You loosen up the cap a couple turns first. Then remove the drain plug, and let the oil out. All the oil will seep outta that cannister.

 

I certainly am not trying to insult you. If the point is so obvious, then why go so negative about it. Unless your car is different from all the minis I've worked on, I don't see a design flaw. I have two minis and a family member with one. I service them every 7k miles. A MC with 60k, MCS w/90k and mine with 120K, plus countless side jobs. So far no oil spills or broken parts. As far as the part being made availabe, If techs were braking these things they would be. Warranty wouldn't keep paying that huge claim for such an easy fix unless it rarely happens. I am a tech and have done more bmw/mini oil services than I can count. I have never had the urge or need to reach into a canister.

I will be aware of this part now, thanks to your post. I just wish that the post focused on being aware, not mini sucks and tried to rape me.

 

No wonder you did so well in the MINI2Quiz, Scott!

 

Holy Crap - You're THAT Cristo!! I hadn't put two and two together on that one.

Sorry about snaking third place out from underneath you last month. That was hellishly close.

 

you can do or say anything with a smile ; even rape customers . welcome to the new progressive world where integrity means NADA!!!.

 

Yep! MINIs are new to the world and until all the little things have been experienced the techs cannot do it all. The factory points them to the maintenance and the engineers view of repairs. Until the MINI gets old enough and the techs see more of what can happen, bear with them until they learn the tricks of which everyone complains. The service manager writes it down and the tech has to interpret it. Just like DRs. writing a prescription for the pharmacist. Unless that writer has under hood and car experience the tech has to follow the write sheet.

 

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]002[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]No I am not offended… First, I don’t even know you, and secondly this is a message board for people to share there experiences and opinions I shared mine and you shared yours… I don’t agree with you, no hard feelings… I will say if I was to follow along with your logic. The next time I have a fouled spark plug I should replace my entire ignition system… or next time I have a cavity I should have the dentist pull all my teeth… Sorry I stand by my original post it feels like a raping… this is a cheap inferior part, look at the pics and you can see… Just because they don’t have it as a separate part doesn’t make it right. And more so why the hell don’t they? It hasn’t happen to you… you are lucky or you have the other design, considering it is not the first time this has happened, MINI needs to do something about it, and hopefully someone that has this experience will be better equipped to fight the dealer. I can promise you that my Audi and Lexus do not and would not have as cheap of a part and if they did I am positive the dealer would do something about it, and/or the cheap part would be available separately, instead of forcing you to replace the entire housing… And considering MINI’s target audience of 20 something’s, I am sure the $1000 repair would hit them allot harder then it hits me. That’s why I brought it up for all to see… doesn’t seem fair and hence I stand by what I said originally feels like MINI attempted to rape me… but they didn’t… PRICELESS[/SIZE][/FONT]

 

Yeah your right, they tried to rape you.

I'm not sure why I even took the energy to post.

Carry on.

 

Well, regarding the original dealer quote, if the valve isn't available in the stock system as an individual part, there's not much the dealer can do about that.

The $700+ labour charge still seems excessive, though. Even at $164/hour, that's still 4-1/2 hours of labour.

I wonder if the dealership would have actually charged that much once they realized they could transfer the valve from the new housing into the old one that was already installed in the car, similar to what the OP ended up doing with the junkyard housing.

 

They probably COULD, but as that is not the procedure called for in the Tech manual, it is probably verboten!

 

I have to say I agree with the original poster on the availability issue. I feel if it comes apart then it should be a seperate part. After all, they could make as much or more money by selling a $1.00 part for $5.00. It's called nickel and diming you to death. Everybody does it. But, it's still better than being forced to buy an "assembly" for $100 (or whatever the cost). I also think it's not right to overcharge for parts simply because you have absolutely no competition for the parts you sell. But, in Mini's defense, these things aren't Chevy smallblocks where you can get a complete tuneup kit at Walmart. I think this should be taken into consideration before your purchase of a mini. Then if you still decide to purchase then you know what to expect. I felt the same consequence while owning a Ducati.

 

To further dilute this post...
This cheap, but unavailable $1 part reminds me of my recent dishwasher problem. The rinse agent cap fell out of it's place, landed onto a heating element and melted. I called the mfg. for a replacement cap, but found that they don't actually make these caps for their dishwashers. They buy complete rinse agent units, cap, resevoir, circuit panel, etc. from an unnamed "unknown" vendor, and could only offer me the entire rinse agent unit at $164.00, plus service call for installation. Damn... it was literally a $1 part--just like the MINI's "$1.00" part.

