Well i backed my mini out of the garage yesterday and unfortunatly saw some oil drops on the ground. I had some time and decided to jack the car up and traced the leak back to the spot where the oil lines go blew the filter canister. It seems like its leaking from the bottem side of it. I was wondering what that part was called and if there was any other problems like this Any help would be greatly appreciated thank you.

 

That part is the oil cooler. The two lines coming out of it are for engine coolant, the oil enters and exits via ports in the mounting pad below the filter. This cooler has been known to spring leaks. More commonly, however, is slight damage to the o-ring on the oil filter canister allowing oil to leak then run down the cooler below. If you have had no leaks until just now, and have not changed the oil recently or done any work around the area, it could indicate a leak in the cooler or ti's gasket. A closer inspection should help determine the real cause.

 

I had oil leaking in a similar place after changing my oil. I found out the hard way to only use MINI OEM oil filters. I picked up a STP oil filter at a local parts store( becausee the closest dealer to me is 75 miles away). It turns out that STP's oil filter O-ring's diameter is smaller and causes a leak. Just my 2 cents.

 

i changed the oil about a month ago and i had no leaks until just now but i did use an stp filter. i felt all around the canister itself i did not feel any oil thats why i was thinking it was the oil cooler cuz it seems like its held in by like 2 bolts and it seemed to be leaking around the bottem of it.

 

When I got around to my MINI dealer they told me he was unaware of any company making oil filters. Once I swapped out the filter no leaks. You might want to change the filter first, it is a cheap trial and error. If you have any ?'s Pm me.

 

I too had changed oil twice using STP oil filters with no problem. The third time, I had a significant leak around the canister. I called the dealer to insure that I installed the o-ring correctly... that being within the groove on the canister about a half inch below the machined shoulder. Their service department said they have had no complaints about STP oil filters and o-rings. They said I probably got the o-ring "kinked," but upon removal, I saw no evidence of kinking. I'm ordering OEM to see if that solves it.