If you have installed one of the aftermarket metal skid plates, such as Moss Motors sells, which extends furthr back to protect the fan intake for the power steering pump, is there still enough room to drain the oil easily without having to remove the skid plate? Or if the metal skid plate is installed does it then become necessary to drop it every time one wants to change the oil?

 

You could probably do it with the plate on. I just remove it each time I change my oil. It doesn't take long at all. It allows me to clean some of the gunk that gets caught up under there.

 

Yes, There is sufficient space to get your wrench or socket to the oil pan drainage nut; however, oil will come out over the plate, and cause additional cleanup. I take my plate off with each oil change (10 min on/off tops) so its not a major hassle.

 

Welcome, Joe!

Yes. You will need to remove the skidplate before an oil change, unless you want oil all over your driveway and your skidplate.

OR

You can do what I did and order a Fumoto Engine Oil Drain Valve with Nipple like this one:



Then all you need is a length of hose that you put over the nipple, flip the switch, and then drain oil directly into your container! I can't recommend it highly enough!!!

By the way, Moss sells one of these without the nipple (which is sort of a waste in my opinion); you can order direct through Fumoto's website, or click HERE.



_________________

 

I have the stainless skidplate from Moss. I have not yet changed my oil, as the car is too new (Feb, 03). I'll be getting the Works installed later this year, ands then they will change it. (The drain valve with hose fitting sems like a VERY good idea, and I will probably zip-tie a short length of silicone tubing onto it to encourage mechanics to drain that way.)

Here is my issue : I was in the desert driving very hard in 90 degree plus weather. I was watching the temp guage carefully and it never budged off normal. Sudenly my POWER STEERING WENT OUT! I pulled over (with much effort), got out & checked for a leak, listened for the pump (nothing) and then got back in to discover the power assist was back! Well, I figure that the steering pump motor has a thermal cut-out breaker, and it had auto-reset. I tried to get it to happen again, and sure enough, exactly the same. After speaking with some SCMM club members, no-one had the same problem. It was the SKID PLATE THAT PROMOTED THE OVERHEATING OF THE PUMP MOTOR by reducing airflow under the engine! I will drop it out this weekend, swiss-cheese it with good size holes, and perhaps bend some of the larger holes to create scoops, and then re-install the plate. Since it was a borderline temp problem, that should do it.

If you drive hard in the heat, I strongly recommend this fix.

 

Thanks for mentioning the possible over-heating, lekfx! ... but you may want to check a few other things too; I was blasting along in heat ranging from 95 to 105 for a few days this last summer, and my pump worked fine ... (i'll be checking those holes, though!) ...

The (moss) plate is pretty well engineered - it's easy enough to take off and doing so allows one to do a quick inspection of the underside at each oil change. Checking for things like ripped Cv joint boots and loose bolts is something that should be done regularly anyway ...

 

I have the stainless skidplate from Moss. I have not yet changed my oil, as the car is too new (Feb, 03). I'll be getting the Works installed later this year, ands then they will change it. (The drain valve with hose fitting sems like a VERY good idea, and I will probably zip-tie a short length of silicone tubing onto it to encourage mechanics to drain that way.)

Here is my issue : I was in the desert driving very hard in 90 degree plus weather. I was watching the temp guage carefully and it never budged off normal. Sudenly my POWER STEERING WENT OUT! I pulled over (with much effort), got out & checked for a leak, listened for the pump (nothing) and then got back in to discover the power assist was back! Well, I figure that the steering pump motor has a thermal cut-out breaker, and it had auto-reset. I tried to get it to happen again, and sure enough, exactly the same. After speaking with some SCMM club members, no-one had the same problem. It was the SKID PLATE THAT PROMOTED THE OVERHEATING OF THE PUMP MOTOR by reducing airflow under the engine! I will drop it out this weekend, swiss-cheese it with good size holes, and perhaps bend some of the larger holes to create scoops, and then re-install the plate. Since it was a borderline temp problem, that should do it.

If you drive hard in the heat, I strongly recommend this fix.

 

I recently installed a skid plate from Moss Mini at my friend's house (because he's not mechanically challenged like I am). It came with lock-tight for the four bolts which go into the existing holes. First problem was that the holes had accumulated "stuff" in the year and a half since I've owned the car; so I used a tap to clean them out - worked like a champ. The next concern I had was that lock-tight is designed to be put on bolts which you never want to remove - and I plan on taking my skid plate off each time I go to the dealer (no excuses about voiding the warrantee). My friend recommended using lock washers instead, and they're working great so far - two weeks on the road and the plate's still on! :smile:

Does anyone know what the torque spec is for the four new bolts that come with the skid plate? TIS doesn't list those being used on the W11 engine, but since they're existing holes, I figure Mini must have a rating for them.
-Cor.

 

#1 do not use the red Locktight. Sooner or later you will have to remove the skid plate. I would recomend that you also replace the 4 bolts that came with you skid plate to a stainless bolt with a hex head. The Torx star will rust and you will end up cutting off the heads.

I speak from experence on this one. I had to remove the skidplate so that Randy could upgrade my pulley. The only way I could get the skid plate off was to cut the bolt heads off. That's what I get for RTFM.

Cheers,
Jack

 

Wow, it didn't occur to me to consider what the bolts were made of. I'm thinking a good place to get replacements would be from a marine shop; fasteners on boats are probably all stainless steel. I'm not sure my local Home Depot sells stainless steel metric bolts. Any recommendations on where I could find some?

