I was changing the oil in my wife's R56 this afternoon and while under the car I found this little part (photos attached) on the garage floor approximately under where I had been doing all the coolant reservoir shenanigans you have to do to get to the filter housing. My floor is usually pretty clean but I couldn't say for certain that this even came off the Mini, so I thought I'd see if anyone here recognized it. I confirmed it does not go on the reservoir and the car runs with no issues, so I'm assuming it is from something else but figured it couldn't hurt to ask you all if you recognized it.

 

That’s a grease zerk fitting usually installed on equipment that requires lubrication. Some cars have them on suspension components like ball joints but I can’t think of any installed on our Mini.

 

Looks like a zerk for a greased part, but never seen one on a MINI that wasn't on an aftermarket part like a sway bar or control arm.

 

Looks like a grease fitting, not sure where on your car it would be. https://www.saeproducts.com/grease-fittings.html

 

Thanks all, your responses make a lot of sense. I have a feeling it’s off an old suspension part from a previous project. Good to confirm it doesn’t appear to be off the Mini.