Hello all!

A bit new here, fairly knowledgeable but still learning on these interesting units lol. I have a 2008 R56 NON turbo, having a bad time with rough idling, higher rpm pulls seem laggy and overall power seems a fair bit less. Haven't pulled any codes but I am burning oil like crazy! Have gone through 2 liters in roughly 400-500 miles, this has happened a few times now, but the car only seems to be burning it when on the highway, city driving it barely burns much. I have verified there are zero leaks, blows blue smoke only on highway, compression test readings were pretty decent, timing chain set was just done not even a 1000 miles ago ( from an actual dealer ). I have done a butt ton of reading up on the PCV system and realize it requires the whole valve cover replaced, but is there any way of bypassing it with the NON turbos? Any other options before I drop $400 on a new valve cover, thanks in advance guys.

( I have also unconnected the PCV hose on the valve cover and its heavily coated with oil )

 

Definitely burning a lot of oil. Have you done a leak down test? Most definitely, engine oil consumption increases significantly if the crankcase ventilation system is defective. It seems you've covered your bases and done your research, but we also have a great article that covers more info about oil consumption on these MINI's. You can check it out here: http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti..._Diagnosis.htm. It seems like you're on the right track.

 

Your getting oil blow by from the PCV and the faulty PCV is causing the laggy performance because it is basically a vacuum leak. Replaced the valve cover on our 2010 last year and made a world of difference. Here are pictures of what failed on the valve cover. I ended up having to drop the oil pan to find the missing diaphram. Lucky it hadn't been chewed up.

 

Morning gents,

I'll have to agree with you on the PCV. I had a code P2178 come up twice last night, it appears as though the plastic cover holding down the diaphragm has a broken clip, not holding the valve down, tried rigging it for now, made a world of difference!! I am however still going to order a new cover for good measure, thanks for the help guys, I'll let you know once the new cover goes on.

 

As far as the by-pass, I haven't read much for that on the non-turbo models, but it is something done by a lot of Cooper S owners. I'd say do your research on that as well, but replacing the cover will definitely be the easiest right now. If you need help with the install be sure to check out our article here: http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...eplacement.htm. Definitely report back and let us know how it goes.

Valve cover if needed: http://www.pelicanparts.com/More_Inf...46-554-BOE.htm

 

You can try this quick test too. Make sure and listen to the end of the video clip.

Click Here

 

Morning guys,

So..... an update, not a good one. I replaced the valve cover, performed the Seafoam treatment on the PCV hose, replaced plugs, performed an oil change and she ran really good! For about a day.... Now, she is still burning roughly 1L of oil every 500-700 KMS, really sluggish when the engine gets warm, especially between 2500-3100 RPM, it will spit and sputter and once above 3100, she goes really good and seems to have the power. I keep kicking a P2178 engine code and I'm losing my mind....

 

P2178 (0x2746 or 0x274E or 0x2BC1) - Fuel Trim Limit Exceeded: System Too Rich

I've seen a few threads reference to the Solenoid Valve (SOLV). Maybe check that on the rear side of the cylinder head. Maybe some of these links below might help.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...t-low-rpm.html
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ault-code.html
https://www.autocodes.com/p2178.html

I'd think your consumption might be something else and since you did a compression test I'd also suggest doing a leak down test.