My N14 engine has had the timing chain and tensioner replaced (after failure), the water pump (plastic to aluminum) Thermostat and Housing ,Turbo oil feed line (Stock to SS braided one piece), High Pressure Fuel Pump (after failure). Now I am told the valve cover needs replacing due to a oil leak near PCV. I'm just turning 60K and this car has had more problems than any other car I have owned including Porsches.
My question is WHY do I need to replace the valve cover? Is this a poor design for the PCV to be incorporated into the cover? Is there a better cover out there. How long until this valve cover fails again.
I like the car and use it as a daily driver but after all the problems that pop up I may have to get rid of it and NOT buy another Mini. Why can't BMW get their **** together? Can someone help me figure out what to do about the valve cover? This nickel and dime problem is turning into a nightmare.

 

The good news is that the valve cover is easy to replace by yourself. Mine leaked as well.


The one common failure point that isn't on your list is the thermostat housing. Keep an eye out for blue liquid on top of the transmission housing. Another one is the oil filter housing leak, that is another big expense to do (labor is long, parts are cheap).


Have fun,
Mike

 

The V/C gasket here is pretty cheap.

Valve Cover Here, which is an updated one.

NAM DIY Thread on replacement (should be similar; 02 sensor is different and breather system is a little bit different). We just got in an '08 R56 ourselves and will be adding a lot of DIY content to our tech articles here. If you'd like us to add any type of repair that you want to know how to do on yours please let me know.

-Luccia

 

Let me put it this way...after I fixed all the issues you've fixed, plus the oil filter housing and oil cooler gaskets, oil pan gasket, and walnut shell blasted the intake valves....my engine ate a piston at 75k.

Happy motoring!!!

All joking aside, unless you were the original owner, be prepared to deal with a wonderful combination of previous owner neglect and rushed design flaws. My car was a late 06 production, so very early off the line. It was probably a ticking time bomb the moment it left the factory. The good news is, things like the water pump, turbo oil line, and valve cover have all been superseded by updated part numbers, so you should experience better reliability from here on out. To answer your question specifically relating to the valve cover, they redesigned the internals of the PCV system around late '09/early '10 so that it operates more efficiently and should burn less oil. The PCV cover (where the 'Mini' logo is) is glued on and the glue fails causing it to develop a leak, no way to fix it unfortunately.

Mini/BMW did get their act together, they redesigned the car from scratch and brought engine design fully in house using proven BMW tech...

 

We ave our thread here, which was also linked above.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ment-help.html



If the Valve cover leaks from the center or has a hair line cracked you will need to replace more then just the gasket ( if will throw a CEL down the road ), the Valve cover has been updated version as you can see in our thread.


Thanks