I know that the MINI comes with 36,000 miles of maintenance, (10,000 mile interval) but a friend of mine who also has a MINI says that he found oil filters for them at a Advance Auto Parts Store. Has anyone done their own oil change using these after market filters? Just wondering as I only have 1,200 miles on mine, but know that it will be with me for a very long time, and that eventually I may want to change the oil myself.
Thanks
Tenpounds

 

The oil filters at the dealership are only a few dollars; going aftermarket won't save you any or much money, but may provide convenience (if your dealership is far away)

moving to Beneath the Bonnet

 

Is the filter only accessable from beneath the vehicle? Because I haven't even found the oil filter IN my car, let alone at a parts store!

(sorry, I'm used to the wide open spaces of an '86 Omni)

 

It accessible from the top. When your engine is cool, just look over the block on the left, you will see the canister. In fact follow the Rspeed how too under features on the left of this page. I was able to do mine without any trouble, actually not hard at all. :smile:

 

^^Cool, thanks :smile: Can't find anything under there--kind of like my closet.

 

get one of these things :

Astro Oil Extractor...


Astro Oil Extractor

you don't have to go beneath the car anymore...

daniel-

 

Hey all, I live in Lubbock TX about 400 miles from nearest dealership could you tell me would having my oil changed at a rapid oil or some other 10 min shop void my warrentee.

Has any one had luck having oil changed at a national shop like pep boys ect.

Thanks

 

I would go to National Public Radio's Car Talk Website. I apologize for not being able to pull the URL out of my ***. Beer and marriage prevents me from having anything short of jibbering memory of a 4 year old so you'll have to forgive me.

But do you know those crazy MIT yahoos from Jersey, the Click and Clack Brothers? Anyway these guys have a national database of reputable mechanics and you may find one near you. I would not trust a chain to change your oil. I used to change oil. Back then if I were going to take my car in for an oil change, I would not want me changing it. Besides your MINI is a "special needs car" It takes synthetic. Get a good mechanic to work on your car who you can trust. Your 3 yr/ 36k warranty deal will be gone before you know it and if you still have your MINI, you will need/want somebody that you're confident in who you can trust and even better, does not reside 400 miles away.

 

>>Hey all, I live in Lubbock TX about 400 miles from nearest dealership could you tell me would having my oil changed at a rapid oil or some other 10 min shop void my warrentee.
>>
>>Has any one had luck having oil changed at a national shop like pep boys ect.

You're not going to void your warranty. Period.

You have two things to worry about going to that type of place:
1) whether or not they have the necessary tools
2) your baby being at the mercy of underpaid, barely qualified grease monkeys

Seriously, read the how-tos and buy the tools to do it yourself.

 

Randy Webb's How-To can be found here :
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ic=5119&25

... and the Tappet Brothers can be found here :
http://cartalk.cars.com/

Oil Changes can be fun! ... be one with your car ...

 

>>...But do you know those crazy MIT yahoos from Jersey...


If I'm not mistaken, Tom and Ray Magliozzi are from the Boston area...you know..."Did you pahk ya cah in Havahd Yahd?".

Note my screen name.

Theo
Western MA

 

Oh yeah...

Top-side oil changers rule. I've used on on my 328i for the last three years. I actually get MORE oil out of the motor with a top-side change than I do with the traditional gravity drain.

However, my first two oil changes (~1,500 miles and ~3,000 miles) will be the traditional gravity type to make sure any "run-in" particulates are accounted for. After that, I'll be on top, thank you!

Theo

'04 MCS

 

>>Hey all, I live in Lubbock TX about 400 miles from nearest dealership could you tell me would having my oil changed at a rapid oil or some other 10 min shop void my warrentee.
>>
>>Has any one had luck having oil changed at a national shop like pep boys ect.
_____________
If you aren't changing the oil yourself and are too far from a MINI dealer, also check to see if your local BMW dealer (if there's one nearby) is willing to change the oil for you. The trick is th 36mm. canister wrench size. I'd never buy an oil filter for the MINI unless it's OEM, and I guess that means either buying that direct from your dealer or by mail order from some reputable parts supply house like Moss Motors.

Toast: the oil filter, as someone else mentioned, is visible near the passenger side of the engine bay. You'll see the unmistakable 36mm. nut size, and check out RSpeed's web site.

 

Don't want to start yet ANOTHER thread on this, so hope you don't mind if I ask it here.

Where in the heck did anyone find a 36mm socket?

I changed my oil the first time using a HUGE adjustable, but it was dumb luck that I could rotate it JUST enough to unthread the thing by hand and it was a pain.

So I searched the threads and found out the canister takes a 36mm socket.

So I go to Sears. No luck
I go to a local hardware store. I find nada
I go to Wal-Mart (that hurt, but someone said they'd bought one there) and ZIPPO
So I call my Matco guy, who shows up promptly with a 36mm socket, but it is 3 3/4 in. long and can't fit over the hex as the firewall gets in the way

He calls his home office and they don't have shallow 36mm sockets.

So where in the heck did somone find one????????? Do I need to call the Snap-On guy (cause that's always bad news, as soon as I step on that truck I drop a couple hundred dollars on stuff I don't REALLY need, but dag-nam-it, I WANT).

Any help here????

