I'm hoping someone could help with a recent problem I am having with my 2007 r56 Cooper S. I recently went on a drive with some other car enthusiast and after the drive I noticed my exhaust was sounding louder/raspier than normal. I am still using the stock exhaust, so nothing has be changed or modified. It sounds like it is coming from the engine compartment rather than from under or behind the car. With it being cold out now, when I run the heat I can smell exhaust in the cabin of the car. I am guessing there might be a leak or hole in something. I quickly checked under the hood for hoses or anything else that might be loose it disconnected, but nothing jumped out at me.

Can anyone recommmend where to start diagnosing this issue?

Thanks in advance!

 

Never had a car that had an audible exhaust leak from it, but the down pipe gasket is notorious for failing in these cars, and will give a slight exhaust smell.

This gasket is usually broken in every car we're replacing turbo oil feed lines on, and will have yellow build up around the turbo/downpipe area.

A quick and easy way to check for a leak would be to use a smoke machine, either a professional tool or a $25 Halloween prop from Walmart, which ever is easiest for you to attain.

 

The free way not always surefire but have a buddy hold a rag over the exhaust tips ( since an s two rags lol) and listen and feel for the leak sometimes you get lucky and it will actually whistle but the air has to go somewhere so look and feel for it
If your in nj more than happy to help

 

Go to the HW store and get about 1 foot of 1/4 inch copper tubing and about 4 feet of clear plastic tubing with an inner diameter that is a tight fit over the copper tubing. You have just made an el cheapo mechanic's stethoscope. Stick the free end of the plastic tubing in one ear, and then stick the end of the copper tubing under heatshields, near couplings in the exhaust, etc. The copper tubing is bendable so you can shape it as necessary to get into tight spots and behind things. Be careful of course of moving parts! If there is an exhaust leak you'll hear it.

I used this to find a cracked weld that was up under the heatshield on my other car, it was fine when the car was moving but every time I stopped at a stop light I was smelling exhaust fumes. The crack was on the back side of the pipe and not visible with the piping in the car. Listening with the tube I located it in just a few minutes.

 

Could do that or probably get a stethoscope at harbor freight for really cheap but that's a cool idea especially if u have some pipe laying around

 

So once I was able to get under the mini, I found that the flex pipe that connects to the manifold was rusted clean off and had it fixed at a place down the road from me.



I did find another major problem while I was under there though, a horrible oil leak.

I am going to put it back up on a lift and see if I can trace the leak to find the faulty part.

 

Did they weld in a new flex?

 

Yes, they welded a new flex pipe right on. I do plan to upgrade the exhaust in the future, so the frankenstein exhaust doesn't bother me.

I think I have found that the oil leak is from the turbo oil line, but possibly the oil filter housing as well. I am going to order the Detroit oil leak kit and do the turbo line and gaskets all at the same time while I have the front end opened up. Hopefully that should take care of the leak once and for all.

 

I wouldn't call it Frankenstein would have done the sameyhing otherwise correct me if I'm wrong but you would be replacing the flex pipe all the way to the tips

 

Our Super Kit fixes near all of the common oil leaks, short of the valve cover and vacuum pump seal.

We actually just did the same flex pipe repair on a car last week, hopefully it doesn't become more of a common occurrence.

Nick
Detroit Tuned

 

I ordered the Super Kit on friday. Thanks.

I agree with doing every thing in one fell swoop while I have everything opened up. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

Thank you for your order, let us know how install goes, and feel free to leave a product review on our website.

 

Do you remember what you paid? I was just quoted over $500 by the dealership.