had carbon cleaning done, you will be amazed at the difference in how your car runs.

Have fun,
Mike

 

Awesome, thanks for all the info! I'm gonna clean the engine on my next day off. I'll look into the carbon cleaning. I've seen the threads and doing it myself looks like a PITA. I'll probably get it done at a shop once I get my funds in order.
Thanks again,
Tyler

 

The last thing I want to add is that the check engine light never came on. Does that mean it didn't throw any codes? Sorry I will be more thorough the next time I post.

 

There could be a pending code with getting a cell. My engine had a bad misfiring issue a little over a year ago and never got any cells.