Kev

_________________
She let's me drive her MCS (which is good, cause I gave it to her as a wedding present)!!!

Our Baby? - she's an 03 Elect Blue (white roof/wheels) MCS, w/ all the toys (premium, cold, h/k, Nav, xenon, fogs etc) !

 

KevM, I found mine at Home Depot (and it's a Sears Craftsman brand one!). It's just under 2" high, which means that there's just enough room to rotate the filter case just enough to be able to loosen it by hand (and remove the socket first).

Also, check the marketplace forum - I think someone's been selling them over there.

 

That was fast. Thanks Chrisnl :smile:

frickn' frackin' SOB#@%#@%#%#%n' Sear's Hardware store didn't stock it. And the i.d.i.o.t.s working there said they didn't make one. I should have checked a catalog.

I'll check with the Homey-Depot then.


Kev

 

>>That was fast. Thanks Chrisnl :smile:
>>
>>frickn' frackin' SOB#@%#@%#%#%n' Sear's Hardware store didn't stock it. And the i.d.i.o.t.s working there said they didn't make one. I should have checked a catalog.

A long time ago I posted a link here (or on Mini2) for a shallow 36mm socket. Note that the craftsman 36mm is a 1/2" drive if that makes a difference. (I'll see if I can find it again.)

I also wrote to mention that someone used the aftermarket oil filter (Purolater?) and the freakin' thing collapsed inside the cannister. He took a pic and posted it--it didn't look pretty. I'd call Classic Auto Campus and just order a half dozen and be done with it.

I just changed mine again this weekend and picked up a half-doz. quarts of Mobil 1 for $24 from Sam's club. Cheapest I've found thus far.

HTH,

Jeff

 

Here's the link. It's ~$27 for the socket. Shallow and 3/8" drive.

http://www.samstagsales.com/mercedes.htm#hazet

 

Thanks Duck! Excellent link...

Shallow AND a 3/8 drive, wow, I'll have enough clearance to climb in and have lunch between the firewall and the ratchet

Kev

 

Just as a bonus, in case anyone else was interested: I got mine from Sears. It's a 1/2" drive, and it *is* available from Sears.com if your local store doesn't stock it. I preferred the 1/2" drive because that's my torque wrench's drive size. It would be impossible to use a 1/2 to 3/8 adapter because there wouldn't be room in that tiny space.

That's all I got!

 

I posted this sometime ago but can't remember what topic. I bought Sears 36mm 1/2" drive socket for $5.99. Was concerned about depth so had machine shop take about half the socket depth off on lathe.. cost me $3.00. Now have 36mm socket that gives me enough room to use a 1/2 to 3/8 adapter with plenty of room. Can now use either 1/2 or 3/8 drive rachet. Total cost $8.99.

 

We have been sticking to the 10K mile oil change intervals. In our '02 Cooper we had the dealer change the factory oil at 9,395 miles on 6/28/03 (Car was delivered on 9/7/2002 with 7 miles on the odo). No problems and the engine has been running like a Swiss Rolex since. No oil consumption and no junk in the oil or any other issues. Next oil change stop is scheduled in about 6K miles per the onboard computer.

I will be following the same exact suggested oil change schedule on my new '04 MCS. I have another 8,700 miles to go before its first scheduled service.

I come from the "old school" of Dino Oil users that firmly believed in replacing the oil and filter every 3K miles on the dot. However, I believe that Synthetics technologies allow to further decrease the need of frequent oil and filter changes while providing superior levels of protection from engine breakdown and parts friction.

I think this technology works and will continue to follow the BMW recommended service intervals to the "T".

For those of you that change the oil every 3K to 5K miles, you are better off saving the added expense of Synthetic oil by switching to Dino lubricant. If you are replacing your Synthetic oil more frequently than need be, you are defeating the purpose of having Synthetic lubricants in the first place.

Surely, everyone is entitled to take care of their vehicle as they see fit, but changing Synthetic oil way sooner than 10K miles on the average is quite frankly overkill and expensive.

If the long servicing intervals should cause a breakdown, BMW will still pick up the tab for any repairs, because warranty coverage can not be denied if the owner has been following the suggested oil change intervals.

So far the technology hasn't failed.

'02 Cooper CVT = 18,000 trouble free miles. Last oil change: 8,605 miles ago.

 

>>I also wrote to mention that someone used the aftermarket oil filter (Purolater?) and the freakin' thing collapsed inside the cannister. He took a pic and posted it--it didn't look pretty. >>

Yes, that was me. I still have the pics if anyone wants to see a junk Purolator L15465. It was designed for use ONLY in early (non S) MINI's with the spring in the canister. It has no internal cage and does implode.

And..... 1 7/16 also fits the nut if you have one.

Paul
1st '03 IB/W S

 

>>I come from the "old school" of Dino Oil users that firmly believed in replacing the oil and filter every 3K miles on the dot. However, I believe that Synthetics technologies allow to further decrease the need of frequent oil and filter changes while providing superior levels of protection from engine breakdown and parts friction...<<

I agree with you, except in referring to Castrol Syntec as a synthetic oil. It's not. It's just a petroleum-based oil with additives, and breaks down much faster than true synthetics like Mobil One, Redline, and Amsoil. I don't have a problem running one of those oils for 10k, but not the factory's Castrol, which had to survive a legal challenge by Mobil to be called "synthetic." I prefer to depend on actual performance numbers, as opposed to Castrol's marketing shtick.

Dave, Mark, why was this post deleted the first time?