R56 2010 Cooper S Turbo Oil Supply blocked
 

I have 2010 R56 Cooper S and the Turbo seized up about 2 weeks ago at 27K miles. Half-Engine/Limp model indicator appeared on the Tach and there was a noticeable loss of power but still drivable. It was showing codes indicating no boost and the Torque App showed the boost never got above 0 psi. I pulled off the intake hose for the turbo and felt the turbine with my finger. It could only be spun using a socket wrench, when it should be easy to spin with just a finger. 3 year warranty has long expired and the dealer was happy to replace the turbo at full price. The List price on the turbo is $1,800.


Ordered an OEM turbo installation kit (Borg-Warner K03, same as factory unit) from BuyAutoParts for $925 plus a new oil feed line ($43) plus new gaskets and o-ring. After much research I found a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) which described a problem where oil is coked (cooked/baked) in the oil supply line leading to turbo due to heat from the exhaust/catalytic converter. Mini now includes a heat shield for the oil line but pre-December 2010 cars did not have this.


Seven hours later (no need to remove manifold, just lots of heat shields) the new turbo and oil line are installed and operating flawlessly. A heat sheet and thermal sleeve for the oil line are on order from MiniMania and should take about 5 minutes to install.


Upon removing the old oil line, it was obvious why the turbo failed. The banjo bolt on the feed line going into the turbo was at least 90% occluded. It took some scraping and soaking to clean it out. Also the supply line fitting the feeds the banjo bolt was also full of cooked oil. Here are some pictures. You will see that the holes in the bolt are also fully clogged.


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Note the build-up in the center of the banjo bolt


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Fully blocked inlet hole on banjo bolt


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Oil Supply line with cooked oil in fitting.


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Banjo bolt after cleaning.

I have never heard of the oil feed line that clogged up, mostly the o-ring seal goes bad and oil starts leaking onto the turbo. How in the world did your oil feed line to the turbo get that badly clogged up after only 27,000 miles? Oil change intervals? Never seen anything like that before!

Known Problem by Mini
 

Mini is aware of this issue. The root cause is residual oil in the feed line is boiled by the heat from the Turbo/Catalytic converter after the engine is turned off. That residual oil creates the build-up in the supply line over time. In 2010, Mini started installing a heat-shield to deflect the heat from the line. My car was built about month before they started adding the shield. There was never a recall, just a service advisory and Mini informed me they would not add the shield proactively. The $2000 turbo must fail before they will installed the $10 piece of metal, so owners that are not aware this new part are at risk.

From what has been reported here, MINI started installing the shields ($5 from Detroit Tuned) whenever cars were brought in for service at no charge to the owner. Not sure why they wouldn't for you.

You should have replaced the feed line with the one from Detroit Tuned ($60). It is stainless steel braided, uses compression fittings and not banjo bolts, it won't ever leak and it does not need the shield.

I just upgraded to a JCW turbo and went ahead and replaced the feed line while I was there even though my car is a 2013.

Yep, 11-65-7-634-747 is a snap-on heat shield to protect the O-ring in the end of the line, #20 below for the shield.

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