Ok, I can hate the mfg of my dishwasher, or MINI for it's multinational parts sourcing, or face up to life in a global village. At least with my dishwasher, had I chosen to replace the cap & all other parts associated, it wouldn't have cost me a grand.

 

I had a similar situation, but with a happier outcome. In 2002, my wife's 1979 Yamaha motorcycle needed two new springs for the ignition timing advance weights. I went to the dealer, only to find that the springs are no longer available separately from Yamaha. I would have to buy the entire timing advance assembly (springs, weights, and connecting rod) for about $225.

But, the parts guy told me "Go to Home Depot and buy two Briggs & Stratton lawnmower carburetor rebuild kits - the throttle return spring that comes in each kit is identical to the spring you need."

Two B&S rebuild kits later (about $9 total), everything was running perfectly.

 

My solution - I bought a used oil filter assy from a junk yard in CA ($60 + $15 shipping to me). Instead of replacing the whole assy, I gently compressed two of the three plastic snaps and rotated the 'used' check valve out of the junk yard assy. Then, I simply popped the check valve into my car. Yes, it was $75 but that is a WHOLE lot better than the $275 for a new assy.

 

To avoid spilling oil from the filter canister just loosen it after you drain through the drain plug.. most of the oil in the canister will drain out through the plug hole as soon as its loosened. very easy and no mess

 

Whats up guys, I just found this site but registered to help out with some questions, I'm a Mini Tech from Annapolis BMW/Mini.



In regards to the oil filter housing valve, I have never seen a case of it breaking, even the bmw instructions don't have you wipe any excess oil out of the housing. Seemss to be a costly thing if you do break that little piece or have it pop out.

 

Let mini change your oil.......problem solved!

 

Welcome to NAM MINI Tech.

Your knowledge & expertise will really be appreciated around here. Thanks in advance.

 

AnnapolisMini Tech, welcome, welcome. Your expertise and insights will be greatly appreciated.
And, what the heck? You might even learn something new here, too.

 

I look forward to being able to help you guys with what I know, and also learn the fixes you all have come up with for simple issues on the car!

-Tim

 

Does anyone know when this part was changed to the improved version?

I've changed the oil on my '04 MCS a few times now and I do not remember seeing the bypass valve when I wiped the inside of the canister. I'm pretty sure I'd notice a cheaply made part on such a vital system of the engine. Perhaps I just wasn't OCD enough to wipe that far down into the canister...

BTW - I'm a former Automotive/Heavy Equipment/Ground Support Equipment Tech. Judging from the pictures, I can see how an OCD person might accidentally bump this bypass valve in an attempt to clean out the canister.

It's plastic, and we all know how plastic can get brittle in environments that are subjected to lots of heating/cooling cycles. I see it all the time in the climate we have here in Alaska.

Give this guy a break, he was just trying to post his experiences.

 

Rather than cleaning the inside of the housing by mechanical means such as wiping, why not take some brake parts cleaner in a spray can and clean it out that way?

 

Just finished my third oil change today. When I removed the oil filter and housing I noticed small bits of black plastic stuck on the exterior of the filter element. I got to looking around and the remainder of the valve was laying in the bottom of the oil filter mounting housing.

I picked out all the pieces I could find and finished the oil change. When I started and ran the engine for a few minutes I noticed the low oil pressure light remains on unless I get the engine RPM's above 2.5-3k RPM's.

I called the MINI service dept (Nashville)to see what they suggested I should do. Not much help there. The service person I talked with wasn't sure if I could run the car any distance or not. Plus from what they said I'd have to have the entire assembly replaced at a cost of about $650 not including towing charges.

Has anyone lately had this same problem? If so, did you drive it any distance to get it to the dealer, or did you have it transported. Also has anything been done to improve this valve so it is not so prone to falling apart? I was VERY careful not to bump this valve as I had read this thread about 8 months ago.

 

Not sure if I would drive it without the valve or not. What would do is what I did, call MINI World 818-768-4800 and get a oil filter housing off the correct car sent to you right away. Less than $100 with shipping (or was). When it gets there, carefully pop that valve out and place it in your housing. You do not have to remove your housing to do this. BTW - I have an extra housing without check valve if someone is in need.

Depending on how destroyed you valve is, you can correctly place the valve spring side down and compress it in place with the filter. If you get it right, the oil light will go out. If not, the oil light is on. I did this until the used housing showed up. Only my plastic legs were broken so the remainder of the check valve was still functional.

Good Luck!

 

Who are you a tech for????