 

Use blue loctite, and hand tighten till snug. Doubt if anyone has any actual torque specs for that part.

 

I have a 2002 Mini and have had my skid plate on for about a year and a half now. I attempted to take the old bolts off but it was impossible. It was installed using the bolts and red loctite that came with the plate. I'm going to attempt to take the bolts off using a Sears Screw Out bit but I suspect that won't work either because there in so tight. My second thought was to attempt to drill out the bolts using a high speed drill. Short of burning the bolt heads off, does anyone have any better ideas? I live in Michigan, and although my wife only drives the Mini during the summer and fall, I kind of thought I would'nt have this problem.

Bernie in Michigan

 

I have the Moss skid plate and change my oil with the skid plate on. I do it by using an old dog food can. Let me explain. You'll find hole in the skid plate where you can reach up and unsecrew the drain plug from under the car. I took an empty dog food can (any can the same size will do). After doing some cuts with a tin snips on the empty can I incert the can in the hole and the oil ricochets off the inside of the can down into the used oil pan. If anyone wants a picture of this devise e-mail me at bm1279@hotmail.com and I'll send you a picture. What I do is unscrew the drain plug just enough where it stays in, incert the can, and then reach up and take out the drain plug. It's a bit tricky but it beats taking off the skid plate. I wish I could insert a picture of my device on this board but I can't.

 

THANK YOU!

I don't understand some people's fear of removing the skid plate... as if it's like some huge task... My VW is the same way - big plastic belly pan that covers the entire underside of the engine. Guys on the Vortex come up with all sorts of ways to get around removing it... and flame the heck out of me when I post "why??" And with a VW it's even easier than the Moss plate for the MINI - just a few torx screws that come off easiely with a cordless screwgun....

My only issue with the Moss plate is the 6mm socket screws that go into the sub-frame. 6mm is waaay too small for a bolt that big. I replaced the Moss supplied bolts with standard hex-head bolts slathered in anti-sieze.

Sorry for the rant... I'm just happy to see people who remove the plate for the same reasons I do. :smile:

 

I also had problems with the Moss supplied bolts. While they may look cool, this is a bad application for these bolts.

6mm Allen socket + 10mm bolt =

I had the remove the plate and the socket stripped out and I ended up drilling out the head to remove the plate. I tried various ways to remove the remains, but none worked and now only three bolts attach the plate.

I didn't use the supplied Loc-Tite. Used anti-sieze instead. Still siezed....

The other three bolts I replaced with hex-head bolts which needed to be cut to length. I used a lock-washer and more anti-sieze. Again, no Loc-tite.

 

Two skid plate threads that were going on in Beneath the Bonnet have been merged together. The thread is a little disjointed, but at least all the discussion related to the installation/removal and oil changes with the plate are in the same place.

 

I can relate my pre-delivery skid plate activities. I have a Moss regular steel skid plate sitting in my office, as well as the Fumoto drain plug with nipple. I have the bolts that came with the skid plates, but will use the stainless steel hex 10mmm bolts that are recommended replacements, with blue loctite.

I plan on drilling and tapping some extra 10mm holes in the front of the skid plate so that if I want to add a badge or nudge bar, I will have a place to attach it (using the buttonhead bolts that came with the skidplate). Plus I am painting the plate with a bronze hammertone finish. This should cover all bases. Only question is what size hose fits the fumoto valve, and whether it is best to leave it attached all the time, or just attach it when draining the oil. I would favor a clear plastic hose, so I can see the oil as it comes down the tube, but am not sure if that will be a problem.

 

Also, make sure your dealer service techs aren't jackholes. I went in for maintainence and got hit with a recall notice on the aux fan. Dealer wanted to charge $90/hr labor to cut the skid plate bolts to fix. Screw that and did it myself... interesting find... I didn't strip the bolts out when I put them in. They also over torq'd one the front bumper clips too. (Not to mention the 200+ lb/ft torq it took to get the oil filter cap off.) Idiots.

 

To JoeDentist, Take your little valve to any parts store and they have hose buy the foot. Sometimes hardware stores have clear tubing. I've worked on alot of machines with belly pans that have the same valve you do. Hose is left attached to valve and just long enough to pull back out over edge of plate to drain. It would be a hassle to remove and install tubing, when it will lay there and bother nothing.Rick

 

Do you think the edge of the nipple is sufficient to hold the hose, or is a clamp needed?I assume a bent wire type clasp should be enough - I do not want to mess with a hose clamp.

 

Sure. Make sure both hose and nipple are free of any oil or grease, as to when you shove it on it will take a set to the nipple. Then use whatever clamping device you like. If hose fits snug enough you might not even need a clamp. A small zip tie, wire tie might help do the trick also. Rick

 

Might want to look at the Moss Aluminum Skidplate as well if overheating is a concern. It's lighter and will draw heat away better. Cheaper than the stainless plate as well.

-Dave & Stacy

 

JoeToothachefixer,

I've run about 9" of 3/8" I.D. rubber heater hose on my Fumoto nippled valve for the last 8,000 miles. It tucks up into one of the skid plate holes and doesn't require any clamp to stay on. I just took the valve down to Autozone and found the hose that fit on nice and snug. Cost me a whopping $1.29 plus about $20 for the valve. The ease of changing the oil is priceless.